Had my interview today. "A decision cannot be made at this time" due to pending background check. I asked if it was the name check and she said; "Don't worry - your name check completed already."
Interview time was 10am, I arrived at 9:30 and handed my interview letter to security. Was called in at 9:40. Was back out on the street before my shceduled interview time...
I was sworn in and asked for my full name. I have two middle names and don't generally use both of my middle names because govt forms don't generally have space for them. She asked to see my UK Birth Certificate and I handed that to her, and she amended the form. No problems there.
She went through every question on the form, asking me the same question again and marking the answers with checkmarks when I confirmed them.
When she asked me about arrests/detentions etc I said I had three traffic tickets over the last 16 years and she was unfazed. I had already sent in the certified copy of the fist ticket's court record with the application (and the other two were in the file I brought with me) and she looked at that for a moment and then made a remark to the effect of traffic tickets being a non-issue.
She asked if I'd ever broken the law and not been caught. I said that I have not been caught for speeding a few times... that made her laugh, but her followup question of 'Have you ever comitted a CRIME and not been caught?" got a swift No answer which made her happy.
The only papers she took from me for checking (all were returned) were:
- Passport
- Green Card
- Birth Certificate (because of the name difference)
I had my taxes, ticket records, proof of relationship etc but she never asked for them.
I was asked the following civis questions:
- What is the term of a senator? 6years, correct
- What do the stripes on the flag represent? 13 original colonies, correct
- Whis was Martin Luther King? Civil rights leader, correct
- What is the most important right granted by the constitution? Free Speech, WRONG. Correct answer: Right to Vote
- What is the term of a President? 4years, correct
- What year was the consitution written? 1787, correct
- Who advises the President? The Cabinet, correct
She highlighted the 10th question and asked me to read it out loud; "Why are there 100 senators?" then asked me to write "I came to Columbus for my interview." on a the civics test sheet. She said I passed the English/Civics tests.
She asked if I was willing to say the full oath. I asked for 'So Help ME God' to be removed and she said that the law doe snto allow her to remove those words, and that most people believe in some kind of god so I shouldn't have a problem. This was the only part of the interview where it got tense. I decided not to rock the boat and said I'd say the full oath.
Then she said that a decision couldn't be made because of a pending background check. I asked if she meant the name Check and she said no... my name chaeck was completed. I asked if she meant the FBI Fingerprints and she said no. So thee's apparently some mystical 3rd background check that is pending. She said I'd get a written decision in the mail.
That was that. Overall the interview was quick and friendly. I know that fed law DOES allow me to omit "So Help Me God" but it's not worth it for me to fight it. I'm a little concerned about what this 3rd background check is that is NOT name check or fingerprints. I suspect she wants to redo the background check based upon my full name. Either way it will be clear so I'm not worried.
Next step, await decision.
