St. Paul (MN) DO Interview Done!
All,
After a nearly two year long wait I finally had my N400 Interview today (Nov 18 at 8AM). It went very well and lasted ~20 minutes.
I was ushered into the IO's chamber at 8:00AM. A very pleasant lady officer went over all the items in the application. Since it was filed so long ago, there were a few changes (office address change, completion of my MBA, additional trips etc.). She was very happy that I had come prepared with the changed info in the application (I had filled out the sections in the N400 with the changed information and printed them out to hand to the IO at the interview).
A few things she studied in greater detail:
- my recently expired passport - she went through some of the pages looking at the entry/exit stamps. I had 11 trips in all but none over 6 months and a total time outside of only 202 days. She didn't ask me any questions though.
- she asked me about the discrepancy in my Birth Certificate (my name appears in my Indian BC only as A. Pxxxx whereas the full name should be Axxxxxxxxxxx Pxxxx. So I supplied her two affidavits - one each from my mother and my aunt certifying my full name in lieu of the incomplete name on the BC. I'm so glad I had these affidavits with me.
- on one of my previous passports my first and last names were reversed - I told the IO about this (when she asked about any other names used) and also mentioned I have it corrected now in my new passport. She said that was fine and shouldn't pose any problems.
- she asked to see the letter from the Selective Services (maybe only because I told her I had one. It was not actually needed - I just happened to have it so she kept a copy. I had made copies of everything so she was extremely pleased that it was saving her time.
- she did ask about traffic tickets - I told her about the two I have - no documentation was needed. She made a note of it.
Aside from this, she found among my "affiliations", some arts groups in Minneapolis so we chatted about this. She said she might come see me perform someday (I play the Indian drums, the Tabla, semi-professionally, with a few arts groups in town).
The civics/history exam itself was a breeze - I got fairly easy questions. I was done after I got the first six right. After I read and wrote the english sentences as asked, she handed me a letter stating "you have been recommended for approval" and said the oath letter would be coming your way in 2-3 months. Looks like the St Paul DO is backed up a bit these days.
One thing I should mention: when it came time to sign the N400 and the pictures, I had to sign on the N400 using the full name (no initials or abbreviations allowed). On the pictures though, she gave me the option of signing like I normally do (e.g. when writing checks). So that felt good since this means my normal signature would now also go on the Naturalization Certificate (you have to sign those just like you signed the pictures and my pictures have my normal signature).
Anyway, thanks to this board for the many many useful tips and suggestions. I couldn't have been better prepared. I'm glad I had all the supporting documents today at the interview; else who knows how much more delay the process would have entailed.
So far so good ... Now, another wait ensues for the oath letter.
Cheers,
AP
All,
After a nearly two year long wait I finally had my N400 Interview today (Nov 18 at 8AM). It went very well and lasted ~20 minutes.
I was ushered into the IO's chamber at 8:00AM. A very pleasant lady officer went over all the items in the application. Since it was filed so long ago, there were a few changes (office address change, completion of my MBA, additional trips etc.). She was very happy that I had come prepared with the changed info in the application (I had filled out the sections in the N400 with the changed information and printed them out to hand to the IO at the interview).
A few things she studied in greater detail:
- my recently expired passport - she went through some of the pages looking at the entry/exit stamps. I had 11 trips in all but none over 6 months and a total time outside of only 202 days. She didn't ask me any questions though.
- she asked me about the discrepancy in my Birth Certificate (my name appears in my Indian BC only as A. Pxxxx whereas the full name should be Axxxxxxxxxxx Pxxxx. So I supplied her two affidavits - one each from my mother and my aunt certifying my full name in lieu of the incomplete name on the BC. I'm so glad I had these affidavits with me.
- on one of my previous passports my first and last names were reversed - I told the IO about this (when she asked about any other names used) and also mentioned I have it corrected now in my new passport. She said that was fine and shouldn't pose any problems.
- she asked to see the letter from the Selective Services (maybe only because I told her I had one
. It was not actually needed - I just happened to have it so she kept a copy. I had made copies of everything so she was extremely pleased that it was saving her time.- she did ask about traffic tickets - I told her about the two I have - no documentation was needed. She made a note of it.
Aside from this, she found among my "affiliations", some arts groups in Minneapolis so we chatted about this. She said she might come see me perform someday
(I play the Indian drums, the Tabla, semi-professionally, with a few arts groups in town).The civics/history exam itself was a breeze - I got fairly easy questions. I was done after I got the first six right. After I read and wrote the english sentences as asked, she handed me a letter stating "you have been recommended for approval" and said the oath letter would be coming your way in 2-3 months. Looks like the St Paul DO is backed up a bit these days.
One thing I should mention: when it came time to sign the N400 and the pictures, I had to sign on the N400 using the full name (no initials or abbreviations allowed). On the pictures though, she gave me the option of signing like I normally do (e.g. when writing checks). So that felt good since this means my normal signature would now also go on the Naturalization Certificate (you have to sign those just like you signed the pictures and my pictures have my normal signature).
Anyway, thanks to this board for the many many useful tips and suggestions. I couldn't have been better prepared. I'm glad I had all the supporting documents today at the interview; else who knows how much more delay the process would have entailed.
So far so good ... Now, another wait ensues for the oath letter.
Cheers,
AP
