pulpfiction
New Member
This is my experience of a citizenship interview gone wrong:
The interview lasted about 25 Minutes. Mostly, the questions asked were to confirm information submitted on the N-400, like date of birth etc. I had since gotten married and the officer took down the information regarding my husband and copied the marriage certificate. I was asked to write and read one sentence. I answered 5 civics questions correctly. The officer then handed me a document stating that she recommended my application for approval and asked me if I wanted to wait to take the oath later on today. I agreed and was told to wait outside.
An hour later the officer called me back into her office and told me there was a problem with my date of entry. My Permanent Resident Card states "Resident since 10/09/1997". This is actually the date I entered the US on a visitor visa; I did not become a resident until 04/02/2001. The N-400 instructions clearly state to use the date printed on the front of the card. My mistake was to never question this. Here is my timeline:
Date of Entry 10/09/1997 (printed as "resident since" on my card)
Adj. of status 04/02/2001
N-400 application 08/30/2005
Interview 02/16/2006
The bottom line is that at the time of my interview I was 45 days short of the 5-year requirement. I should have questioned the date printed on my greencard. The officer told me I had the option to withdraw my application or she would have to deny it and I could appeal. But the good news are that I can immediatley re-apply since I am within 90 days of being a resident for 5 years. Thanks a lot! It would cost me a lot more to retain an attorney to appeal with an uncertain outcome than to simply re-apply. All because INS printed a wrong date on my green card & I did not question it!
Thought some of you may benefit from sharing my experience.
The interview lasted about 25 Minutes. Mostly, the questions asked were to confirm information submitted on the N-400, like date of birth etc. I had since gotten married and the officer took down the information regarding my husband and copied the marriage certificate. I was asked to write and read one sentence. I answered 5 civics questions correctly. The officer then handed me a document stating that she recommended my application for approval and asked me if I wanted to wait to take the oath later on today. I agreed and was told to wait outside.
An hour later the officer called me back into her office and told me there was a problem with my date of entry. My Permanent Resident Card states "Resident since 10/09/1997". This is actually the date I entered the US on a visitor visa; I did not become a resident until 04/02/2001. The N-400 instructions clearly state to use the date printed on the front of the card. My mistake was to never question this. Here is my timeline:
Date of Entry 10/09/1997 (printed as "resident since" on my card)
Adj. of status 04/02/2001
N-400 application 08/30/2005
Interview 02/16/2006
The bottom line is that at the time of my interview I was 45 days short of the 5-year requirement. I should have questioned the date printed on my greencard. The officer told me I had the option to withdraw my application or she would have to deny it and I could appeal. But the good news are that I can immediatley re-apply since I am within 90 days of being a resident for 5 years. Thanks a lot! It would cost me a lot more to retain an attorney to appeal with an uncertain outcome than to simply re-apply. All because INS printed a wrong date on my green card & I did not question it!
Thought some of you may benefit from sharing my experience.