Both myself and my wife had the interview today. The interview appointment was at 10:05 AM. We reached the USCIS (101 W Congress Parkway) office at 9:45 AM. We passed through security. After a 5 minute waiting at the check-in on the first floor, we were told to proceed directly to the 3rd floor for interviews.
We checked in at the 3rd floor reception. We were notified by the receptionist that we have to proceed to Area 2 and the IO will call out names. We did so accordingly. At about 9:55 AM, the IO called my wife. I was called in at 10:00 AM.
First, the IO asked me to raise my right hand and told me that I was under oath and I will tell the truth etc. After that, the IO asked my passport, Green card and Drivers License. He very quickly verified the information (mostly the names on these documents). Then, the IO asked me to sign (pretty much cursive writing of your first and last name) the photos.
Then the IO told me that he will test me on the civics part. He pulled a sheet that had 10-15 questions and randomly asked 6 questions. All the questions were from the 96 questions from the booklet that was given at the Fingerprint. After I answered the 6 questions, the IO stopped. The IO then asked me to write the following sentence. "Many people come to America for freedom". I did accordingly.
Following that, the officer very quickly verified the information on the N-400 line by line. I had listed memberships in various organizations/clubs (like Sams club, National Geograhic Society etc.). The IO was very happy that I was truthful in this section. He did acknowledge that a number of people do not write anything in this section for fear of being scrutinized. The IO told me that they scrutinize if the memberships are from banned outfits.
I also had listed 3 traffic tickets. The IO asked me if the incidents were DUI or if any arrests were made. I said no. The IO made a notation on the N-400 indicating that the traffic citations were non DUI related. He did not ask for any documentation.
And finally, the IO asked me about attachment to the constitution, pledge of allegiance etc. I said yes. The IO gave me the sheet where I wrote the sentence ("Many people come to America for freedom") and asked to sign it.
The IO then gave me the sheet that indicated that my case has been recommended for approval. In addition, the IO was kind enough to ask if my wife was being interviewed, to which I said yes. The IO then volunteered to make sure both of us get the same oath date and time. It was a nice gesture on his part. And that was it. I was done in about 6 minutes from the time I entered the office.
My wife joined me about 5 minutes after me. Her interview was a breeze as well. Surprisingly, the IO asked for the Social Security Card and Birth Certificate. We had copies of these handy to which the IO was very happy. My wife also had an updated N-400 sheet that had her employment history. When my wife presented it to the IO, the IO was happy to note that my wife was well prepared and thanked her for making her job easy. She was also congratulated and recommended for approval.
We were told that our it may take 30-40 days for the oath letter. We were out of the building by 10:15 AM. I took all the documents recommended by Johnny Cash (thanks Johnny Cash). I felt the list prepared by Johnny Cash is very exhaustive and recommend everyone to have all documents handy. I never expected that my wife would be asked to present her Social Security Card and Birth Certificate because ours is not marriage based citizenship. We applied on 5 year basis.
Personally, I came to the US on F1->H1-B->Green Card. I had obviously had Practical Training during my F1 days. I did notice that the A# on those cards and my previous employment authorization cards were different from what I had for Green Card. Fortunately, I did not run into the issue of multiple A#'s (as some have on this forum). FYI, we applied 88 days before our 5th year Green Card anniversary.
I thank Mr. Khanna for maintaining this forum free of cost. I personally learned a lot from this great forum. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is invaluable. All the best to you all. Now the wait begins for the oath ceremony.
We checked in at the 3rd floor reception. We were notified by the receptionist that we have to proceed to Area 2 and the IO will call out names. We did so accordingly. At about 9:55 AM, the IO called my wife. I was called in at 10:00 AM.
First, the IO asked me to raise my right hand and told me that I was under oath and I will tell the truth etc. After that, the IO asked my passport, Green card and Drivers License. He very quickly verified the information (mostly the names on these documents). Then, the IO asked me to sign (pretty much cursive writing of your first and last name) the photos.
Then the IO told me that he will test me on the civics part. He pulled a sheet that had 10-15 questions and randomly asked 6 questions. All the questions were from the 96 questions from the booklet that was given at the Fingerprint. After I answered the 6 questions, the IO stopped. The IO then asked me to write the following sentence. "Many people come to America for freedom". I did accordingly.
Following that, the officer very quickly verified the information on the N-400 line by line. I had listed memberships in various organizations/clubs (like Sams club, National Geograhic Society etc.). The IO was very happy that I was truthful in this section. He did acknowledge that a number of people do not write anything in this section for fear of being scrutinized. The IO told me that they scrutinize if the memberships are from banned outfits.
I also had listed 3 traffic tickets. The IO asked me if the incidents were DUI or if any arrests were made. I said no. The IO made a notation on the N-400 indicating that the traffic citations were non DUI related. He did not ask for any documentation.
And finally, the IO asked me about attachment to the constitution, pledge of allegiance etc. I said yes. The IO gave me the sheet where I wrote the sentence ("Many people come to America for freedom") and asked to sign it.
The IO then gave me the sheet that indicated that my case has been recommended for approval. In addition, the IO was kind enough to ask if my wife was being interviewed, to which I said yes. The IO then volunteered to make sure both of us get the same oath date and time. It was a nice gesture on his part. And that was it. I was done in about 6 minutes from the time I entered the office.
My wife joined me about 5 minutes after me. Her interview was a breeze as well. Surprisingly, the IO asked for the Social Security Card and Birth Certificate. We had copies of these handy to which the IO was very happy. My wife also had an updated N-400 sheet that had her employment history. When my wife presented it to the IO, the IO was happy to note that my wife was well prepared and thanked her for making her job easy. She was also congratulated and recommended for approval.
We were told that our it may take 30-40 days for the oath letter. We were out of the building by 10:15 AM. I took all the documents recommended by Johnny Cash (thanks Johnny Cash). I felt the list prepared by Johnny Cash is very exhaustive and recommend everyone to have all documents handy. I never expected that my wife would be asked to present her Social Security Card and Birth Certificate because ours is not marriage based citizenship. We applied on 5 year basis.
Personally, I came to the US on F1->H1-B->Green Card. I had obviously had Practical Training during my F1 days. I did notice that the A# on those cards and my previous employment authorization cards were different from what I had for Green Card. Fortunately, I did not run into the issue of multiple A#'s (as some have on this forum). FYI, we applied 88 days before our 5th year Green Card anniversary.
I thank Mr. Khanna for maintaining this forum free of cost. I personally learned a lot from this great forum. The wealth of knowledge on this forum is invaluable. All the best to you all. Now the wait begins for the oath ceremony.