Interview completed
Here is our interview experience:
Reported to 1600 Callowhill St, Philadelphia at 9.00 a.m. My wife's interview was at 9.20 a.m whereas mine was scheduled for 2.20 p.m. Went through Airport like security and was directed to the second floor by the security crew.
People are not allowed into the building without an ID. Wife gave her appointment letter to the receptionist and was asked to wait for her turn. She also asked her if it was possible to advance my interview considering that we had a 2 month old to take care of. The receptionist said she will check with the officer and let us know. In about 5 minutes, she asked for my interview letter and said the officer said I could have my interview immediately after my wife's. We waited for around 45 minutes and my wife was called in by an elderly male officer at exactly 10.00 a.m.
After my wife's interview was over, it seemed like a rather long wait for mine (nearly 25 minutes). The officers apparently review the files before they call the applicants. The same officer then came out and called my name. I greeted him
and I was led into a long corridor and then into the officer's room. He asked me to put my belongings on a chair and asked me to raise my right hand and asked me if I swear to tell the truth and nothing but the truth. I said Yes and sat down. He asked me to get my passport, green card and drivers license out. I gave him my current and expired passports. He only looked at my current passport and possibly looked for entry stamps on it. He then started reviewing my application page by page in reasonable detail but skipping a few lines here and there. On the page that shows the trips outside the US he asked me if I had any after my last trip to which I said no. Since we had a baby after we filed our N-400, I had prepared an update to the page on the N-400 that is about children. I handed that to the officer and he included it into my file after punching holes. The whole process of reviewing the application only lasted 5 minutes. He then asked me to clear the space in front of me. He then administered the English reading and writing test. He showed a sentence "Who was Abraham Lincoln?" and asked me to read it. He then asked me to write: "Abraham Lincoln was president during the civil war". He then checked the pass boxes and said I had passed the English test. He said he was then going to administer the US History and Civics test. I was asked 6 questions:
(1) When was the declaration of independence adopted?
(2) Name one of the two longest rivers.
(3) Who is the current speaker of the house of representatives?
(4) Who were the original inhabitants of the US?
(5) What economic system do we follow in the US?
(6) What are the first ten amendments to the constitution called?
I could notice that he was writing down everything I was saying. After i had answered 6 questions he stopped to check if I had them right and he said I had passed the test. He then asked me to sign the photographs across the side. He took out a very badly photocopied N-652, checked that I had passed the English and US history and government tests. He also checked the "Congratulations" box and told me I was all set and I would be getting the oath letter by mail. I had noticed all this while that I hadn't signed the N-400 form. My wife had told me she had done it in front of the officer. I then reminded the officer that I hadn't signed the form. He then took the last page of the form out and asked me to sign it at two places and print my name at one place. He was very thankful that I reminded him. I thanked him for accomodating me earlier than my scheduled interview slot. I asked him how long roughly it takes to get my oath letter. He said he was going to have both mine and my wife's scheduled together. He said he couldn't give me a date but he said it should be "pretty quick". He said he was going to have us come back to Philadelphia for the oath rather than my local district where he said the oath ceremonies are less frequent. That was it. I thanked him one more time and got out of the office.
Here is my wife's account of her interview:
The process was pretty much the same as my husband's interview till the officer reviewed my application. When he was on the page for changing my daughter's information, he asked me for my daughter's birth ceritficate - he saw it and retured it. He then was going to add her information on the sheet when I handed over the revised sheet. He did not punch holes in the page though right till the end of my interview. After reviewing my application, he asked me to clear the space in front of me and asked me to sign the application in two places and print my name in one place. He then administered the tests. For the English reading test, the sentence was "We elect the congress" and for the writing test, the sentence was "The Congress is elected". He then checked the pass boxes on each sheet after each test and then said I had passed the English test. Then came the US History and Civics test. I was asked 6 questions:
1) Who wrote the declaration of independence
2) Name one state the borders Mexico
3) Who is the Commander-in-chief of the US army
4) Name one war during the 1800's
5) What is the party of the current president
6) Name three original colonies
He wrote down all the answers and ticked them. He then said that I had passed the tests. He then game me a very badly photocopied N-652 stating that I had passed. He said that the office would send in a letter informing about the oath.
He said that thats it and I said thank you and left.
Overall, I had a pleasant and courteous interaction with USCIS. This forum is just amazing. There is so much wealth of information in these pages enough to cover almost any peculiar situation. I thank everbody for posting their experiences. I learnt a lot from them. Now my wait for my oath letter starts.
