I was relatively surpised at how quickly my papers were processed since I applied at the end of Oct 2008 and my interview was scheduled for middle of Feb, 2009.
The officer had a huge file and first started by validating my name. He even had my birth certificate, which I never submitted, and asked me to verify all the information on that. After verifying the name, he went through all questions from the N400.
I was relatively surpised at how quickly my papers were processed since I applied at the end of Oct 2008 and my interview was scheduled for middle of Feb, 2009.
The officer had a huge file and first started by validating my name. He even had my birth certificate, which I never submitted, and asked me to verify all the information on that. After verifying the name, he went through all questions from the N400.
The interview questions were very simple. I joked that he should ask only simple questions. The toughest part of the interview was understanding the accent of the officer, since he was also an immigrant. It was surprising how many immigrant turned citizens worked at the USCIS office.
Once I cleared the interview, I was given a white paper with some basic questions that I had to fill. Then came the worst part of the process... waiting for my name to be called. After almost 3 hours, they called my name to sign the certificate and then I went for the Oath ceremony. I was tired and just looking to get out of that place, but the Oath Ceremony was indeed refreshing. That's when you realize how important it is to have US citizenship - at least that's how it was for me.
So, overall the interview was painless, the wait period was not fun, and the parking... at least for Broad Street, Newark - it is not cheap. I parked on the road, since the parking lot was about $15, and I really thought I'd be out in 2 hours, so I put 6 quarters for 2 hours on the road. I noticed that many people got ticketed, since their interview lasted over 2 hours and on Broad Street, you aren't allowed to park beyond 4 pm, even though you may have time left. I was lucky, since I moved my car when I took a break right after the first interview.
All the best and welcome to the club. Next step for most of your should be applying for a US passport and for some of you - OCI as well.
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