Immigration.com Community Stories

State:  United States

• On may 7th I had my Interview. It did not go so well and I do not understand why? I am an F1 student, I have never worked outside campus or on campus, I had no criminal record. The interviewer asked me bunch of yes or no questions and only looked at my current passport and I-94, nothing else. In the end she said she does not see any problems however I will hear from uscis in 30-60 days of my acceptance or denial.
  
  I am so terribly dissapointed, I feel like this whole DV is a joke or something. I had done everything by the book yet I am having problems while others do many illegal things and they get a green card..

Just wanted to share my timeline and some lessons learned. The whole process took a little over 6 months and now I'm a citizen of the United States of America.

Final Timeline:

06/06/11: Mailed N-400 (Dallas lock box) Priority Mail from NoVA
06/07/11: USCIS received date
06/23/11: NOA received, FP scheduled for 07/20/11
07/20/11: FP done - walk-in at scheduled time
08/19/11: YL received
11/14/11: Online change of status to testing and interview
11/16/11: IL received & Status changed twice
12/21/11: Interview
12/23/11: Oath ceremony

Some tips, based on my experience:

1. DON'T submit anything related to traffic fines under US$500. Not even on the Good Moral & Character Section. At the time of the application it was a little unclear to me and after tons of research I opted to inform them (rather than omit) about a minor traffic citation. If I had to submit the paperwork again I would not have mentioned it, I would just bring the original to the interview in case they asked.
2. Bring your original documents to the interview. Even if you sent copies before. Don't focus only on the documentation they ask you to bring on the Interview Letter (like I did). In my case it all went well but it would be nicer if I had all the extra documents I left at home. If your process is through marriage, don't forget to bring recent proof that you still married.

Other than that everything went well. The oath wasn't on the same day (as usual for VA residents) because of the holidays.

I wish everybody an excellent 2012, best of luck with your future endeavors.

Appointment: 9:40am

Arrived around 9:15am, there were about 50people in the waiting area, checked in with the receptionist, and sat down for my interview. 30mins, 45mins, 60mins, 90MINS went by still no one called my name. Finally someone around 11am called me, so walked all the way down to the other end of the hallway.

After the formalities, I was asked if I had brought anything that I hadn't already submitted, I handed him proof of selective service registration.

I was asked the following questions:

1. What is one promise you make when you become a USC?
2. What movement tried to end racial discrimination?
3. Who is the Governor of your state now?
4. Where is the status of Liberty?
5. Who is the first President?
6.Name two national holidays.

After that, he asked me to read one sentence in English, and then asked me to write a sentence, then congratulated me that I passed the interview. He then typed a few things, made sure my name was spelled exactly the way it is on my birth certificate, and then printed me a copy of oath appointment, I was scheduled to come back around 1pm. Then he walked me out, I would say the whole process to about 20mins.

I had about 90mins in between, so went out to lunch, came back and waited in the waiting area until my name was called. I was handed a US Naturalization package, and was escorted to the conference room where the Oath was scheduled to take place. The ceremony started promptly at 2pm, and probably took about an hour. After which we were handed the certificate. We took some pics, then went back downstairs and registered to vote.

It went pretty smoothly...I wish rest of you folks the very best. It will take about 6months from the time you mailed the application, so hang on tight, you will get there soon.

Thanks for everyone who helped me directly and indirectly by your valuable posts and insights.

For more information on this please visit this link .

Had my interview in Detroit office this morning. The interview went off really well.

While I was entering, the IO told me that I have come on a really good day because if I got thru the interview today, my oath ceremony can be as early as next week.

The only documents I was asked for were the passport, green card and drivers license. I had a foreign trip after the application and I provided him a sheet listing travel dates etc in the same format as it is in the application form. He updated the details, reviewed the application form in detail and made me verify all the details. Then he went thru the Yes/No questions on the form about criminal offences, arrests etc and then the questions pledging loyalty to USA. Then he asked me to sign on the form and a couple of other documents including the photographs.

Then he moved on to the English and History/Civics questions where he said that I can see that you are comfortable with English but I need to go thru the questions. He asked me to read "How many US Senators are there?" and made me write "We have one hundred Senators". The History/Civics questions were as follows:
What is the "rule of law"?
How old do citizens have to be to vote for President?
What major event happened on September 11, 2001 in United States?
What ocean is on the West coast of the United States?
Why does the flag have 13 stripes?
What is the name of the national anthem?
Once I answered 6 questions right, he said that you have passed the test and gave me the letter "recommended for approval". I was asked to wait for sometime so that I could collect the Oath letter which is on 4/26/2012 at 9:15 A.M.

Overall the IO was really nice and it was a very simple and systematic process. There is absolutely no need to worry about anything. As far as studying for the questions, I just started studying a couple of days earlier because I had just returned from a vacation last week. Just go thru the questions a few times and they will stick in your memory. I would recommend reading the detailed description after each question because it helps knowing the answers rather than just memorizing them.

All the best to everyone. Thanks for all your inputs. It made the whole process so much easier

For more information on this experience please visit this link

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?546017-2011-November-N-400-Tracker 

Hi everyone!.I filed N-400 application on 11/21/11 based on the 3 year rule. Interview was scheduled on 3/19/12 at NYC (Federal Plaza). I was a little nervous because everybody was telling me that the NYC office is really hard on marriage based citizenships. Interview was scheduled at 7:00am, there were like 100-150 people on the room (7th floor). I was called in at 8.10am. The first thing the officer asked me (even before saying good morning) was "did you bring your wife and a lot of evidence with you?" I said yes she is here, would you like me to call her? He made sure she was there and told me all he needed was her driver's license. Then he finally took me to his private office and after having me sworn he asked me to have a seat and start reviewing the application meticulously, asked me for my passports, green card and drivers license. My complete A-file was in his desktop so he reviewed everything and told me "did you have to come for a second interview when you applied for your green card?" I said yes, i had a stokes interview at the 6th floor almost 4 years ago. Then he went to the civics test: what is the rule of law, why 13 stripes on the flag, what is the ocean on the west coast, how old you have to be to vote in a federal election, what is the name of the national anthem, and who is the speaker of the house. For the english test he made me read "what do we pay to the government" and made me write "we pay taxes". After i passed the tests he went to the evidence, i have attached the past 3 years of taxes along with the application so i gave him the just filed 2011 with official IRS transcripts (he was thankfully and glad i brought these), then i gave him proof of joint car insurance, utility bills, joint credit card statements, and he said that he was very satisfied and doesnt see anything shady in my app and stamped a big red APPROVED stamp on the N-400. He gave me the N-652 saying that i pass the tests and that a decision will be mailed to me, wrote "non-waiting" at the bottom of the form and told me that i should receive an oath letter soon and not to worry. Yesterday my status online changed to "on March 27! We scheduled you for an oath ceremony and sent a notice providing the date, time, and location" supper happy here, i should receive the letter tomorrow. If you have the evidence they ask for the past 3 years you should be ok. If your wife/husband goes with you to the interview: bonus points. Good luck to everyone! Update: Oath letter received, ceremony scheduled on 04/13/12

Did mine in Chicago on the 22nd last month. First I was asked swear under oath that you're telling the truth and nothing but the truth, and then came a quick firestorm of questions about things in my application. The whole thing was mostly painless. Because I'm a college student who goes to school out of state, they asked me to show them my state ID or driver's licence, and I gave them my licence from my home state with an explanation of my situation, and showed them my proof of enrollment and current class schedule from my school. It seemed to count as sufficient proof of residence in-state for them.

Then came the test of reading, writing, and civics: they were a piece of cake, and the interviewer stopped after the sixth question for the civics part since I answered everything correctly.

Being an asylee derivate before I obtained PR status, I was rather worried about showing them my passport since it's long expired and I haven't used it at all since coming to the U.S., and as a result I don't have it on hand. I used my Re-entry permit as a passport for the one overseas trip I made (not COP), and just to be on the safe side I also brought with me photocopies of my expired national passport in case they ask for it. It turned out my worries were for nothing, however; they were satisfied with my re-entry permit and didn't even mention my national passport.

I'm getting a name change, so they verified that at the end, and I was asked to sign a bunch of documents, some with my current legal name and some with my new name. I was then given a sheet of paper that said I passed my interview, and asked to stay in the waiting area until they call out my name and give me my oath letter (not sure if this is the standard practice for other DOs, but this is how they do things in Chicago as of last month). After over an hour of waiting, I had my oath letter, hot off the press, in hand. One thing I noticed that most people's oath date were within the week, so I assumed that unless you request a name change, you should be able to take your oath within the week, perhaps even within a couple of days, after you pass the interview. There weren't anyone who got to take their oath on the same day that I know of, but I'm not entirely sure if it was because there weren't any oath ceremonies scheduled that particular day or if it just wasn't the practice in Chicago DO.

For more information on this experience please click here.

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?546017-2011-November-N-400-Tracker

I had my interview for 01:45PM at Holtsville, Long Island. Arrived at 1:00pm and was called in at 2:45pm.

I was sworn in by a nice lady in her mid 40's. I was given the civic & history questions. The history & civic questions were: When was the declaration of independence written, Name of of the two longest rivers, Who is the current Speaker of the House, How many years do we elect the president for, What are the first 10 amendments of the constitution called, Who lived in America before the Europeans arrived. Piece of cake! Answered the first 6 correct then moved on to the next 3 reading and writing questions. Answered the first reading and the first writing correct and I guess she was convinced and did not ask me the other 2.

She went through every single question the application, corrected my Resident since date (was off by 10 years, lol), asked every single question on the N-400. Convinced me to change my name, which I decided to do, took my selective service print out. Asked me if had any trips since my application and I said two and I told her I had updated pages. She gladly took them. She complimented me on how organized I was and how she wished everyone was like this (thanks to the sticky thread about Documents Needed). She said everything was OK and told me to get ready for a series of autographs (signatures). She made me sign name change, photographs, and another paper I forgot what it was for.

She then explained to me I was approved and printed out a sheet. She said that they were scheduling Oaths for the first week of June and I would get the Oath letter in the mail.

I asked her what was the current status of my application, if I was approved, and I anyone besides her had to approve my application and if I could wait for the Oath letter at the office.

She said that I was approved and no one else besides her had to approve it. She added that it was going be turned over to clerical for Oath scheduling and I would receive the letter in the mail shortly. Regarding waiting for the oath letter, she said no because my interview was in scheduled in the afternoon close to office closing time and they were backed up so she could not give me the option to wait today (but they normally do).

Based on all that she said to me I feel confident that I will be done with USCIS soon, but reading experiences here warns me to keep my reality check mode ON until I have the Oath Letter in hand.

My suggestion to everyone, is even if your interview is in the afternoon, show up early to maximize your changes to get the oath letter on the same day.

Having benefited a lot by reading all the posts here, just want to share my experience to benefit others.

Background: 
• Haven’t been back home for over 10 years since first entry to the States.
• Status: J-1 -> F-1 -> H1 -> F-1 -> H-1
• Canadian PR 

Scheduled the appointment in Toronto with the new system (I think it is much easier to book appointment now than the older system).

Drove to Toronto 2 days before the appointment

In the morning of appointment:

• Check appointment letter
• Security check (make sure no cell phone)
• First screen ( I don’t know why they have two interviews, but I guess this step is to make sure you have all the documents ready and check your status to make sure you are legal at US if you come for a return visa?)
• Wait for finger print -> Finger print -> Wait for interview
• Questions I can remember:
Your purpose to US?
What is your responsibility?
Why US? Why this company?
How did you know this company?
What is your degree? 
Which school did you graduate?
Any relative in the State? What do they do?
Any kids?
What is your purpose to Canada?
Your visa is approved.

I waited 7 business days to get my visa. I guess this may caused by the new system. Be patient (I was nervous)

My advise to you is to stay confident, be prepared (do some study on possible interview questions), dress business.

Good luck to all of you.

Stayed at HolidayInn rented a car , got the scottia bank deposit slip from a near by bank. 
Morning 9:55 AM eached embassay, interview was at 10:00,Security checked my confirmation letter and asked me to go to cashier window , cahier window person was realy sweet and was joking all the way. Asked 1) what visa am i applying for ?- H1b 2) what is my status in canada - Tourism - visitor visa , took the scotiia bank slip and gave me a number 
my number was annouced and they called my number for finger printing. after finger printing again waited for my interview. my number was announced
VO officer
Is it same company you are renewing your visa for ? 
nope, i changed company.
Which one are you working for ? and what do they do 
xxxx
what is your role in it
xxxx
could you please explain company business once again
xxxxxx
i took out my emp verification letter and he saw that and asked my payslips, after payslips he was just chatting with me regular chats. and told me that visa is issued and you could collect passport day after tommorow. 
 Keep life simple with keeping everything straight and legal and there wont be any issues ...

I had my interview last week, and took my oath yesterday. I could have taken oath same day, but I requested a few days later for work scheduling issues. The IO had no problem honoring my request, and asked me which date I wanted.

The interview itself was as simple and painless as possible. It barely lasted 10 minutes. I didn't have to wait before the interview either - in fact, I was called in a few minutes before the time on my letter. The only documents she wanted to see are GC, DL, and passport. Not a single other thing. We did the civics questions first, then the English, and then she breezed through the form.

I had gotten a ticket in 2010, which I disclosed. When she got there, she asked, other than this ticket, have you had any other issues with the law? I said no, and she moved on.

In the end, it was rather anti-climactic! I spent countless hours gathering piles and piles of documents - financial, taxes, insurance, birth certificates, proof of travel, court disposition for ticket, leases, mortgage, etc. etc. Nothing was needed or asked for. I felt exactly how I used to feel in school when I would spend days studying for an exam, and later it turned out to be the easiest exam ever. Still, no complaints! BTW, my IO was an extremely attractive young woman, which made the interview even better.

This forum has been an invaluable source of help as I went through I-485, I-751, and now N-400. Many thanks to all the experts on this forum who donate their time!