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Hey guys,
Hope this helps some1 who's in line for interview next....
I had my interview for citizenship today ( 750 am). Drove to the san jose location ~730, was let in by the security guard after checking my appointment letter and ID. He asked for cellphones/mp3 player and other electronics (which I left in the car, of course). Put my stuff thru the xray and directly headed up to the 2nd floor. Did not have to take any token/ticket. There's a guard who writes the room number ( 219) and tells you to place your apptmt letter in a tray on window1 and take a seat. I did just that. PLEASE do not carry any extra baggage with you.
After being seated for ~10-15 mins, a door opened, a nicely dressed elderly gentleman called out my name, welcomed me in, shook my hand and asked me to follow me to his cabin/room. He politely asked me to be seated and told me the plan of action. He was very pleasant and professional. I would recommend dressing up tidily cos these guys are also suited (blazers) at least. I wore a dress shirt and trousers...felt confident
.
Anyway, the officer told me his name (last name) and said "Hi, I am Mr <lastname>". So I recommend you to address him/her by the last name only.
Ok, once inside his office, once I was seated, he opened my file on the PC (already had a form with my info) and also opened the paper file with my application etc in it. He put me under oath (I raised my right hand---said I DO). All he asked me to show to him was
1. Passport
2. GC
3. Driver's license
Then we went thru the N400 form, he was very relaxed while we were going thru the form. I pointed out a minor correction on the form which he made quickly. He asked me for citations/tickets - I had mentioned one. He wrote "NO DUI" on the form. Then once the form was done, he typed some info from the form on his PC, I guess that the soft copy is the one that is used for the next steps. He brought out my photos and asked me to sign my first name on one side (left) and last name on the other (right). We joked about the pen he had safely kept for 5-6 years that he gave to his clients for writing their names on the photos. Anyhow....then he gave me a sheet of 10 questions from the standard list on immihelp ( THX !!). Asked me to read through them one by one and answer ( no need to write). I did the thing as asked. Nailed all 10. He was listening, all the time, doing something on the PC. Then, for fun, he asked me 1 more question which was not really from the list...but I knew the answer to it. He asked me to name one member besides the prez from the exec branch. I remmbrd Condi. He said "Impressive, indeed". You have answered 11 out of 10..congratulations ! Then on the same paper, he asked me to write a sentence in english ( he came up with it on the fly). Easy !
Then he said, you are approved...it will take maybe a month or 2 to get your oath done. If you don't hear from us after MAY, pls call us.
He gave me a paper that said "congrats you have passed the english test and are appproved for citizenship".
Out of curiosity, I asked why SANJOSE does not do same day oath. He was very happy to answer it:
Firstly, the sheer volume at the center is overwhelming, 500 or so per day.
Secondly, The paper used to print certs is highly valued and only one person has the job to do it. Having the cert prepared and neatly written up (without typos)...takes it's own time.
SF and/or other centers offer same day oath/fixed dates mostly cos of the low volume of applicants.
So,It's taking anywhere between 1-3 months for citizenship oath after the interview. He clearly told me that FEB is totally booked for oath and they are doing march oath list currently. I might/might not make it in it...let's see. April perhaps, sigh !!
That's it, he escorted me out after that. I thanked him for his time and stepped out, he called out the next person.
I have a couple friends who got the oath notification in mail within about 3 weeks. Oath was ~40 days after interview from SJ center.
My personal tips :
1. Pls do not carry big coats, tons of docs etc to the interview (passport/DL/GC, that's all)
2. Dress neatly...I know everyone does it
3. Address the officer with his last name...do not mention first name...
4. Good luck !!!
Hope this helps!
Hope this helps some1 who's in line for interview next....
I had my interview for citizenship today ( 750 am). Drove to the san jose location ~730, was let in by the security guard after checking my appointment letter and ID. He asked for cellphones/mp3 player and other electronics (which I left in the car, of course). Put my stuff thru the xray and directly headed up to the 2nd floor. Did not have to take any token/ticket. There's a guard who writes the room number ( 219) and tells you to place your apptmt letter in a tray on window1 and take a seat. I did just that. PLEASE do not carry any extra baggage with you.
After being seated for ~10-15 mins, a door opened, a nicely dressed elderly gentleman called out my name, welcomed me in, shook my hand and asked me to follow me to his cabin/room. He politely asked me to be seated and told me the plan of action. He was very pleasant and professional. I would recommend dressing up tidily cos these guys are also suited (blazers) at least. I wore a dress shirt and trousers...felt confident
.Anyway, the officer told me his name (last name) and said "Hi, I am Mr <lastname>". So I recommend you to address him/her by the last name only.
Ok, once inside his office, once I was seated, he opened my file on the PC (already had a form with my info) and also opened the paper file with my application etc in it. He put me under oath (I raised my right hand---said I DO). All he asked me to show to him was
1. Passport
2. GC
3. Driver's license
Then we went thru the N400 form, he was very relaxed while we were going thru the form. I pointed out a minor correction on the form which he made quickly. He asked me for citations/tickets - I had mentioned one. He wrote "NO DUI" on the form. Then once the form was done, he typed some info from the form on his PC, I guess that the soft copy is the one that is used for the next steps. He brought out my photos and asked me to sign my first name on one side (left) and last name on the other (right). We joked about the pen he had safely kept for 5-6 years that he gave to his clients for writing their names on the photos. Anyhow....then he gave me a sheet of 10 questions from the standard list on immihelp ( THX !!). Asked me to read through them one by one and answer ( no need to write). I did the thing as asked. Nailed all 10. He was listening, all the time, doing something on the PC. Then, for fun, he asked me 1 more question which was not really from the list...but I knew the answer to it. He asked me to name one member besides the prez from the exec branch. I remmbrd Condi. He said "Impressive, indeed". You have answered 11 out of 10..congratulations ! Then on the same paper, he asked me to write a sentence in english ( he came up with it on the fly). Easy !
Then he said, you are approved...it will take maybe a month or 2 to get your oath done. If you don't hear from us after MAY, pls call us.
He gave me a paper that said "congrats you have passed the english test and are appproved for citizenship".
Out of curiosity, I asked why SANJOSE does not do same day oath. He was very happy to answer it:
Firstly, the sheer volume at the center is overwhelming, 500 or so per day.
Secondly, The paper used to print certs is highly valued and only one person has the job to do it. Having the cert prepared and neatly written up (without typos)...takes it's own time.
SF and/or other centers offer same day oath/fixed dates mostly cos of the low volume of applicants.
So,It's taking anywhere between 1-3 months for citizenship oath after the interview. He clearly told me that FEB is totally booked for oath and they are doing march oath list currently. I might/might not make it in it...let's see. April perhaps, sigh !!
That's it, he escorted me out after that. I thanked him for his time and stepped out, he called out the next person.
I have a couple friends who got the oath notification in mail within about 3 weeks. Oath was ~40 days after interview from SJ center.
My personal tips :
1. Pls do not carry big coats, tons of docs etc to the interview (passport/DL/GC, that's all)
2. Dress neatly...I know everyone does it
3. Address the officer with his last name...do not mention first name...
4. Good luck !!!
Hope this helps!
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