Question about organizations in interview

[naturalizer]

Hello,

I have my citizenship interview coming up very soon, and I'm concerned about the question 'Which organizations do you belong to?' While I was filling the form, I didn't enter any organizations to which I have not paid membership fees, on the advice of a lawyer. However, I'm worried that during the interview I might be asked if there are any organizations that I haven't listed. I have no suspicious or political associations, I'm a member of software Meetup groups, and I occasionally attend a mosque, but I have made no donations or payments to them. I wouldn't consider myself an 'active' member in any way. Any advice on how I should answer this potential question would be appreciated! Thank you!

[N400questions]

Just disclose them all. If you have no "suspicious or political associations" then there's nothing to worry about.

It's a bit of a crazy "catch-all" question on the form.. but they word them that way intentionally so that no one can have an excuse for NOT revealing something.

So go for it.... "Model Ra***ay Club" ... "Mickey Mouse friends of Minnie Club" .... "Tango Club"... "Bachata Club" ... "Royal Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals" .. "Jaguar Cars Fan Club" ... "Sherlock Holmes Appreciation Society". Like I said.. it's a silly catch-all question.

You are right to assume that what they are really interested in is political groups and extremist groups or para-military groups etc. However, that's not the way the question is worded so have fun with it. It's probably the ONLY fun you'll have with this process. :-)

Edit: For some reason this forum just censored me saying r-a-i-l-w-a-y above. Hilarious! I'm off to google i-l-w to find out why.

Edit2: Whatever you do..... don't mention "Java" or "Linux".... they may be Microsoft bigots (or vice versa) ;-)

Edit3: Oh I get it... i-l-w is an immigration law company.... so any word containing those letters is deemed to be spam.

Edit4: This entire response was just me injecting some lame humor into the process. In reality... tell them about the software group and the mosque and leave it at that.. they'll quickly move on to the next topic.

[naturalizer]

Thank you for the quick response! I won't have an attorney with me and hope the officer won't use this as an opportunity to grill me unnecessarily. Wish I hadn't taken that lawyer's advice and just listed everything the way I wanted to do it originally.

[N400questions]

Don't worry .. this is not a big deal. One reason for the Interview is to patch up any bugs in the initial N400 form (I'm using software geek talk since you are a software guy).

BTW... The Adjudicator may not have my sense of humor.... so skip the "Mickey Mouse Club" stuff ;-) Gravitas and honesty will be appreciated.

[naturalizer]

Yes I definitely won't be mentioning anything flippantly. I'm taking the whole process very seriously.

[N400questions]

There's also the possibility that mentioning the Software User's Group will actually work in your favor too.
Subliminal thought from the Adjudicator... "This guy is clearly a well-educated professional".
So if you are a member of IEEE or something...go for it. That wouldn't be flippant.
It can help them believe that the initial Green Card was justified too (if you applied via a work-related route).
They are always on the lookout for people who got a green card but shouldn't have done so.
It also helps corroborate your employment history so that can't hurt either.

[Mike E]

It is interesting that your lawyer said you didn’t have to disclose unpaid memberships of groups.

If your lawyer is going to be with you in the interview then continue to follow your lawyer’s advice.

if not, then disclose the software meetup groups. Don’t disclose the mosque unless you are a formal member of the mosque (I am projecting my experience with churches here so perhaps the notion of membership in a mosque doesn’t apply).

[naturalizer]

I worded my question incorrectly. Actually the lawyer said only to list political organizations. Anyway, I passed my interview, and the IO was happy with all the evidence I provided. She was not concerned with the additional groups because they are not political. Now waiting for the oath ceremony. Good luck to all!

[N400questions]

Just as we hoped......Congratulations!

[naturalizer]

Thank you!!