When to study for the naturalization interview

[JB007 4]

How soon did you start studying for the naturalization test after receiving your interview appointment letter?

I have not submitted my paperwork yet but have already started to read on American history and government.

It is unfortunate that elected officials will change again after the November elections

I'm not very good at memorizing dates and places but surprisingly this has been pretty straight forward so far.

Edited October 6, 2012 by JB007

[let-it-be 36]

How soon did you start studying for the naturalization test after receiving your interview appointment letter?

I have not submitted my paperwork yet but have already started to read on American history and government.

It is unfortunate that elected officials will change again after the November elections

I'm not very good at memorizing dates and places but surprisingly this has been pretty straight forward so far.

I would go over the 100 Q&A once a week. I took it easy without trying to memorize anything yet. But once I got an update from the USCIS that I was inline for an interview schedule, that's when I would study everyday. You are right it's pretty easy once you've gone through it numerous times. After your biometrics they will hand you handbook study guide with an audio disc. I didn't use those but instead I just studied the Naturalization Self Test & Study for the Naturalization Test from the USCIS site. It wasn't until the very last week before my interview that I memorized the elected officials.

Edited October 6, 2012 by let-it-be

[JB007 4]

Thank you, I will try to do the same and not lose my pace.

[Ontarkie 14,133]

I used the test on here with the 100Q&A long before I sent in the paperwork. I have a disability so I needed the extra time, the worse for me was the names of ppl. I liked how the test switched up the questions, so it kept me having to reread things to make sure I wasn't mixing things up.

[let-it-be 36]

Thank you, I will try to do the same and not lose my pace.

Exactly. Familiarization is the key. No need to stress over it.

[Penguin_ie 5,992]

Once you do your biometrics, they give you the booklet and CD. I kept the CD in the car and played it when driving the kids etc, so it sank in subconsciously

[Arlington 5]

Since you have time, you might also try to gain a wider understanding outside the 100 questions. I know its not possible for everyone due to geography, but I took my wife to as many of the historical sites involved in the 100 questions that I could. We visited the Statue of Liberty, the World Trade Center site, Independence Hall and the Declaration House in Philadelphia, Mount Vernon (GW's home), the National Archives (where the Declaration and Constitution are on display), the Capitol, the Supreme Court, the White House, Lincoln Memorial, Monticello (TJ's home), Jefferson Memorial, Univ. of Virginia campus (designed by TJ), Ft. McHenry (about which Star Spangled Banner was written), MLK Jr. Memorial, and various Civil War battlegrounds. I'm sure there were others. We also rented many documentaries and movies on DVD from our local library; some were dull, others much better. My wife's favorite was the recent John Adams series (it has a well developed female character in Abigail Adams). My wife is a visual learner, so that type of experience really helped her.

[Kajikit 65]

If you have a good grasp of English and reasonable comprehension, you can wait till they give you an interview date... it's really not hard to learn the answers using the CD they gave you when you had your biometrics done. The only ones you had to write down seperately were the 'name' questions for your state - I made a sheet of paper with all of those on it and learned them seperately... but the rest was easy. Play the CD through and recite the answer... then when you've got it down fairly well, randomise the play order and do it some more. It'll only take a couple of weeks.

[sciencenerd 56]

My wife hasn't yet applied, so I can't speak from her experience. I did want to mention, though, that our county's library has free citizenship classes - it's a weekly class for about 6 weeks to help people learn all the questions. If that would be a good way for you to learn, it might be worth checking out your library.