Interview experience (a little delayed)

[jess290681 0]

I've updated my timeline on vj so you can compare.

My interview was October 21, at 11am in Garden City, Long Island. It was a bit of a drive but luckily traffic in that direction isn't bad in the mornings, it was pretty easy to find too and not at all busy.

I arrived at 10:50am and went through security, they didn't ask to see any information to let me in, they then told me to go into a huge room on the left and go up to one of the windows in the front (I think it was window 6 but it has a sign to say sign in here). The lady at the window asked for my letter with the interview date and my identification, she stamped the letter and told me to go upstairs to the left. At the top of the stairs a security guard asked me for my letter which he took and put into a basket next to him and told me to go into the waiting room on the left.

There were a lot of people waiting and in talking to some of the people there I found out that some had interviews set for 9:00am but were still there at 11. While waiting we watched a lady clear the basket of interview letters and go into a room I assume to do our preliminary paperwork. The immigration officers all seemed to go into that room to presumably collect the interview letters of those they would interview and take them back to their offices along with the corresponding files. The files of all the people with interviews were stacked up behind that room - I saw those later when I was called in for my interview.

I was called in at 12:30 by my IO. He asked me to take a seat, to swear that any information I was to provide them with was in fact truthful. He then quietly looked through my file, typed into the computer my file number to bring up my information. He then printed out two pieces of paper with the test on it, he gave me one piece of paper and told me to write two sentences in the boxes provided. The sentences were:

1. She drives a blue car to work.

2. .............................................so nervous I forgot the second sentence.

I wrote them both correctly and he started to ask me the 10 questions. The only one I remember was the one I nearly got wrong:

For how long is a Senators term? I started to answer then stopped and gave the correct answer, he smiled as if he knew I was correcting myself. He marked that I had answered all 10 correctly (I was surprised he asked me 10 questions, I thought he'd stop at 6 correct answers).

The IO then looked through my file again and said, I don't need to see anything from you, sign here and here. He waited a moment then printed a letter to say I had passed the test, he circled the box to say I don't have to wait and I could leave and wait for a letter in the mail that would tell me when my oath was and that the letter should take two weeks to arrive and that the Oath would likely be two weeks from then.

I left and was in the car again by 12:45 after talking to someone outside for a couple of minutes, we were in the waiting room together and she was interviewed just before me but was apparently sent back outside to wait to be called again at 1pm. She was doing her citizenship exactly the same way I was - she'd done the fiance visa etc.

It looked like it didn't really matter what time your interview time was, there were people still waiting from 9am when I left. Perhaps they had different circumstances?? Not sure.

My oath letter arrived October 23 and my oath was set for Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn for November 18.

Thanks to all for your help and good luck to those waiting, it's almost over.

Edited November 17, 2008 by jess290681

[NigerLA 1]

Congratulations!!! Thank you for posting and sharing your experience.

[thedreamgl 0]

Thanks for sharing. My husband received the interview letter for December 17.. Will keep my fingers crossed it goes as well as yours And congrats!!!

[marge 0]

wow... congrats... thanks for sharing...

[Gemma12nel 1]

Jess Im made up for you!

Congrats!

[gigant 0]

I've updated my timeline on vj so you can compare.

My interview was October 21, at 11am in Garden City, Long Island. It was a bit of a drive but luckily traffic in that direction isn't bad in the mornings, it was pretty easy to find too and not at all busy.

I arrived at 10:50am and went through security, they didn't ask to see any information to let me in, they then told me to go into a huge room on the left and go up to one of the windows in the front (I think it was window 6 but it has a sign to say sign in here). The lady at the window asked for my letter with the interview date and my identification, she stamped the letter and told me to go upstairs to the left. At the top of the stairs a security guard asked me for my letter which he took and put into a basket next to him and told me to go into the waiting room on the left.

There were a lot of people waiting and in talking to some of the people there I found out that some had interviews set for 9:00am but were still there at 11. While waiting we watched a lady clear the basket of interview letters and go into a room I assume to do our preliminary paperwork. The immigration officers all seemed to go into that room to presumably collect the interview letters of those they would interview and take them back to their offices along with the corresponding files. The files of all the people with interviews were stacked up behind that room - I saw those later when I was called in for my interview.

I was called in at 12:30 by my IO. He asked me to take a seat, to swear that any information I was to provide them with was in fact truthful. He then quietly looked through my file, typed into the computer my file number to bring up my information. He then printed out two pieces of paper with the test on it, he gave me one piece of paper and told me to write two sentences in the boxes provided. The sentences were:

1. She drives a blue car to work.

2. .............................................so nervous I forgot the second sentence.

I wrote them both correctly and he started to ask me the 10 questions. The only one I remember was the one I nearly got wrong:

For how long is a Senators term? I started to answer then stopped and gave the correct answer, he smiled as if he knew I was correcting myself. He marked that I had answered all 10 correctly (I was surprised he asked me 10 questions, I thought he'd stop at 6 correct answers).

The IO then looked through my file again and said, I don't need to see anything from you, sign here and here. He waited a moment then printed a letter to say I had passed the test, he circled the box to say I don't have to wait and I could leave and wait for a letter in the mail that would tell me when my oath was and that the letter should take two weeks to arrive and that the Oath would likely be two weeks from then.

I left and was in the car again by 12:45 after talking to someone outside for a couple of minutes, we were in the waiting room together and she was interviewed just before me but was apparently sent back outside to wait to be called again at 1pm. She was doing her citizenship exactly the same way I was - she'd done the fiance visa etc.

It looked like it didn't really matter what time your interview time was, there were people still waiting from 9am when I left. Perhaps they had different circumstances?? Not sure.

My oath letter arrived October 23 and my oath was set for Cadman Plaza in Brooklyn for November 18.

Thanks to all for your help and good luck to those waiting, it's almost over.

Hi this is a great post very detailed;CongratulationsMay I ask you if you brought your wife husband with you? I am sWith the same district office in Garden CityThanks