Interview Letter questions

[jsnearline 2]

We got my wife's interview notice today. I have a few questions.

The notice says the proceeding will take about two hours. Is this standard on all the interview notices? What on earth do they do for two hours? Our AOS interview only took 20 minutes.

The checklist that came with the notice says my wife has to bring "proof of marital union as well as proof of residence". Since joint tax returns, marriage certificate and birth certificates of children are listed as separate pieces of evidence, what is "proof of marital union?" Is it the same proof of marriage stuff we sent in for the I-751?

The checklist suggests bringing two additional passport photos to the interview? Why? Is this just in case the IO doesn't like the photos in the file?

Edited May 26, 2009 by jsnearline

[wifey246 0]

We got my wife's interview notice today. I have a few questions.

The notice says the proceeding will take about two hours. Is this standard on all the interview notices? What on earth do they do for two hours? Our AOS interview only took 20 minutes.

The checklist that came with the notice says my wife has to bring "proof of marital union as well as proof of residence". Since joint tax returns, marriage certificate and birth certificates of children are listed as separate pieces of evidence, what is "proof of marital union?" Is it the same proof of marriage stuff we sent in for the I-751?

The checklist suggests bringing two additional passport photos to the interview? Why? Is this just in case the IO doesn't like the photos in the file?

1) I believe 2 hours is just a standard. If your application is pretty much straight forward, it should take a lot less than that.

2) Proof of marital union and residence can be utility bills, bank statements, insurance, payslips, etc. Did you include these in your application?

3) My mom was also asked to bring another set of passport photos, original birth certificate, driver's license and tax transcripts, but the IO never asked for these in the interview.

[MsAnn 0]

I've always assumed the letter says 2 hours because they are including wait time. I've never heard of anyone having an interview that long . Most say 10-20 min, 30 min max.

The letter suggests more passport photos just in case your original photos are not acceptable, lost, or old. Remember, it's not a requirement, just a suggestion but I wouldn't take chances . I've always wondered if they could also be used if you have a same day oath and if they have somewhere to sign up for a passport there, then you already have the photos... OK, that's probably wishful thinking .

Proof of marital union/Proof of Residence, I don't know about. I would bring originals of everything you mailed with your application. I'm sure a lot of 3 yr filers have lots of advice .

Please change all the "you"s to "your wife" in the above.

Edited May 26, 2009 by MsAnn

[jsnearline 2]

Well, the interview checklist asks for additional stuff beyond what the application checklist required. So, while we submitted copies of the marriage certificate and our son's birth certificate, we hadn't submitted any evidence for marital union

What is the form number for the yellow letter some people get for application review? In our case, the N-659 Naturalization Interview Checklist came with the interview notice and it was on white paper. I'd be curious if it's the same list as the yellow one or if it's different.

[NickD 203]

Wife was in for 41 minutes, but she had a stinker for an IO, essentially, you bring in all of the original evidence you sent in, and that includes your marriage certificate like you got your green card out of a Cracker Jack box. Since we had to wait over an hour before she was called in, was just about two hours. Two long hours for me sitting in the waiting room.

Bringing two additional passport photos is a good idea as the USCIS tends to lose stuff, we did, but because we did, they didn't lose hers. But if you don't....

[MsAnn 0]

What is the form number for the yellow letter some people get for application review? In our case, the N-659 Naturalization Interview Checklist came with the interview notice and it was on white paper. I'd be curious if it's the same list as the yellow one or if it's different.

The yellow letter says "Case status review", I'm not sure of the form number, if it has one.

[motu 6]

It's standard wording. My wife was done in 20 minutes. No one looked at anything other than the greencard - only asked for tax returns 2008, and 2007. Don't worry about it. Just carry what you think you want to. Good Luck

[wifey246 0]

Well, the interview checklist asks for additional stuff beyond what the application checklist required. So, while we submitted copies of the marriage certificate and our son's birth certificate, we hadn't submitted any evidence for marital union

I went back to the "Guide to Naturalization" to verify this, because I wondered why on earth did I include all those documents if it wasn't required?

In the Document Checklist section, there's this:

If you are applying for naturalization on the basis of marriage to a U.S. citizen, send the following four items:

1. Evidence that your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for the last three years:

• Birth certificate (if your spouse never lost citizenship since birth), or

• Naturalization certificate, or

• Certificate of Citizenship, or

• The inside of the front cover and signature page of your spouse’s current U.S. passport, or

• Form FS-240, “Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America,” and

2. Your current marriage certificate; and

3. Proof of termination of all prior marriages of your spouse-divorce decree(s), annulment(s), or death certificate(s); and

4. Documents referring to you and your spouse:

• Tax returns, bank accounts, leases, mortgages, or birth certificates of children, or

• Internal Revenue Service (IRS)-certified copies of the income tax forms that you both filed for the past three years, or

• An IRS tax return transcript for the last three years.

Based on #4, I submitted updates on our I-751 evidences. My file was half an inch thick . I won't be surprised if I still get a yellow letter despite of that.

Just bring a ton of bills and banks statements, etc.

Good luck!

[jsnearline 2]

The M-476 said to send "Tax returns, bank accounts, leases, mortgages, or birth certificates of children or...". In our case, we sent my son's birth certificate and didn't send any tax records. My reading of the instructions was that the birth certificate could stand on its own as sufficient documentation referring to me and my spouse.

However, the interview checklist asks us to bring proof of marital union and proof of residence. This is in addition to our son's birth certificate, which is listed as a aeparate item.

Hence, my assertion that the interview checklist asks for additional documentation beyond what the N-400 application itself required.

I'll update the I-751 file and have my wife bring that along to the interview.

It's standard wording. My wife was done in 20 minutes. No one looked at anything other than the greencard - only asked for tax returns 2008, and 2007. Don't worry about it. Just carry what you think you want to. Good Luck

I appreciate the feedback, since Denver is where she will be interviewing.

Edited May 27, 2009 by jsnearline

[wworld808 1]

When I had my interviewed I bring all the original documents that I included in my application plus the 2008 Tax transcript since when i filed my application back in February our 2008 tax wasn't done yet. Then during my interview none of them were asked, except for my green card. I read some post here that some IO asked for the recent tax document defending how the mood of your IO will be, I think it's best to bring what you think the necessary documents your IO might ask. It's better to be safe that sorry.

[eau_xplain 2]

I too brought all the originals of the supporting documents I sent in with my N400. In addition I brought updated versions of the documents I sent. For example, I brought the latest power bill, bank statement, mortgage statement, etc.