N-400 April 2013 Filers

VanessaTony · July 19, 2013

Sorry guys! Interview was at 10am and it was a LONG 3 hour drive home (plus stopping for an hour for lunch). Then we had to return the rental and that's an hour from home and now (5:51pm) I'm writing my review... and here it is

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!!APPROVED!!

As I said above, we live 3 hours from the "local office" so we left home at 6.30am to give ourselves enough time to park and get inside (Tony came with me). I'll back up and mention that yesterday (Wednesday) we actually picked up a rental car because the weather was predicted for 93F with a "feels like" of 104F and neither of our trucks have air conditioning and I *really* didn't want to arrive looking and smelling like a drowned rat

There is a parking structure right next door that we park in (reasonable prices. Was $3 for 1-2 hours). We arrived and parked the car at 9:37a.m. Found a park easily and walked down the ramp. Probably Illegal but easiest.

When you enter the building there is a security check right there with an x-ray and metal detector. In front of us was a UPS delivery man. He had to unload his entire trolley to put the packages in the X-ray machine, and then restack them on the other side (he was quick so it wasn't a big deal but I admit when I saw him I panicked *just* a little that he'd make us late. I showed my interview letter and my GC to enter the building (they didn't ask specifically for my GC I just had it out). Electronics were permitted so I started drafting this review on my cell phone while we were waiting .

Our interview was listed as room 215. After hopping off the elevator room 515 is just around one of the corners. I won't say left or right because there are elevators on both sides so it depends where you get off. Really easy to find anyway. Once there, there was a guard in training and I handed him my interview letter and he asked for my greencard. He just wanted to look at it. He had help from his trainer to find my name on the list (apparently by last name first which is why he said he was struggling). While pointing to my name I heard his trainer say "Amy" and I thought it was odd... my name is Vanessa! So after ticking my name and writing something at the top of the interview letter (looked like the time) the trainee started to tell me to take a seat and was going to keep my letter but before I could leave the trainer handed it back to me, and while looking at the trainee said, "No... Amy... first floor" and then to me said "where you had your prints taken". The trainee looked at him and said "oh, THAT Amy". I admit that worried me and said to them "THAT Amy? That doesn't sound good!" and laughed.

We got back down to the first floor at 9.50am. I gave my letter to the security guard was told to take a seat and that we would be called. There appeared to be 5 families including myself and my husband (one family had 6 people here. They were doing prints and there were 2 kids running around playing with things and the guard was getting very irritated). It looked like one person was waiting for an interview follow-up (he was supposed to bring some documents about his probation and said he wasn't able to get anything. She sent him away and told him he has to provide SOMETHING in writing about it. So just an FYI for anyone with a criminal probation issue.), some were waiting for fingerprints and I think one other was there for the interview. No-one was ahead of us for interview but the officer was on the phone (I heard another officer tell the gentleman who was there for a follow-up).

I was still waiting at 10:10a.m and around 10:20/10:30a.m (Tony said more like 10:30a.m) the lady called me to her office. She was very nice and asked me to put my stuff down and stand to take the oath to tell the truth. There didn't appear to be any recording going on and it was very obviously her office. Not a sterile interview room. She had all sorts of American stuff in it and some adorable American themed Nutcracker dolls.

First thing she asked for was my drivers license, GC and any passports. She looked through my file for our marriage certificate to confirm the date I put on my form and to confirm that I had passed my 3 years. She then looked at my GC and did mental math to confirm I was also past the three years of residency. She told me that they don't interview until AFTER the three years of residency and just wanted to check. She then talked through EVERY question on my form (word for word). Confirmed my name on my GC (and made a correction on my form to just my middle initial because that was all that was on my GC, not my full middle name). She had me sign on the last page of the N-400 in 2 spots (trying to keep my signature inside the lines - I asked because my normal one is big).

She then explained to me that there were portions to the interview. Speaking, writing and reading basic conversational English. She had me read a question off a piece of paper. There were about 5 options on the form and she told me to read option 1: "What state has the most people?". She then handed me another piece of paper with 5 blank numbered spots (that must have correlated to the questions on the other page) and asked me to write in box 1: "California has the most people". She said it very clearly and not too fast and repeated it slowly a second time as I was writing it. I considered printing but just wrote in my normal (legible) script which was fine

She then told me she was going to ask me the civics questions. She had a piece of paper in front of her that I could easily read from a distance the font was quite sizeable. There were 10 questions on the sheet with a "yes" and "no" tick box next to them. She asked the following:

Who is in charge of the executive branch? (the President)
There are four amendments to the Constitution about who can vote. Describe one of them. (Citizens aged 18 and older can vote)
If the President can no longer serve, who becomes President? (Vice President)
What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment? (Speech)
During the Cold War, what was the main concern of the United States? (Communism)
Tried REALLY hard to remember this one but I just don't know. It was easy though.
(She didn't ask this question but I could see it next on the form) Why does the flag have 50 stars?

She wrote my answers as I said them underneath the question. She stopped at 6 and said Congratulations, that I had answered 6 correctly, and handed me form N-652 "Naturalization Interview Results" which had the date, my alien number, and her name at the top. She had selected 2 of the tick boxes:

You passed the tests of English and U.S. History and Government
Congratulations! Your aplication has been recommended for approval. At this time, it appears that you have established your eligibility for naturalization. If final approval is granted, you will be notified when and where to report for the Oath Ceremony.

She told me that there are 3 locations to take the Oath ceremony. Des Moines, Cedar Rapids and Davenport and asked whether I would like to do the ceremony at any of those locations. She said she thought Davenport would be closer and I agreed so she wrote "DAV ceremony" on the sheet that she had stamped with approval. I told her that there was a ceremony on August 9th that I would love to attend because I turn 30 next month and she said she couldn't promise anything but if there's a spot I might get it. She said that they'll explains SSN, passport, voting and all of that at the ceremony.

This is important for everyone - she said that it CAN take 60-90 days to get your Oath Ceremony scheduled, and that they usually book at least 2 weeks out from the date of the letter (we all know that isn't ALWAYS correct but just as a heads up).

She then talked me through dual citizenship because she said she's been doing this for 20 years and she always get asked. She confirmed what we all know, that the US doesn't recognise dual, but they don't have the authority to revoke our other citizenships so it's up to our other countries and to check with them. She also told me that I can travel on my other passports to enter other countries if I wanted, and joked that sometimes it's better with countries where the US doesn't have the best relationship and just to show my US passport to enter the US. She also reminded me that I still need to carry my GC and that they will take it at the Oath ceremony.

I walked out of the interview at 10:50a.m so it only took about 20mins. My letter had said it could take up to 2 hours so he was surprised that I walked out so quickly. And there you go

We started on the drive home, stopped off at Coralville Mall for lunch for about an hour. I dropped Tony off home while I emptied the rental of our stuff and drove it back. Tony picked me up in his truck and here I sit in the A/C. It truly would have sucked without the rental.

Edited July 19, 2013 by VanessaTony

VanessaTony · July 19, 2013

Updating wizardfitz and English Muffin Oath dates. Congrats guys!!

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-- N-400: APRIL 2013 APPLICATIONS --

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USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox

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KEVIN&LEILEI...|10/30/12|03/28/13|04/04/13|04/01/13|04/30/13|05/02/13|05/08/13|06/13/13|10/25/13|Pittsburgh, PA

GHANOU.........|03/28/12|03/28/13|04/08/13|04/01/13|05/06/13|05/28/13|07/10/13|08/14/13|--/--/--|Baltimore, MD

TYGRYS.........|03/24/13|04/01/13|04/05/13|04/02/13|04/29/13|05/22/13|06/03/13|07/08/13|--/--/--|Raleigh, NC

BJZAGS.........|07/09/10|04/02/13|04/11/13|04/09/13|05/08/13|05/10/13|07/01/13|08/05/13|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA

CHIEFS341......|--/--/--|04/02/13|04/08/13|04/04/13|05/02/13|05/06/13|06/17/13|07/22/13|--/--/--|Dallas, TX

HARRY123.......|--/--/--|04/02/13|04/04/13|04/04/13|05/06/13|05/08/13|05/14/13|06/20/13|09/05/13|Buffalo, NY

IRINASC........|04/15/09|04/02/13|04/04/13|04/11/13|05/03/13|--/--/--|05/10/13|06/13/13|--/--/--|Greer, SC

SHAUN COLE.....|11/15/12|04/03/13|04/10/13|04/16/13|05/07/13|05/03/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA (EB:05/01/13)

SOUTHLAKE......|--/--/--|04/04/13|04/09/13|04/04/13|05/06/13|05/08/13|06/03/13|07/16/13|--/--/--|Fairfax, VA

WELSHDAN.......|04/09/12|04/04/13|04/12/13|04/09/13|05/08/13|05/10/13|05/14/13|06/18/13|--/--/--|New Orleans, LA

OTTA...........|03/22/13|04/05/13|04/12/13|04/09/13|05/08/13|05/28/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|New York, NY (Manh.)

ROBOTVISIONTX..|05/13/07|04/11/13|--/--/--|04/16/13|05/15/13|05/20/13|06/14/13|07/24/13|--/--/--|Houston, TX

LILIB..........|--/--/--|04/11/13|04/18/13|04/15/13|05/07/13|--/--|--|06/10/13|07/16/13|08/05/13|St.Albans, VT

ANIL2013.......|04/02/13|04/13/13|04/18/13|04/15/13|05/16/13|06/03/13|07/02/13|08/10/13|--/--/--|Boston, MA

ENGLISH MUFFIN.|04/12/13|04/15/13|04/23/13|04/19/13|05/15/13|06/11/13|06/12/13|07/18/13|07/25/13|Charlotte, NC (EB: 05/07/13)

CLAUDIAARROYO49|07/--/12|04/15/13|04/--/13|04/11/13|05/10/13|05/14/13|05/15/13|06/19/13|07/19/13|San Juan, PR

IMAISHA........|06/13/12|04/16/13|04/19/13|04/17/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Boston, MA

OSEN74.........|02/04/13|04/17/13|04/28/13|04/23/13|05/17/13|05/21/13|06/03/13|07/08/13|07/19/13|Raleigh/Durham, NC

MADDY13........|03/26/13|04/17/13|04/28/13|04/26/13|05/29/13|05/31/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Philadelphia, PA

CARAQUENO18....|03/29/13|04/19/13|--/--/--|04/24/13|05/28/13|05/30/13|07/11/13|08/13/13|--/--/--|Miami, FL

MOROCCOGIRLNY..|03/31/13|04/20/13|04/25/13|04/22/13|05/23/13|05/28/13|06/06/13|07/16/13|07/30/13|New York, NY

STARLAROSE.....|04/12/13|04/24/13|04/29/13|04/25/13|05/29/13|05/31/13|--/--/--|07/24/13|--/--/--|Washington, DC

MILVA..........|05/17/12|04/24/13|04/29/13|05/01/13|05/30/13|05/31/13|06/27/13|07/30/13|--/--/--|Newark, NJ

NIMAAN.........|04/29/13|04/26/13|05/02/13|04/29/13|05/30/13|06/28/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA (EB: 05/17/13)

HAPPYDANCER....|04/07/13|04/26/13|05/02/13|04/30/13|05/21/13|06/10/13|06/11/13|07/18/13|--/--/--|Louisville, KY

CANADIAN_WIFE..|06/20/12|04/27/13|05/02/13|04/29/13|05/30/13|05/31/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Atlanta, GA (EB: 05/29/13)

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USCIS Phoenix, Arizona Lockbox

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LORDWORD.......|--/--/--|04/01/13|--/--/--|04/05/13|05/01/13|05/03/13|06/11/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA

VANESSA&TONY...|04/02/13|04/03/13|04/10/13|04/05/13|05/02/13|06/03/13|06/14/13|07/18/13|--/--/--|Des Moines, IA

WIZARDFITZ.....|11/25/11|04/08/13|04/16/13|04/11/13|05/13/13|05/15/13|05/28/13|06/20/13|08/08/13|Indianapolis, IN

MSIMPLE........|10/--/12|04/09/13|04/15/13|04/11/13|05/06/13|05/08/13|06/14/13|07/23/13|--/--/--|Des Moines, IA

MADDYCRUISE....|10/28/12|04/10/13|04/16/13|04/11/13|05/15/13|05/17/13|06/17/13|07/22/13|--/--/--|Milwaukee, WI

ROBO96815......|--/--/--|04/11/13|04/18/13|04/24/13|05/10/13|05/14/13|05/28/13|07/02/13|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA

TX_DUDE78665...|--/--/--|04/13/13|--/--/--|04/16/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Los Angeles, CA

AZURE30........|04/16/13|04/16/13|04/23/13|04/18/13|05/13/13|06/17/13|06/21/13|07/29/13|--/--/--|Des Moines, IA

RIRO...........|04/14/13|04/16/13|04/23/13|04/18/13|05/13/13|06/14/13|06/18/13|07/24/13|--/--/--|Sacramento, CA (EB: 05/09/13)

LIDOTOMATO.....|04/20/13|04/19/13|04/25/13|04/22/13|05/22/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|San Jose, CA

INDOMEX........|04/27/13|04/27/13|05/08/13|04/30/13|05/23/13|06/26/13|06/26/13|08/01/13|--/--/--|San Francisco,CA(EB:05/17/13)

M and F........|04/08/13|04/29/13|05/03/13|04/30/13|05/28/13|06/07/13|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|Santa Ana, CA

SPARTAN........|04/21/12|04/30/13|05/08/13|05/03/13|05/31/13|06/04/13|06/06/13|07/16/13|--/--/--|San Francisco, CA

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USCIS Lincoln, Nebraska Lockbox (Filing Under 319b, 328, or 329 of the INA)

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EXAMPLE........|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|--/--/--|City, ST

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happilycontent · July 19, 2013

Congratulations, Vanessa!

wizardfitz · July 19, 2013

@chox99 - thank you for all the info =)

osen74 · July 19, 2013

Congrats to everyone who have recently been approved and scheduled for their oath.

Vanessa, we exactly have the same set of questions. From the english vocabulary statements to the civics test. And i think the other question ask to you was -- "why did the colonists came to America?".. anyway congrats again!

moroccogirlny · July 19, 2013

Congrats Vanessa!

immibie · July 19, 2013

Vanessa, congratulations. What documents did you take with you to the interview if I may ask? Did you arrange them quarterly since when?

Edited July 19, 2013 by immibie

claudiaarroyo49 · July 19, 2013

Congratulations Vanessa! and congratulations to all who have scheduled Oaths and approved interviews. Good luck to those with upcoming interviews. My Oath ceremony is tomorrow. I will post my experience when done. Let's hope it will be a wonderful one.

VanessaTony · July 19, 2013

Congrats to everyone who have recently been approved and scheduled for their oath.

Vanessa, we exactly have the same set of questions. From the english vocabulary statements to the civics test. And i think the other question ask to you was -- "why did the colonists came to America?".. anyway congrats again!

You know that was the one i was thinking it might be... but I rehearsed them on the drive in so I thought I remembered wrong but yep. If that was it I said "Freedom".

But yay! Really hope I get the Aug 9th date!

John9981 · July 19, 2013

Congrats VT! one more step and you are done!

Tygrys · July 19, 2013

Received Oath Ceremony notice yesterday for next Friday, July 26.

VanessaTony · July 19, 2013

Vanessa, congratulations. What documents did you take with you to the interview if I may ask? Did you arrange them quarterly since when?

Thanks

I took my 2 folders. One had every document I had sent or received since the K1. The second folder had my "new" evidence (since the I-751 actually seeing I just sent tax returns with my N-400 application) and my originals (marriage cert, birth cert etc).

Relationship evidence I took our most recent car insurance bill (both names on it), and the first page of our joint bank account statement, electricity bill and phone bill for the months 4, 8, 12 (as I had sent with I-751) so April 2012, August 2012, December 2012, April 2013 and the most recent one (June/July depending on the bill).

She didn't ask to see ANY evidence of relationship though so s'pose it doesn't matter what I took

Congratulations, Vanessa!

Thanks!

Congrats Vanessa!

Thanks!

Congratulations Vanessa! and congratulations to all who have scheduled Oaths and approved interviews. Good luck to those with upcoming interviews. My Oath ceremony is tomorrow. I will post my experience when done. Let's hope it will be a wonderful one.

Thanks! congratulations on your Oath day today! Look forward to your review and I hope you have a wonderful day

Congrats VT! one more step and you are done!

Thanks!

VanessaTony · July 19, 2013

Updating Tygrys Oath date Congrats!

CLAUDIAARROYO and OSEN have their Oath's today so they'll be our first red font!

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-- N-400: APRIL 2013 APPLICATIONS --

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USCIS Dallas/Lewisville, Texas Lockbox

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KEVIN&LEILEI...|10/30/12|03/28/13|04/04/13|04/01/13|04/30/13|05/02/13|05/08/13|06/13/13|10/25/13|Pittsburgh, PA

GHANOU.........|03/28/12|03/28/13|04/08/13|04/01/13|05/06/13|05/28/13|07/10/13|08/14/13|--/--/--|Baltimore, MD

TYGRYS.........|03/24/13|04/01/13|04/05/13|04/02/13|04/29/13|05/22/13|06/03/13|07/08/13|07/26/13|Raleigh, NC