Interview Questions

[fumes 0]

How are the interview questions picked??? @ the time of the interview or are they pre-selected???

If you get one wrong does the interviewer tell you or do they just keep going?

After you pass do they then tell you where the oath will be...?..

Edited May 4, 2014 by fumes

[Karam and Jamie 44]

I'd like to know too

[K96 0]

I believe that it is randomly selected. Check out the following link on the USCIS website for a short video on how the interview is conducted. http://www.uscis.gov/citizenship/learners/study-test/study-materials-civics-test.

[nightingale 59 0]

How are the interview questions picked??? @ the time of the interview or are they pre-selected???

If you get one wrong does the interviewer tell you or do they just keep going?

After you pass do they then tell you where the oath will be...?..

They have ten questions that they have randomly preselected, as soon as you get six correct answers they stop, but you do have to get six out of ten to pass. As to the oath, in my case as it was late in the day when my interview was finished the IO told me that I had passed my citizenship interview and I would get a letter for the oath ceremony in a couple of weeks. People who had their interview earlier were asked to wait and given their oath letter with the date and time of the ceremony. In Atlanta, where I had my interview some lucky people had a same day oath. It depends on the office and how early your appointment is.

[Penguin_ie 5,993]

Yeah randomly selected, the computer tells them what to ask.

Whether they tel you when the oath will be depends on the office- some have same-day oaths, others have a specific schedule, yet others will schedule when they have enough applicants passed.

[QueenComley 295]

Randomly selected though you should have been given a DVD with all the facts you need to know to prepare you for any questions that will be asked.

When my husband had his naturalization interview he was told straight away that he had been successful and that an oath ceremony was being held in 2 weeks and that they would try to ensure he was on the invite list for this particular one, which he was. He was also told that sometimes people have to wait months for an oath ceremony date. However, it has been known for an oath ceremony to take place the same day.

Hubby said it was a piece of cake, and lots of luck to you

[Jawaree 717]

There's no percentage of what U get right or wrong,

that's Y U R fingerprinted and oath taken, they already

went over your file and docs, questions are asked based

on whats there, could be one, could be 12 questions ;U have

to tell the truth, it could be a question about U, petitioner,or

have U ever visited the US or any other countries, been

arrested, turn down for a visa etc...Don't be nervous it'll be

a regular short conversation......breathhheeeeeee

[Buckyball 22]

The interviewer (NYC Office) told me that he can pick a set of questions himself every day.

[shelly-bug 15]

Can your spouse accompany you to the interview?

[Buckyball 22]

Can your spouse accompany you to the interview?

No, she has to wait outside.

[lopakalolo 1]

The new Naturalization Form N-400 still doesn’t explain things any better than the old form. There is still doubt for interpretation of the 3 year versus the 5 year rule as to which you can safely use.

For Instance it starts out like so:

Part 1. Information About Your Eligibility

You are at least 18 years old and: (this applies to us)

2. Have been a permanent Resident of the United States for at least 3 years. In addition, you have been married to and living with the same U.S. citizen for the last 3 years, and your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for the last 3 years at the time of filing your Form N-400.

(We could insert 7 years for every 3 years above)

So far – so good – very clear and precise.

Then the confusion starts with:

Part 4. Information About Your Residence

1. Where have you lived during the last 5 years. Begin with where you live now and then list every location where you have lived during the last 5 years.

Huh? What happened to the 3 Years?

<and>

Part 7. Information About Your Employment and Schools You Attended

List where you have worked or attended school full or part time during the last 5 years.  

Whoa? What happened to the 3 Years?

<and>

Part 8. Time Outside the United States

1. How many total days (24 hours or longer) did you spend outside the United States during the last 5 years?

2. How many trips of 24 hours or longer have you taken outside the United States during the last 5 years?

3. List below all the trips of 24 hours or longer that you have taken outside the United States during the last 5 years?

Huh again?  What happened to the 3 Years?

I know what replies I will get back because I asked this question once before.

Some said just follow the rules and put in information where is says 5 years (or play it safe and don’t rock the boat).

Others said just cross out the 5 years and insert 3 years. (I did and it worked for me)

Another one said that they put in the 5 year as it was stipulated only to have the USCIS interviewing officer tell her that we don’t need this information beyond 3 years, it’s irrelevant because you’re married to a U.S. citizen and only need to go back 3 years. He struck them out. (This was heartening but how many of us would be that lucky to get a USCIS officer like that?)

I’d sure like to get that interviewer but with my luck, I’d lose the money and be told to go back to the end of the line, put the information in for 5 years and pay the fee again and probably be penalized again for not following the crappy directions with many interpretations.

This scenario is an example of what makes sense to me regarding the sensibility of the 3 year rule and blows the 5 year rule out the window.

Let’s say that on 18 October 2007, my spouse is granted a green card after making her port of entry. According to the rule for a spouse that is married to a U.S. citizen, she can apply for Naturalization (N-400) on or after her 3 year anniversary date which would be 18 October 2010. This is to say that she has been a good little girl and stayed put in the U.S. and didn’t break any of the other silly rules.

She then sits down and attempts to fill out the N-400 while wading through the murky directions. She gets to the above mentioned 5 year rule questions and goes hmmmm!, why should I fill out information regarding 2 years prior to getting a green card? I wasn’t under any of those rules until after I got the green card making the previous 2 years irrelevant and therefore not required.

Note: The 2 years prior to getting the green card, she had a non U.S. passport with a 10 year U.S. Visitors Visa and was free to come and go and stay out of the U.S. as long as she wanted without fear of penalties, revocations or deportations or breaking any silly rules.

In our case we have already gone beyond the first 3 year qualifier twice (we’ve been in the U.S for seven years) and I would still like to only have to go back 3 years and not 5 years because the 3 year spouse of a U.S. citizen rule should still stand and we should still only have to go back to 3 years prior to submitting the N-400. After all, rules are rules, no matter when they are applied – right?

Makes sense to me, but would it make sense to a USCIS officer who only works within a box and if it says 5 years then it’s got to be 5 years and that’s all that’s to it – sorry, but you have to follow the rules no matter how silly they are. We take your money and send you back to the end of the line no room for leniency in this office.

I would appreciate feedback “pro” or “con” and any help is always appreciated because it has been a long and sometimes torturous journey but I think I can just barely see a small twinkle of light at the end of the tunnel.

Have a safe journey.

[Birdo 16]

First, look at the Resident Since date on your green card. It it's actually five years prior to today's date minus 90 days, you will file based on the 5 years as resident rule. You will find out that the amount of paperwork and proof to send in is much less than when filing based on the married to US citizen for three years rule.

Also, since you state you have lived in the U.S. for 7 years, you MUST give information of the past five years (addresses, jobs, travel etc.) to the USCIS. There is no rule around that.

Don't overthink this because USCIS will not overthink it either.

The new Naturalization Form N-400 still doesn’t explain things any better than the old form. There is still doubt for interpretation of the 3 year versus the 5 year rule as to which you can safely use.

For Instance it starts out like so:

Part 1. Information About Your Eligibility

You are at least 18 years old and: (this applies to us)

2. Have been a permanent Resident of the United States for at least 3 years. In addition, you have been married to and living with the same U.S. citizen for the last 3 years, and your spouse has been a U.S. citizen for the last 3 years at the time of filing your Form N-400.

(We could insert 7 years for every 3 years above)

So far – so good – very clear and precise.

Then the confusion starts with:

Part 4. Information About Your Residence

1. Where have you lived during the last 5 years. Begin with where you live now and then list every location where you have lived during the last 5 years.

Huh? What happened to the 3 Years?

<and>

Part 7. Information About Your Employment and Schools You Attended

List where you have worked or attended school full or part time during the last 5 years.  

Whoa? What happened to the 3 Years?

<and>

Part 8. Time Outside the United States

1. How many total days (24 hours or longer) did you spend outside the United States during the last 5 years?

2. How many trips of 24 hours or longer have you taken outside the United States during the last 5 years?

3. List below all the trips of 24 hours or longer that you have taken outside the United States during the last 5 years?

Huh again?  What happened to the 3 Years?

I know what replies I will get back because I asked this question once before.

Some said just follow the rules and put in information where is says 5 years (or play it safe and don’t rock the boat).

Others said just cross out the 5 years and insert 3 years. (I did and it worked for me)

Another one said that they put in the 5 year as it was stipulated only to have the USCIS interviewing officer tell her that we don’t need this information beyond 3 years, it’s irrelevant because you’re married to a U.S. citizen and only need to go back 3 years. He struck them out. (This was heartening but how many of us would be that lucky to get a USCIS officer like that?)

I’d sure like to get that interviewer but with my luck, I’d lose the money and be told to go back to the end of the line, put the information in for 5 years and pay the fee again and probably be penalized again for not following the crappy directions with many interpretations.

This scenario is an example of what makes sense to me regarding the sensibility of the 3 year rule and blows the 5 year rule out the window.

Let’s say that on 18 October 2007, my spouse is granted a green card after making her port of entry. According to the rule for a spouse that is married to a U.S. citizen, she can apply for Naturalization (N-400) on or after her 3 year anniversary date which would be 18 October 2010. This is to say that she has been a good little girl and stayed put in the U.S. and didn’t break any of the other silly rules.

She then sits down and attempts to fill out the N-400 while wading through the murky directions. She gets to the above mentioned 5 year rule questions and goes hmmmm!, why should I fill out information regarding 2 years prior to getting a green card? I wasn’t under any of those rules until after I got the green card making the previous 2 years irrelevant and therefore not required.

Note: The 2 years prior to getting the green card, she had a non U.S. passport with a 10 year U.S. Visitors Visa and was free to come and go and stay out of the U.S. as long as she wanted without fear of penalties, revocations or deportations or breaking any silly rules.

In our case we have already gone beyond the first 3 year qualifier twice (we’ve been in the U.S for seven years) and I would still like to only have to go back 3 years and not 5 years because the 3 year spouse of a U.S. citizen rule should still stand and we should still only have to go back to 3 years prior to submitting the N-400. After all, rules are rules, no matter when they are applied – right?

Makes sense to me, but would it make sense to a USCIS officer who only works within a box and if it says 5 years then it’s got to be 5 years and that’s all that’s to it – sorry, but you have to follow the rules no matter how silly they are. We take your money and send you back to the end of the line no room for leniency in this office.

I would appreciate feedback “pro” or “con” and any help is always appreciated because it has been a long and sometimes torturous journey but I think I can just barely see a small twinkle of light at the end of the tunnel.

Have a safe journey.

[lopakalolo 1]

Birdo

Thanks for the feedback:

First, look at the Resident Since date on your green card. It it's actually five years prior to today's date minus 90 days, you will file based on the 5 years as resident rule. You will find out that the amount of paperwork and proof to send in is much less than when filing based on the married to US citizen for three years rule.

Also, since you state you have lived in the U.S. for 7 years, you MUST give information of the past five years (addresses, jobs, travel etc.) to the USCIS. There is no rule around that.

Don't overthink this because USCIS will not overthink it either.

I have one question regarding your statement:

You will find out that the amount of paperwork and proof to send in is much less than when filing based on the married to US citizen for three years rule.

How is it that 5 years of history and passport entries is easier than 3 years of the same information except two years less of it. What am I missing?

Thanks again

[JSully 4]

You can file based on 3 years rule only if you are still married to the same USC that qualified you for the initial entry to the country and adjustment of status application. 5 year rule applies to everyone else, the marriage does not matter so you don't have to prove that your marriage is a bona fide marriage. You don't have to send bills, bank statements, insurance with both names on it, marriage certificate and so on. It would still be usefull to send tax returns with your application to show that you don't owe money to the government or a deed that you own a property. You don't have to but it would help immigration to show that you assimilated to the new country. The burden of proof is much easier for 5 years.

I guess immigration services were too lazy to put a separate information on the application form to replace 5 years experience, location, ... with 3 years if you apply based on 3 year marriage.

Birdo

Thanks for the feedback:

First, look at the Resident Since date on your green card. It it's actually five years prior to today's date minus 90 days, you will file based on the 5 years as resident rule. You will find out that the amount of paperwork and proof to send in is much less than when filing based on the married to US citizen for three years rule.

Also, since you state you have lived in the U.S. for 7 years, you MUST give information of the past five years (addresses, jobs, travel etc.) to the USCIS. There is no rule around that.

Don't overthink this because USCIS will not overthink it either.

I have one question regarding your statement:

You will find out that the amount of paperwork and proof to send in is much less than when filing based on the married to US citizen for three years rule.

How is it that 5 years of history and passport entries is easier than 3 years of the same information except two years less of it. What am I missing?

Thanks again

[Birdo 16]

Birdo

I have one question regarding your statement:

You will find out that the amount of paperwork and proof to send in is much less than when filing based on the married to US citizen for three years rule.

How is it that 5 years of history and passport entries is easier than 3 years of the same information except two years less of it. What am I missing?

Thanks again

You have been in the U.S. for more than five years, so regardless of what filing status you choose, you will have to fill in the 5 years of history of living in the States (addresses, jobs) where asked. That's what you're missing. The USCIS wants to know what you've been up to for the past five years you've lived in the U.S.

Plus filing under three years married to USC you have to send in proof of ongoing marriage.