My Interview Experience.

[Visitor User 253]

4 hours ago, junkmart said:

Congratulations, and thank you for sharing your experience of having a lawyer present for the interview. I wish all the people in the forum who say that the lawyer can't do anything during the interview would read this.

Lawyer worth every penny. He is also friends with my brother and me.

 

Plus the lawyer going to the same FO for 20 years doing hundreds of Interview appearance means the IO’s know the lawyer and lawyer knows them. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Visitor User

[Visitor User 253]

3 hours ago, dentsflogged said:

Technically, the lawyer can't though.  They can't answer for you. They can't correct your answer to the IO once you've said something.  In this case, we have 1 person's word that their lawyer "corrected" the IO on things which IMO if the IO was that new, they would presumably have been being supervised by someone else. 

At the end of the day, if someone feels more confident or comfortable taking a lawyer with them, I say do it, but my years of reading this site has shown one thing: taking a lawyer in a typical scenario doesn't do anything.  This particular OP has a complicated case and seemingly has had multiple lawyers and multiple mistakes happen on their file, so that could be one reason why it seemed this lawyer has helped being there.

Lawyer can speak at any given time. For example: What if the client answered a I-485 YES/NO incorrectly? Lawyer can correct it to the IO to make sure everyone is on same page. My case was not complicated. If was just a paperwork blunder issue and most people have already adjusted under 245i so it’s not that common anymore.

[Visitor User 253]

4 hours ago, dentsflogged said:

That's not at all what I was told by an immigration lawyer when I specifically asked about interviews.   He said they can prep you and be there but all answers are 100% on you as the person being interviewed and it's my own responsibility to ensure I'm giving properly informative and correct answers. 

And more importantly, I'd question how much weight it really holds.  The person who is being interviewed is the one sworn in and they're the ones responsible for their answers. Just because a lawyer jumps in and corrects them on something, I have zero doubt that the IO will absolutely note the original answer and hold it in weight against the totality of other answers and evidence provided.   

I'm glad OP had everything go well and it was money well spent in their case, but on average across the forums I read for USA immigration, it seems from my reading that people using lawyers (or worse, Rapid Visa, shudder) has caused more problems than it solves. 

Each lawyer is different. How many years of experience did that lawyer have?

 

i thought what the lawyer and client agree to put on the application has higher weigh? The wrong answer at the interview would neutralize the answer so lawyer can explain it to IO. 

[Visitor User 253]

4 hours ago, junkmart said:

I was told otherwise by the two attorney's I interviewed.

 

Agreed. It is up to the person being interviewed to actually correct themselves to the IO, the Attorney can just make the interviewee know that said something that contradicts what they put in the application. the burden rests with the interviewee.

I was prepared well. 2 different days of mock interview. I was prepared for the toughest ones so my actual interview was a breeze. 

Edited March 8, 2019 by Visitor User

[Visitor User 253]

Anyone had similar experience like me?

[NYCruiser 423]

21 hours ago, Visitor User said:

Green Card holders can vote in local elections within jurisdiction right?

No. Also, this OP will not be able to vote for President Trump's re-election unfortunately.

[Visitor User 253]

21 minutes ago, NYCruiser said:

No. Also, this OP will not be able to vote for President Trump's re-election unfortunately.

Which OP?

[NYCruiser 423]

3 minutes ago, Visitor User said:

Which OP?

USS Voyager. First reply

[Visitor User 253]

3 minutes ago, NYCruiser said:

USS Voyager. First reply

I have to become a USC first before I can vote. Voting isn’t even my concern. I was just asking.

[usmsbow 802]

23 hours ago, Visitor User said:

Green Card holders can vote in local elections within jurisdiction right?

 

It depends on local laws. For example in San Francisco, non-citizens can vote in school board elections, but that's it (not city council nor mayor, etc). I do not believe there is any state that allows non-citizens to vote in state-wide elections (such as for governor). 

 

 

[Visitor User 253]

16 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

 

It depends on local laws. For example in San Francisco, non-citizens can vote in school board elections, but that's it (not city council nor mayor, etc). I do not believe there is any state that allows non-citizens to vote in state-wide elections (such as for governor). 

 

 

Interesting. 

[accumbyte 149]

On 3/7/2019 at 6:28 PM, Visitor User said:

Green Card holders can vote in local elections within jurisdiction right?

As of now, only in the following local elections everyone (citizens and all non-citizens including people without green cards) that lives there can vote:

• Barnesville, Maryland (since 1918)
• Chevy Chase Section Three, Maryland
• Garrett Park, Maryland (since 1999)
• Glen Echo, Maryland
• Hyattsville, Maryland (since December 2016)
• Martin's Additions, Maryland
• Mount Rainier, Maryland (since January 2017)
• Riverdale Park, Maryland (since May 2018)
• Somerset, Maryland
• Takoma Park, Maryland (since 1993)
• San Francisco, California (only the school board election so there also is a requirement to be a "parent, legal guardian, or legally recognized caregiver of children under the age of 19 living in San Francisco")

On the N-400 it asks whether "you have ever registered or voted in a federal, state, or local election in the United States." If a non-citizen registers or votes in a local election above then they must answer "Yes" to that question but should explain it further in the additinal space on the N-400. They can't be denied naturalization for only voting in local elections where its allowed.

[Visitor User 253]

1 hour ago, accumbyte said:

As of now, only in the following local elections everyone (citizens and all non-citizens including people without green cards) that lives there can vote:

• Barnesville, Maryland (since 1918)
• Chevy Chase Section Three, Maryland
• Garrett Park, Maryland (since 1999)
• Glen Echo, Maryland
• Hyattsville, Maryland (since December 2016)
• Martin's Additions, Maryland
• Mount Rainier, Maryland (since January 2017)
• Riverdale Park, Maryland (since May 2018)
• Somerset, Maryland
• Takoma Park, Maryland (since 1993)
• San Francisco, California (only the school board election so there also is a requirement to be a "parent, legal guardian, or legally recognized caregiver of children under the age of 19 living in San Francisco")

On the N-400 it asks whether "you have ever registered or voted in a federal, state, or local election in the United States." If a non-citizen registers or votes in a local election above then they must answer "Yes" to that question but should explain it further in the additinal space on the N-400. They can't be denied naturalization for only voting in local elections where its allowed.

Why do you think some cities allow it?

[accumbyte 149]

9 minutes ago, Visitor User said:

Why do you think some cities allow it?

In the case of Maryland, the state's constitution recognizes the local governments' autonomy on the subject: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Right_of_foreigners_to_vote_in_the_United_States#Maryland_2 For example, below is the Voter Registration info for Garrett Park; https://www.garrettparkmd.gov/government/elections-and-voter-registration/voter-registration

Quote

Qualifications of voters

Every person who

(1) legally resides within the corporate limits of the town on the day he or she registers to vote and continuously thereafter until casting his or her vote in any Garrett Park election (2) is at least eighteen years of age, and (3) is registered either in the County or in the Town is a qualified voter of the town. Every qualified voter of the town is entitled to vote in all town elections, whether or not they are a citizen of the United States.

 

[accumbyte 149]

On 3/7/2019 at 6:16 PM, Visitor User said:

I should be eligible for Citizenship in 4 years and 9 months.

You'll be eligible to submit the N-400 early starting on November 28, 2023: https://www.uscis.gov/forms/uscis-early-filing-calculator But if the interview is scheduled before your 5 year GC anniversary (February 26, 2024) then USCIS can't approve it at that time. But we all know USCIS timelines tend to be slower than 90 days so this most likely won't be an issue.