To @Pinnacle and all others interested in the latest experience at the San Jose center.
Background
N400 Applied - 5/1/2024 (5-y rule and 90 days prior)
N400 Biometrics appt - 5/17/2024
N400 Interview scheduled - 6/11/2024 (FO was originally SFO but was changed to San Jose for all applications in my Zip code which turned out to be a blessing in disguise :-))
N400 Interview - 7/19/2024
Finally, the eagerly awaited step towards Citizenship got done successfully today with my interview at the San Jose, USCIS office. I went to the center on Coleman Ave about 30 minutes prior to my appointment as mentioned in the letter. After security check, ID check and handing over the appointment letter at the reception, I was asked to be seated in the waiting area. It is a large hall that would seat easily around a hundred people at a time. I counted that there were about 25 folks already waiting ahead of me and they were being called in one at a time. On the right side, a door would open at different intervals and an IO would come by and call out to people for interview. Most of them would ask to see your ID before taking you back to their office. The offices look exactly like the ones shown in the Civic test videos on the USCIS YouTube channel. (check those if you have not - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=edk8n9arEL8&list=PLpNZsaiyFfG0mZUx6aS8Tn2pANNymRDaJ).
Exactly at my appointment time (to my pleasant surprise), a lady IO came out and called my name. On checking my ID, we headed to her office and had some small talk about me having my day off and it was so conveniently scheduled to have the interview here instead of SFO. On reaching her office, she asked me to keep my bag and conducted the oath before asking me to take a seat.
Once seated she asked me for my passport, GC and License. On verifying all those, she said that she would be conducting all the 3 tests starting with the civics questions. I think these are the questions she asked me.
- Who is the “Father of Our Country”?
- Name one state that borders Canada.
- Who did the United States fight in World War II?
- Who was President during the Great Depression and World War II?
- What is the capital of the United States?
- Where is the Statue of Liberty?
Since I cleared all the 6 questions, she asked me to read and write the following simple sentences using the tablet ahead of me.
- Reading : Why do people come to America?
- Writing : People come here to be free.
She confirmed that I had passed all the tests and then went thru the form and verified my basic information like name, dob, spouse name, who petitioned me, taxes owed, citations etc and some of the Yes/No questions. I did not have to show any additional documents other than the ones I had already uploaded with the application.
I then told her that I wanted to bring up a couple of possible changes w.r.t my original application and mentioned those. I had made a recent international trip of 9 days just prior to the interview and updated her on the dates. Since there was a mismatch between my dates and her record, I showed her the actual ticket copy I had with me that resolved the gap and she thanked me for carrying it. I also have an upcoming address change and she asked me to notify them with AR-11 form when the change occurs but it did not seem to be a big deal since I am at the end of the process now.
She finally asked me to verify and sign the information on the form using the tablet for any minor changes done. Note: Do not rush and read this carefully and clarify any questions you may have. I noticed some odd changes and showed to her and she mentioned that it was due to a glitch in the system.
She then said that I had had passed all tests and my form looked good but since I had not completed my 5 year anniversary yet, she could not schedule me for the Oath. She said that she will get an alert end of the month on my anniversary which she will approve and it will get scheduled then. She asked me to look out for notifications on my online account and that I would get the Oath notification a couple of days after my anniversary date.
I then asked her when is the Oath being conducted at San Jose? She said that in the past it used to happen twice a month in the parking lot and just this month they made a change and they are now being conducted monthly in a large hall in Campbell. They conducted the one for this month recently and the one in August will likely be around mid-August or the end of August and alerted me not to plan a trip soon after since we would be unable to travel with out the GC and till we get the passport in hand.
With that she asked me if I did not have any questions, we are done. I thanked her and overall had a very pleasant experience talking with her and headed out after having spent about 45-50 minutes in all with the interview lasting for around 15 minutes.
Looking forward getting the Oath done soon and seeing @Pinnacle and others here! Wishing you all the very best and let me know if there are any follow-up questions.