A - J

As with our other trip to the federal building, we parked across the street and got into the building about 20 minutes before our appointment. We were allowed up after waiting five minutes. Once in the USCIS office, they checked us in and asked us to take a seat. We waited about ten minutes beyond our appointment time, which was no big deal. The interviewing officer opened the door, called my name, and showed me back to her office where the interview started immediately - no small talk, very little eye contact, just business. She swore me to the truth, and began by asking me a couple of questions about me, my parents, and my husband. She then asked me to read a sentence/question: who lives in the White House? I read it. Then she said the answer out loud and asked me to write it: the President lives in the White House. We then moved to the civics questions: Who is one of your state’s US Senators now? Who is in charge of the Executive branch? There were 13 original states. Name three. Who is the Commander in Chief of the military? Under our Constitution, some powers belong to the federal government. What is one power of the federal government? Name one branch or part of the government. Then we moved on to the N-400 application, from which she asked me a few of the yes/no questions. She asked me to sign a couple of things like a correctness check and am I willing to take the Oath of Allegiance. It all happened so fast. Then she printed a paper and said I was recommended for approval but the case would be sent to quality review for final approval. She said I would get a date for the Oath Ceremony in the coming weeks. All of this happened extremely fast. Really. Super fast. I looked at my watch when I went in and in NINE minutes we were walking to the elevator! Amazing. We studied and read so many interview stories and felt like we knew what to expect. We still stressed, though. It’s normal. One thing that someone wrote along the way stood out in all of the stories and studying: USCIS is not trying to trick anybody. They want you to succeed. Just tell the truth. Don’t try to change your narrative to fit what you think they want. Seems like that’s when things get complicated. Our visa journey has been long but well worth it. If asked for one general piece of advice, we would just say to follow the guidance on this site. There are good, knowledgeable, and helpful people here. Present your case honestly. Try not to stress (too much) and let USCIS do the rest. The dream is just getting started. We can’t wait to see what’s next.