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| New York City NY |  Review on June 21, 2012: |
shireenb
Rating:  | Review Topic: Naturalization
Hi everyone,
I had my naturalization interview today. It was at 29 Federal Plaza @ 12:15pm July 16th 2018. I applied July 21st 2017 through my immigration lawyer. Not sure if mine was filed by mail or online but over took 1 year from submission to interview. I like in Brooklyn, NY.
I'm British, born and bred, 5 yr green card holder and divorced after 4.5 years on marriage, Him US citizen, me British.
I saw a girl who came out before me and sneakily asked what her US history questions were as she waited for her oath letter, turns out I got different questions anyway : ) but i thought I'd just ask her anyway! I got the declaration of independence date mixed up due to nerves!! but got all the others correct. English is my first language and my ethnicity is Pakistani
Marriage + divorce was brought up onnce by the officer, 'Why did you guys get divorced' he asked politely. I said 'the relationship just really broke down as we were just not good for each other at that stage' and he left it at that. I think he replied 'i'm sorry to hear that' which was sweet.
I was nervous as i made 2 trips home in 2016 each just shy of 3 months. so although I never left the country for more than 6 months at one, in total i did do so in that calendar year.
But seemed to be no issue. He ticks each sentence in the application once you confirm the answer is correct so know your application! or have a copy!
At the end he ticked the box 'discussion cannot be made' but verballing told me 'I think you'll have no issues this application looks good to me' as he walked me out and scanned my 2 passports, one expired one current.
I asked what the next step was, and if it was the 'supervisor review', could that happen now? He said 'No, no one is reviewing it after me, I just need to look over it one more time and i'll have time by end of day to keep checking your status online, Oath should be end of the month'.
So I got the feeling it will be approved. You do get nervous in the interview room because he asks lots of questions (ALL ON THE FORM' and i even got a memory blank when he asked me the current address! So keep a copy of your application printed and next to you to help guide your answers.
My apt was for 12:15pm and i didn't get called in until 2:15pm so bring a snack and water like I did. Waiting room is super casual, people snakcing, talking on phones, watch the TV etc. They were playing TMZ and showing a clip of a pop star 'twerking' which was a bizarre and unprofessional thing to see while waiting in this setting, but it does help relax you I guess.
Overall, it was an ok experience, i was not grilled - one question about my divorce, one about why I left the country in 2016 (Travel plus sick relative and I had hospital letter to show him).. He also asked me what visa I used to enter before I had my green card, which was 5 years ago and i had to think for a while, it was my ESTA. And i made sure he knew he never overstayed or misused any visa,
The interviewer was around 29, looked Filipino, he has a strong accent I had to ask him to repeat a few questions, which I felt awkward for asking as i didn't want to offend him. Which he nearly was. Overall, i think he was a very nice guy, no ego issues, not interested in making it longer than it needs to be. Serious about doing his job. Other interviewers calling people in also looked really nice, the way they greeted and said by to their interviewees.
Mine asked me if I had had lunch, and how long my wait was, so there was room for a little bit of small talk to relax me. I had to redo my fingerprints 6 times as the machine just wasn't recognizing my prints. Was nervous about that, no idea why! But it's a nervous setting I guess.
Anyway, know your application and dates well. Bring a copy if you don't want to memorize it, you will get nervous and mix things up like apt numbers like i did, just out of nerves.
Dress smart and show them you are serious and prepared to not waste their time. I think they want you to pass, they want you to show them a simple well documented honest application.
Ask me any questions, the memory is fresh in my mind.
(updated on July 16, 2018)
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Consulate / USCIS Member Review #9870