San Francisco - Interview and Oath Ceremony questions

[Emma Dee 0]

I just received my Interview letter and am scheduled for May 12th.

(Can't wait!

Wanted to find out, if anyone has N-400 interview experience in this office, would love to hear about it!

Also, I looked online, and it seems that all Oath ceremonies are now held in Oakland.

(The dates at the Paramount Theatre pose some issues for me, as I will have to travel at the end of May...)

If You had an interview in SF, were You offered a choice as far as Oath Ceremony dates?

Thank You for all/ any feedback and good luck to all!

Off to study now

Edited April 13, 2010 by Emma Dee

[Chazzie 1]

I just received my Interview letter and am scheduled for May 12th.

(Can't wait!

Wanted to find out, if anyone has N-400 interview experience in this office, would love to hear about it!

Also, I looked online, and it seems that all Oath ceremonies are now held in Oakland.

(The dates at the Paramount Theatre pose some issues for me, as I will have to travel at the end of May...)

If You had an interview in SF, were You offered a choice as far as Oath Ceremony dates?

Thank You for all/ any feedback and good luck to all!

Off to study now

I went for my interview (9:45am)yesterday morning and i passed! Im down to the last step now.They said they will notify me within 30 days reagrding sched of the oath taking ceremony.

Here's my detailed experience.

I arrived @ 630 Sansome st, SF at 9am and found City Park Garage (475 Sansome St)walking distance from the Fed building.They will ask for a Photo ID card and appointment letter before they let you in.They'll ask if you have a camera phone (i left mine in the car, less hassle).You have to go through security then proceed to 2nd floor Reception Area.They will take your appointment letter @ the reception desk and will ask you to sit and wait for your name to be called.You have to atleast be there 30 minutes before your sched appointment so u get to familliarize with your surroundings.They called my name @ 9:30am and was ask to sworn in to tell the truth.The interviewer asked me to present needed docs (green card, State ID card, passports~old and new~)She asked me to sign the pictures i sent in and then She asked about all the info i wrote on my application.She asked me 10 civics questions.

What is the US National Anthem?

What does 13 stripes represent?

How old do u have to be to vote?

What is the rule of law?

Who vetoes bills?

Name one branch of government.

What ocean is on the west side of US?

What is the capital of US?

How many voting members does the House of Rep have?

Name 1 original Colony

I answered them all correctly. and then she asked me to read "How many Senators do we have?", and i answered 100.& she goes u dont even have to answer that, then she smiled.(lol) and then she asked me to write down "We have one hundred senators."and i did.And then she handed me a piece of paper and said we're all done , do you have any questions?i said none and thank her. I read the paper she gave me and the sentence where in it says "You passed the english , US history and government test" was checked.And also "Congratulations! your application has been sent for approval. If Final approval is granted you will be sent a notification where to appear for Oath Ceremony " was checked.

* Since Sf has the most number of Citizenship applicants they dont do same day oath,and FYI future Oath Ceremonies from March till Aug 2010 will be conducted at Paramount Theatre (2025 Broadway, Oakland CA).I hope my detailed experience helps.Good luck everyone!Phew, now i can change my audio cd reviewer that ive been playing in the car for a month.

Edited April 23, 2010 by Chazzie

[Emma Dee 0]

Congratulations Chazzie!!! must feel great to be done with this

Thank You for the details of Your experience, it really helps that You listed everything from parking garage to the manner in which the interview was conducted.

Was Your application based on 5 year GC?

Hope Your oath ceremony will be soon (next is on May 26th, and then June 17th - I hope to be in the later

Can't wait to change the CD in my car, also (had the same one since my Biometrics...)

Enjoy soon becoming a USC and waving good bye to USCIS.

Best,

Emma

[*cinch* 0]

I went for my interview (9:45am)yesterday morning and i passed! Im down to the last step now.They said they will notify me within 30 days reagrding sched of the oath taking ceremony.

Here's my detailed experience.

I arrived @ 630 Sansome st, SF at 9am and found City Park Garage (475 Sansome St)walking distance from the Fed building.They will ask for a Photo ID card and appointment letter before they let you in.They'll ask if you have a camera phone (i left mine in the car, less hassle).You have to go through security then proceed to 2nd floor Reception Area.They will take your appointment letter @ the reception desk and will ask you to sit and wait for your name to be called.You have to atleast be there 30 minutes before your sched appointment so u get to familliarize with your surroundings.They called my name @ 9:30am and was ask to sworn in to tell the truth.The interviewer asked me to present needed docs (green card, State ID card, passports~old and new~)She asked me to sign the pictures i sent in and then She asked about all the info i wrote on my application.She asked me 10 civics questions.

What is the US National Anthem?

What does 13 stripes represent?

How old do u have to be to vote?

What is the rule of law?

Who vetoes bills?

Name one branch of government.

What ocean is on the west side of US?

What is the capital of US?

How many voting members does the House of Rep have?

Name 1 original Colony

I answered them all correctly. and then she asked me to read "How many Senators do we have?", and i answered 100.& she goes u dont even have to answer that, then she smiled.(lol) and then she asked me to write down "We have one hundred senators."and i did.And then she handed me a piece of paper and said we're all done , do you have any questions?i said none and thank her. I read the paper she gave me and the sentence where in it says "You passed the english , US history and government test" was checked.And also "Congratulations! your application has been sent for approval. If Final approval is granted you will be sent a notification where to appear for Oath Ceremony " was checked.

* Since Sf has the most number of Citizenship applicants they dont do same day oath,and FYI future Oath Ceremonies from March till Aug 2010 will be conducted at Paramount Theatre (2025 Broadway, Oakland CA).I hope my detailed experience helps.Good luck everyone!Phew, now i can change my audio cd reviewer that ive been playing in the car for a month.

Congrats, Chazzie!!

[Chazzie 1]

Thanx Emma and Cinch!

Yup it was based on my 5 year as a LPR, i actually submitted my app for N400, 90 days before my 5th year...My interview date was the same day i arrived here in the US 5 years ago.

Good Luck!!!

[Lucinka 0]

Hi Emma,

I'm trying to find the schedules for oath ceremony in Oakland for SF applicants but I cannot find anything.Do you have a link to dates for future oath ceremonies in Oakland?

Thanks a lot,

Lucy

[vsmtghdy 2]

Congrats Chazzie

[Chazzie 1]

Hi Emma,

I'm trying to find the schedules for oath ceremony in Oakland for SF applicants but I cannot find anything.Do you have a link to dates for future oath ceremonies in Oakland?

Thanks a lot,

Lucy

here you go...

U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Naturalization Ceremonies at the Paramount Theater

IMPORTANT: Please arrive no later than 9:30 AM. Ceremonies begin promptly at 10:00 AM.

Wednesday, April 14

Wednesday, May 5

Wednesday, May 26

Thursday, June 17

Thursday, July 8

Thursday, July 29

Thursday, August 19

For further information, contact USCIS at the Customer Service Line: 1-800-375-5283

Congrats Chazzie

thanx!

[PatrickBW 0]

My wife did her interview at ICE in San Francisco on 5/1/2014. The agent was pretty nice and nothing tricky happened, like asking extra questions and so on. My wife's English is okay, as her third language, and she studied for months on/off for the test. She found the interview test easier than she has anticipated, so the studying paid off. She used the ICE citizenship study package and found a great online site, where you can practice the civics, reading comprehension, and writing portion of the test. She did say that the agent asked her many of the disqualification questions; like were you ever a member of the Communist Party, didn't pay taxes, etc. After my wife was told she passed the interview and tests, we waited about three weeks for our notice of the ceremony. It was scheduled for 6/11/14 in Oakland, CA at the large theatre on Broadway (Paramount). The report time was 0915, people were still filing in after that, and the actual thing started at 1000. Parking in the area is hard to find right around the theatre. I parked on 19th Ave., just south of Broadway and walked in about two blocks. So, don't try to park right around the theatre, go out a couple of blocks.

The theatre has about 1111 folks taking the citizenship oath, with many more family members in the upstair balcones. So, there were a lot of people there and the theatre was pretty full. It started at 0915, with intros from the ICE master of ceremony and presentations from other government officials about voting, passports, and social security. This was pretty informative and important later on. The actual ceremony started at about 1000; with the national anthem, intro of all the countries represented in the group (over 100), the oath, a key note speaker, some songs, and conclusion. Now, I should have said that at the beginning the people getting their citizenship are separated from family and stay downstairs in the main seating area, all the family and friends go upstairs. I didn't see my wife from when we separated just inside the front doors until the end of the ceremony!! So getting pictures and that kind of stuff from inside the ground floor area didn't happen. Also everyone is separated into groups for their oath, so they don't have to get up and move, the ICE representatives brings they Citizenship Certificate to each person at the end of the ceremony. After that, everyone can leave, which they do in a big crush.

I said before about passports, a representative from the State Dept is there to talk about passports and my wife received a passport application when she did her citizenship interview back in May. Luckily I remembered the passport application form and we filled in out the night before the ceremony, because the State Dept sets up tables to take the passport applications in the lobby of the theatre. The applications have to be filled out, with a check for the fee, a passport photo, and your citizenship certificate that you just received. The lines were a bit crazy at the beginning, so my wife and I went to get coffee and came back later ( about 20 minutes) and the lines were gone. The only problem with leaving the theatre for me was that I couldn't go back in. There was a lot of security and they wouldn't let me back in, only the people taking the oath to drop their passport applications off. Not a real big deal, but it would have been nice to look around the theatre a bit more. It is great and very grand!! Plus it would have been a good time to get a few photos.

I hope this helps others, overall the oath ceremony was very good and shorter than I expected from 0915 to 1100 for over a 1000 people. ICE has it down pretty good and we didn't have any problems.