Peot

Tldr; I want to detail my experience for others going to this same location at the Detroit field office for USCIS. I was approved! Hope this helps! Location If you attended a green card interview or removal of conditions, this is the same location. It's a stone's throw from downtown Detroit and a few blocks from Belle Isle park. The surrounding area is pretty empty. If you're not from the area you will see boarded-up houses everywhere nearby and this can be a bit of a shock for the unacclimatized, but despite this it is NOT a bad area of Detroit. Unfortunately, it's just far enough away from downtown (about 20 mins) to make it kind of inconvenient to venture that way if you have time to spare. Most substantial stores and malls are about 40 minutes away. Keep in mind that if you travel to kill time there will be travel time to get back! There's a diner a few blocks away (Legends), but you need to order food - they specifically do not let you wait there for your interview unless you order food. They are extremely strict about not letting you in until 15 mins before your appointment and there is no waiting area - you have to wait either outside or in the main breezeway which is like a greenhouse in the heat (or in your car if you have one). If you try to enter early, they will turn you away, and they have a list of schedules so they know when people are supposed to be there. All interviews are done in blocks of several people at a time. Process At both security and check-in, I needed my interview notice document out and ready. Biometric confirmation was done at check-in. I have my 10 year GC, and this was done via Removal of Conditions interview at this location based on marriage. If your interview is a combo interview for green card like I-751 or ROC, your spouse can attend the interview. For me on the other hand, because I already had my 10 year, my spouse was allowed past security and past check-in point, but needed to stay in the waiting room while I went in to interview. The entire time from entry to security to check-in to interview was about 20-25 minutes. Most of the time was spent waiting in the waiting room to be called. I saw at least one person go through security, check-in, and get called all within about 5 minutes, so it really depends. As of a week ago, they now allow cellphones in the waiting room area despite the signs that say you can't. This is what I was told by the check-in clerk. Interview Took about 15 minutes total. You need to be sworn in / attest to tell the truth before proceeding. They did not want to see any of my supporting documentation original copies, but of course, I had them just in case. The documentation they wanted was: Green card Drivers license (ID) Passport - open to the photo page They asked very few questions. They asked (in no particular order): What was my wife's name How many marriages did they have How they became a citizen or what gave them citizenship status What my stepchildren's names were Do I owe any federal taxes They then went through the tests (see below), followed by confirming the same questions as the application form regarding being a part of a terrorist group, that you are willing to defend the country if called upon, and so forth. As soon as this was done, she rifled through the documents one last time and then printed out a letter noting that I was approved on the spot. The oath ceremony is to be booked "30 to 60 days from now, but likely sooner". Testing Reading test they had me read off an iPad: "What was the first state in the United States?". Writing test they had me write on the same iPad "Delaware was the first state". Note: I have heard from another who attended Detroit that they asked "Who was Abraham Lincoln" -> "Abraham Lincoln was President during the Civil War", so these questions are clearly randomized, or different depending on the interviewer. Civics questions, they only asked until I reached the 60% threshold - so 6 questions total: How many US senators are there? What do we call the first ten amendments to the Constitution? What are two rights of everyone living in the United States? Who did the United States right in WWII? What movement tried to end racial discrimination? Why does the flag have 13 stripes? Note: Again, I have heard a completely different set was offered to others. However, the questions were exactly worded as they are in the 100q document provided by USCIS to study. Study all questions as the ones you get will almost certainly be different.

I brought my wife to my interview in Detroit this week. Maybe my case is different because it's not a "combo" interview eg: removal of conditions was done years ago. My wife was able to come through security and get checked in, but the officer conducting the meeting stopped her at the door when my name was called. "This interview is for you, not her". is what she said along with "If she was here, she would make you too nervous", which is probably the opposite of true, but it's whatever. She was able to sit in the waiting room at least. Green card (and likely combo) are different if based on marriage, because the spouse of course has to be there, but for N400 they did not let her in.

This is great information for me as well! My wife and I are planning on moving to Canada after our long process to get me immigrated to the United States as our next 5-year plan. Through the course of having her visit me and my family in Canada, she grew to love the country and its culture, food, health care, etc... I'm in the process right now of getting US citizenship even though the plan is to eventually move. Mostly to make travel and income (job qualification being citizenship) easier. I do know a thing or two about paying US income tax while in Canada though and it's a bit of a headache you will need to contend with each year. 1. The comment about Canada only taxing Canadian income is not true. They, like the US, tax worldwide income, and unless you file properly you can be subjected to double taxation. Canada has tax treaties with the US and offers tax credits for foreign income to get around this. I just wanted to clear that up in case there was a chance that you might still get residual income from US-based sources. 2. You can't rely on things like tax software or even most tax online services available in Canada as they region-lock it. In other words, it will only present you with options of Province, not State, and dollar amounts in CAD, etc. You do have some options available, but what I'm getting at is that it's not as easy as going down to your local green tax service to get it done, you may need to file the documents yourself or reach out to a specialist in foreign tax filing. It's not difficult to do it yourself by the way, but I realize it can be daunting for some.

Yes! Sent you a message.

That's very great news, and I'm happy to hear there was a level of compassion shown! While I was waiting in line for similar USCIS appointments, I've seen people without an appointment get completely turned away, so it appears to be situational. Being very pregnant sounds like a good qualifier to me, but if someone is reading this thinking "they accept walk-ins", that shouldn't be the takeaway.

I am studying as well. I picked up flash cards for the 2023 (2024) 100-questions online through a suggestion from a friend who went through the same process. I recommend doing the same, but the questions are mostly no-brainers. Should be easy!