N-400: Ant’s Citizenship INTERVIEW PASSED.…BUT….(Part 1 of 2)….

[NickD 202]

Ah, the New World divided by the British and Spanish mainly, but mostly all from Europe, many different countries today all separated by a thin invisible line. Our forefathers were rebellious. Been trying to find an engineering friend that married a gal from Canada, didn't know much about immigration back then, as far as I can recall, they just got married when we had open borders between our two countries. But in engineering, we are shifted all over the country.

Ironically, Buffalo is just across the street from Canada and Toronto was one of our key distribution points, in my last visit to Toronto with that new 5 million square foot addition to the airport, really don't want to ever go back again, was like being in prison, a far cry from just a few short years ago. Today, Canada is a very foreign country and really don't know why.

Ironically in tracing the roots of my wife's grandparents and my grandparents, they only lived about 400 miles apart, but my grandparents got on a boat to north where her grandparents on a boat to South America. We found each other, but learned with were separated by tons of paper work. And the USCIS and DOS by the way, sounds like you and your husband are far closer together when you met, but still separated by tons of paper work. But at least we found each of our lifelong mates.

Hope you get word soon about your oath letter, can be another stressful time and I guess you have to apply for a US passport, even more stress, seems like one agency should cover both citizen and passport applications, this country has gone nuts with way too many agencies, most were formed in the 70's, prior to WW II, we only had a couple. Back then they only guided congress, today they are like God almighty or at least think they are.

Use to live in a very rural area at the end of a very long extension cord hung on wooden poles, but had a backup generator. Living in the city now, if some idiot contractor breaks a water main, a backup generator is worthless as there is nothing to pump. Talking to my wife about moving back, but she lived in apartment buildings all of her life and a bit nervous about that. It is nice to be more independent is my argument. But still turns me to turn down the volume on my hi-fi here so I won't disturb the neighbors, LOL, even here, the nearest neighbor is 200 feet away, but a mile is much better.

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Thanks for your replies, well-wishes, and congratulations about my interview.

(and yes, I have read all of it, and will respond accordingly too)

Thanks too for reading the first part of the story....

So without further waiting and suspense, here is part 2 of my interview story….

N-400: Ant's Citizenship Interview Passed...OATH SCHEDULED...(Part 2 of 2), (11/19/09+11/20/09) The Phone Call Oath Surprise…

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3510774

Happy Reading!!!

Ant

Edited November 21, 2009 by Ant+D+A

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

Again, thanks for all your replies and well wishes...

Well, tomorrow is the big day for my oath ceremony....

So before I post about that experience later on in the week, let me respond to your replies here first:

Mobama94-Thanks for the congrats. Lol..Good to know too, that vjers do read other vjers timelines after all! At least I can see that updating my timeline is worth my time and effort..lol...No problem that you had a 'sneak peak' at such beforehand... Thought I would update that first for my own records, in case I would forget to do so later on down the road..lol...

I haven't read all the details yet but scrolled down (and from your timeline) and saw you were approved.. congratulations!

Karenros-Thanks for the congrats. Glad you liked the detailed posting too.

Congrats on passing the interview and thanks for the detail posting

ToLoveAndBeLoved-Thanks for the congrats. Glad you enjoyed the post and found it worth reading. Actually, overall, they don't interview me or anyone else in too much detail. Lol...I just like to write in detail, that's all...So what happened in 15-20 minutes in real-time seems longer that way....lol...And yes, I'll keep you and everyone else updated with the upcoming ceremony too.

Hello Ant + D

Congrats on your wonderful approval. It was worth reading. I really enjoyed it. Seems like they really interviewed you in detail. Anyways, keep us all in touch with the upcoming ceremony.

TLABL

MsAnn-Thanks for the congrats. Lol..I never did (and never will) get that oath letter in the mail....But got notice of the oath date soon (tomorrow), nevertheless. You can read more about that here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3510781 (part 2 of the story)

Congrats!!! I hope you get your oath letter very soon !!!

Lissa04-Thanks for the congrats. Glad that you enjoyed reading. My oath date is tomorrow (5 days after the interview approval), so I guess that is soon enough..lol...As for trying to get an oath date sooner than January, to be honest with you, no that was not my intention at all. My intention was to get the accomodation of a private oath ceremony, regardless of when it is/was. It just so happened that they have a date sooner than January, which is a good.

Congrats Ant+D on passing your interview. Hopefully you get your interview soon. Were you trying to get an interview sooner than January?

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

Rebelheart-Thanks for the congrats. You can read more about part 2 of the story here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3510781 (part 2 of the story)

Congratulation Ant!! can't wait for the part 2 of your N400 story.

Maryces21-Thanks for the congrats. Likewise, I'm happy for everyone else on vj too, when they have good experiences with immigration. Lol..I never did (and never will) get that oath letter in the mail....But got notice of the oath date soon (tomorrow), nevertheless. You can read more about that here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3510781 (part 2 of the story)

Congrats Ant......I am happy for you. I hope you get your Oath Letter soon.

JewryandJessica-Thanks for the congrats. Yes, I was happy that I got a good IO and that overall the experience was a good one too. Hope that my oath will be that way too. Congrats for you too, on your recent interiview and oath ceremony experiences.

CONGRATULATIONS!!! Good thingt you had a good IO, and your experience was a good one

Milimelo-Thanks for the congrats. You can read more about part 2 of the story here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3510781 (part 2 of the story)

Congrats Ant! Waiting for the part 2 of your story - I hope it's coming soon

Butuin-Thanks for the congrats.

Congratulations Ant!

More replies to come....quote tag problems...will put on next post...

Edited November 22, 2009 by Ant+D+A

[antda 13]

More replies continued from above post....

RedneckNOVA-Thanks for the congrats. Lol...and yes, it is a LONG update, as I like to write long and detailed like that. Hope you didn't mind reading the long post though. Lol..as for a new hobby after citizenship...Well I don't have the USCIS to deal with anymore, but I'll still hang around vj for awhile. One of my hobbies is helping others, which I like doing here on vj, by posting. Lol..I guess I can get rid of the USCIS, but I can't get rid of VJ! As for the country of birth...Well, it's not that bad....But I don't want any backlash here on vj because of it, that's all, as I don't have good opinions about this country, and I know others here on vj are from that country, so don't want to offend them. Lol..though rest assured it is not Cuba, not not North Korea, not Russia, so you can eliminate those..and figure it out that way... And regardless of birth country, I'm still Canadian, identify myself as such, and have such through naturalization, so on a tecnhicality, Canada is my birth country, and I honestly do wish that others (especially government agencies) would recognize such instead. Makes things more complicated to have to have to mention birth country and former country of Canada and new country of USA..lol... As for the accomodations requested, it was for a private oath ceremony, which they granted, and I mentioned about in the second part of the interview story. You can read more about that here: http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.ph...p;#entry3510774

Good luck with your oath ceremony coming up too. And don't worry, before you know it, it will be December soon, and you will have your oath then..

WOW! That is a LONG update. Ant, you gotta start looking for a hobby after this is all over because you spent way too much time and attention devoted to USCIS.

So, what is your country of birth after all? You make such a big deal out of it - how bad can it be? What is it - Cuba? North Korea? Iran? You give us such detailed description of your day but hide such a simple thing as your birth country...

Oh yeah, and what is that special Oath accomodation you asked for? Just curious...

Anyway, congratulations on passing your interview and hope your Oath wait won't be as long as mine...

Internetkafe-Thanks for the congrats. Glad that you found it very informative. As for an oath date, my oath is tomorrow (5 days from the interview date) Lol..I guess that is sooner than I expected?.....

Congratulations on passing the interview/test stage Ant+D+A. It was a very informative narrative indeed! Thank you for sharing your experience.

I hope you get an oath date for sooner than you expect.

Cdnwmn-Thanks for the congrats. As for remembering the details...I have a super memory (just kidding..I can't even remember my or anyone else's names, phone numbers, or other details at times..). Seriously though, right after the interview, I just circled the questions (in my book) that they asked, so that I didn't forget, I went thorough the application form, to see which parts they went through, and I made a mental note to remember what was said to me. So I guess I tried to remember as much as I could and tried to pay extra attention to everything around me, as I knew that I was going to have to 'report' back to here on vj...lol..Was the report detailed enough here?

Congratulations but how on earth were you able to remember all the details of your interview and questions asked?

I couldn't remember what 6 questions were asked of me at the interview 10 minutes after I had walked out of the building let alone anything else that went on in the office...lol.

Mom2LiNoah-Thanks for the congrats. Lol..glad you liked the "blow by blow" (I like that term that you used...) of the experience I described! More blow-by-blow details to come for the oath ceremony too...Rest assured though, that there wasn't anything blown up during these processes, despite it being blow-by-blow...

AntD, I wanna join the group to congratulate you...Great job for taking the time to post your blow-by-blow Interview experience.

NickD-Ahh, "so close, yet so far", is how I like to describe mine and my husband's former long-distance relationship days. We were literally only a few hundred miles apart from each other, and separated only by an invisible line, armed with border guards...Heck, we sort of 'grew up together' over the years, as we had the same tv stations, radio stations, newspapers, entertainment, culture, etc., since we lived so close to each other. Though not close enough though, as we were in separate countries, he being in the USA, and me being in Canada.....Literally..200 miles apart only...So close yet so far.....

I agree, back in the old days (maybe about 50 years or so ago), one could just cross the line, get married, and travel freely between the borders as citizens of both countries. Unfortunately, it is not the case now, and will probably get worse, because of immigration laws and crime and stuff like that. Interestingly enough too, when my husband traced his roots, we found out that his grandfather was Canadian, who lived close to Toronto where I was from..too bad he couldn't get Canadian citizenship that way too...So I went for American citizenship (though for other reasons)...lol....though no American relatives on my end here....But yes, Toronto and Buffalo are so close to each other and are similar in ways. Though I admit, give the choice, I honestly wouldn't want to live in Toronto again....Too many people, too busy, too chaotic, and yeah...filled with immigrants too (though that's not a bad thing..as I myself immigrated to Toronto from another country too..).

Interesting too, that yours and your wife's grandparents lived so close to each other. Hmmm..those grandparents didn't find each other back then, but you and your wife have found each other now...Guess that works in mysterious ways, doesn't it? So close yet so far....

And yes, it all catches up to us, in paperwork and immigration rules of today...sad, really.....

Oh well, that has to be done....At least in the end we are all together now, and that is what really matters, right?

As for the oath letter...I never did get that (and I never will). Oh well, I got the oath ceremony sooner than expected (tomorrow, 5 days after the interview), so that's even better.

Oh yeah, the journey is not over yet, as I'll have to apply for a US passport after the oath. I'll do that last though, as I have to update everyone else and every other government agency first, since the passport office wants the original certificate (why can't they just accept a copy, like others do... ), and I can't give it to them yet. I agree, they should one agency that does both citizenship and passports at the same time. Oh well. I agree, there are way too many government agencies here in the USA. Seems as though they all want “a piece of the pie”, and want to run things their way, and not conflict with other agencies. Lol..that’s capitalism/market economy for you. Go figure. In the meantime, I won’t be doing much traveling, so I should be ok before I get a US passport. Actually, the main reason why I want a US passport is because I can’t carry around my citizenship certificate with me to prove my citizenship. Lol..A US birth certificate is easy to get a replace. A naturalization certificate…forget it! So hence the passport for me (by the way, I’m applying for the card only). Heck, my husband doesn’t even have a passport…but that’s another story. We’re good with Enhanced Driver’s licenses to travel to and from Canada, which we travel to mostly.

Lol..about the extension cord on the wooden poles. Actually, that’s how our telephone is hooked up…1500yards of wire across a field...took them 8 weeks to hook up…crazy…but yeah, that’s rural life….Will have to get a backup generator someday though… But in the meantime, we have a electric meter that works most of the time…..And we have our own water pump and water supply….so no need to share that with everyone else….City life is definitely different from country life, indeed! Though have to agree with you there too, about it being more independent and better to have neighbours farther away. Lol..No need to say…turn down the music here! Who knows, maybe someday your wife will be convinced to move to a rural area. But until that happens, hope you enjoy the city and the convenience and other benefits it offers there.

Ah, the New World divided by the British and Spanish mainly, but mostly all from Europe, many different countries today all separated by a thin invisible line. Our forefathers were rebellious. Been trying to find an engineering friend that married a gal from Canada, didn't know much about immigration back then, as far as I can recall, they just got married when we had open borders between our two countries. But in engineering, we are shifted all over the country.

Ironically, Buffalo is just across the street from Canada and Toronto was one of our key distribution points, in my last visit to Toronto with that new 5 million square foot addition to the airport, really don't want to ever go back again, was like being in prison, a far cry from just a few short years ago. Today, Canada is a very foreign country and really don't know why.

Ironically in tracing the roots of my wife's grandparents and my grandparents, they only lived about 400 miles apart, but my grandparents got on a boat to north where her grandparents on a boat to South America. We found each other, but learned with were separated by tons of paper work. And the USCIS and DOS by the way, sounds like you and your husband are far closer together when you met, but still separated by tons of paper work. But at least we found each of our lifelong mates.

Hope you get word soon about your oath letter, can be another stressful time and I guess you have to apply for a US passport, even more stress, seems like one agency should cover both citizen and passport applications, this country has gone nuts with way too many agencies, most were formed in the 70's, prior to WW II, we only had a couple. Back then they only guided congress, today they are like God almighty or at least think they are.

Use to live in a very rural area at the end of a very long extension cord hung on wooden poles, but had a backup generator. Living in the city now, if some idiot contractor breaks a water main, a backup generator is worthless as there is nothing to pump. Talking to my wife about moving back, but she lived in apartment buildings all of her life and a bit nervous about that. It is nice to be more independent is my argument. But still turns me to turn down the volume on my hi-fi here so I won't disturb the neighbors, LOL, even here, the nearest neighbor is 200 feet away, but a mile is much better.

[antda 13]

Thanks for reading my stories about the interview! Hope that it helped you all out too...

Stay tuned for more updates and more stories on vj this week regarding my oath tomorrow (Nov. 23...)

Good luck with the rest of your journeys too!

Ant (Interview Passed, Oath Tomorrow....Yikes!)