the interview and the exam

[QueenofSwords 29]

Hi all, I have a couple of questions for the interview in terms of what to expect. Mine is coming up now in 12 days. I am studying for the 2008 version of the civics exam because I am a March 2020 applicant. Nonetheless I have also read over the new exam just in case. 

A friend of mine who was naturalized 2-3 years ago told me that they reword the questions from the booklet. Is this true? They don't read them verbatim?

More worryingly, she told me they quiz you on the spot on portraits of the Founding Fathers or other relevant figures (ie: Abraham Lincoln) hanging on the walls of the interview room. I know what Lincoln looks like because I went to U of I and there was a statue in my department. But is this kosher? This worries me that the officers go off script so to speak and ask random questions. 

On that note, do they ask questions that aren't in the 100 question pool?

Also, can someone enlighten me on what the English exam is? I read that they read a sentence that we are supposed to type out on an ipad and also that they ask another question off of the 100 question pool to which we type up an answer. How many questions do we get on the English proficiency portion?

Sorry for another barrage of questions but I thought I'd ask away and see what the community here says. Thank you in advance!

[ROC-AL 87]

Currently is 128 questions, if you applied in dec 1 2020 or before is the 100 question yes

Edited January 2, 2021 by ROC-AL

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

My questions were worded either identically or so similar I didn’t notice. You don’t have to word your answers exactly the same way as in the book as long as it is clear you know what the answer is.  The questions seem to be randomly generated from the list on their computer. Nothing different. As for the rest of it, identifying portraits and stuff, it definitely sounds like your “friend” is trying to freak you out. 
 

The English exam consists of one sentence for you to read (to show you can read English), one for you to write (to show that you can write English), and then the bulk of it is just the conversation between you and the interviewer (mainly going through the N400 form and your answers) where he or she will assess your ability to have a basic conversation in English, understand what you are asked etc. Judging from your first post, you’ll be totally fine! Good luck

 

 

Edited January 2, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[JFH 12,190]

If you typed that post yourself, you have nothing to worry about in terms of the English competence element of the interview. 

[QueenofSwords 29]

Thank you all for shedding some light on this situation.

 

My friend is a bit of a fear-monger. I'd like to think it's well intentioned in that she's a worry-wart but she's been going on about naming the portraits as sort of an add on pop quiz for several years!!

[NEW CITIZEN 151]

They do not go off script.

They do not ask you to identify pictures of founding fathers.

The English test is rudimentary. Mine was waived, based on my English conversation with the interviewer.

Edited January 2, 2021 by NEW CITIZEN

[Daaa 0]

13 hours ago, NEW CITIZEN said:

They do not go off script.

They do not ask you to identify pictures of founding fathers.

The English test is rudimentary. Mine was waived, based on my English conversation with the interviewer.

It's good to know that they waive the english test 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

9 minutes ago, Daaa said:

It's good to know that they waive the english test 

I presume he is talking about the reading and writing part, as the main test is the conversation. I had to do my reading and writing part right at the beginning before anything else (I’m a native English speaker btw), and I’ve not really heard anyone else talk about reading and writing being waived, but honestly if you can’t pass that you shouldn’t be there anyway. 

[Daaa 0]

10 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

I presume he is talking about the reading and writing part, as the main test is the conversation. I had to do my reading and writing part right at the beginning before anything else (I’m a native English speaker btw), and I’ve not really heard anyone else talk about reading and writing being waived, but honestly if you can’t pass that you shouldn’t be there anyway. 

I see, I guess that's a unique case. 

[Adventine 3,201]

On 1/2/2021 at 9:55 AM, QueenofSwords said:

Thank you all for shedding some light on this situation.

 

My friend is a bit of a fear-monger. I'd like to think it's well intentioned in that she's a worry-wart but she's been going on about naming the portraits as sort of an add on pop quiz for several years!!

 

I agree with the others that you will easily pass the English language test, without any problems.

 

Your friend should really stop doing that. Unless she has actual, verifiable evidence that proves Founding Father portrait identification is part of the exam, it's not helpful.  

[NEW CITIZEN 151]

9 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

I presume he is talking about the reading and writing part, as the main test is the conversation. I had to do my reading and writing part right at the beginning before anything else (I’m a native English speaker btw), and I’ve not really heard anyone else talk about reading and writing being waived, but honestly if you can’t pass that you shouldn’t be there anyway. 

I speak "American English" as if I was born and raised here. The interviewer was shocked speaking with me. Thought it was a joke.

Whats the big deal about waiving a test that in answering "who was the first president of the United Staes?" by writing

"George Washington was the first president of the United States."

He barely asked any N400 questions. 

I was in and out in under 10 minutes.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

17 minutes ago, NEW CITIZEN said:

I speak "American English" as if I was born and raised here. The interviewer was shocked speaking with me. Thought it was a joke.

Whats the big deal about waiving a test that in answering "who was the first president of the United Staes?" by writing

"George Washington was the first president of the United States."

He barely asked any N400 questions. 

I was in and out in under 10 minutes.

No big deal, like I said, if anyone can’t do the reading and writing they shouldn’t be there. It is the simplest part of the entire thing. You clearly had an interviewer who was worried about time, most of them go through all the N400 questions, it’s odd that yours didn’t.  Certainly not a precedent I’d use for people here trying to prepare for their tests, anyway.  “But some guy on the internet didn’t have to do it” lol. Fun fact, 91% of people pass the citizenship interview.

Edited January 3, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[QueenofSwords 29]

1 hour ago, SusieQQQ said:

No big deal, like I said, if anyone can’t do the reading and writing they shouldn’t be there. It is the simplest part of the entire thing. You clearly had an interviewer who was worried about time, most of them go through all the N400 questions, it’s odd that yours didn’t.  Certainly not a precedent I’d use for people here trying to prepare for their tests, anyway.  “But some guy on the internet didn’t have to do it” lol. Fun fact, 91% of people pass the citizenship interview.

thank you everyone for their sincerity, unwavering support on here, and for taking the time to respond to my questions.

 

I have no clue where my friend got the impression that she was being tested on portraits of key historical figures. I can only speculate and think that she misconstrued a normal conversation the officer was having with her after the exam as a hidden pop quiz.

 

I do have one follow up question. As my interview is a week prior to inauguration, I'd answer any questions pertaining to the executive branch by naming the current admin. Nonetheless, the 117th Congress is going to be sworn in now. A new Senator has been elected in my state and I do believe my representative wasn't reelected. As such, should I learn the names of the new senator and new rep? Would they be in office before inauguration?

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

53 minutes ago, QueenofSwords said:

thank you everyone for their sincerity, unwavering support on here, and for taking the time to respond to my questions.

 

I have no clue where my friend got the impression that she was being tested on portraits of key historical figures. I can only speculate and think that she misconstrued a normal conversation the officer was having with her after the exam as a hidden pop quiz.

 

I do have one follow up question. As my interview is a week prior to inauguration, I'd answer any questions pertaining to the executive branch by naming the current admin. Nonetheless, the 117th Congress is going to be sworn in now. A new Senator has been elected in my state and I do believe my representative wasn't reelected. As such, should I learn the names of the new senator and new rep? Would they be in office before inauguration?

The new congress is being sworn in right now. You can look up online who your reps are by zip code to ensure you can answer the question correctly on the day of your interview.

[QueenofSwords 29]

41 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

The new congress is being sworn in right now. You can look up online who your reps are by zip code to ensure you can answer the question correctly on the day of your interview.

Thank you!

I have another question. I am so sorry to be pestering the forum members but something that I've been pondering concerns the supplementary questions the officer will ask outside of the civics and history exam, and apart from proficiency (though I am told that the officer also aims to assess one's proficiency via these other conversation topics). 

specifically, they'll go over your responses to the N-400 questions. I am an online applicant and hence do not have an exact copy of the form I submitted. I know the answers to all the questions of course since I answered candidly but for example, I can't recall if I gave my university's main office address or my own faculty office address. do you all have copies of your original N-400 submission?

Luckily I was able to tabulate all my exact travel dates-- a total of 5 trips outside since becoming a US resident, all lasting a week or 2 weeks-so I can ensure they are identical and correct to what I submitted.

But I worry that as with the office address example, there may be minute discrepancies. To the best of my recollection, the online n-400 did not permit one to export out a pdf.