Wife failed naturalization interview

[wayno 9]

I just returned to this site after 12 years as it was a lot of help for me getting my wife through the initial visa and following permanent resident process. Now a dozen years later I am requesting help with her failed naturalization part. She is horrible with tests and had a deaf interviewer with someone translating in sign language to him for her first test!

 

First, has anybody here failed both chances and then reaplied?

 

Now I understand that I can re-submit the N-400, another 800 or so bucks and go through the process again and can apply at any time? Correct? Asking here as I can not get anybody other then a computer when calling USCIS!

 

The next thing is on the denial letter it mentions possibly filing a form N-336 to request a hearing. It almost sounds like that would be a chance to get through it without taking the test? However, there is still an 800 or so dollar processing fee so if they don't approve her at the hearing we would need to pay 800 again to reapply with another N-400 making that decision a risk.

Has anybody done that?

 

Just looking for ideas as USCIS is useless to contact for a simple question.

 

Does anybody have a number that can actually reach a person? I know, good luck with that one!

 

And BTW, she is 45 and doesn't qualify for any special exemptions. Just unlucky. As an example, the second time preparing for the test she was doing well, except for questions regarding the constitution (her main bad part). 3 of the first 4 questions were those questions she just could not answer no matter how many times I went over them with her!

 

Thanks for any input or ideas. 

[Dashinka 24,591]

Doing a quick search here in VJ on "N336", it seems those are rarely approved.  It seems the application was denied properly based on what you said, and it does not appear to have been some form of misrepresentation or anything like that.  I would focus on re-applying for naturalization and prepare harder for the next time around.

 

Good Luck!

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

Can I make a suggestion, many towns (via adult education at high schools, community colleges etc) have free classes to help people prepare for the test, for both English and the civics test. That might be something to consider? You didn’t mention if her English was an issue but maybe some of these classes will help her feel both more prepared and more confident for next time. Good luck. 

[Adventine 3,201]

If her English is otherwise perfectly acceptable for everyday life, then it may be a simple question of nerves. Anxiety may be getting the better of her.

 

She can find classes or others practicing for the tests, so she can drill the questions repeatedly. How much time did she spend preparing for the first two tries? Daily practice rounds (30 minutes a day, for example) and practicing with others should help. Good luck!

[StuTor 51]

I agree, i think it'd be better to prepare for the tests and apply whenever she's ready. There are many resources online, most free to help with the tests. There's Youtube, Spotify playlists and even free practice websites. Hopefully, she can find one of these resources helpful

[JeanneAdil 6,543]

22 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

Can I make a suggestion, many towns (via adult education at high schools, community colleges etc) have free classes to help people prepare for the test, for both English and the civics test. That might be something to consider? You didn’t mention if her English was an issue but maybe some of these classes will help her feel both more prepared and more confident for next time. Good luck. 

he mentions a deaf sign language interpretor and most adult education classes that are free would not have a teacher who knows sign

 

OP:   How good is your sign

do you practice in sign?

How good is her knowledge of written English?

The following is from 

 

https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/immigration/citizenship/can-uscis-accommodate-my-disability-when-interviewing-me-for-citizenship.html#:~:text=Most%20of%20the%20interview

 

Most of the interview is ordinarily conducted orally, including the civics exam. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, USCIS will honor your requests for how to conduct the interview. ... You can ask to use any communication aids that USCIS has available, ask to read lips, or ask to be able to provide your answers in writing.Mar 8, 2021

 

   I  would think to ask for the next interview to be done in writing and work on her writing skills

[Stuff2447 32]

13 minutes ago, JeanneAdil said:

he mentions a deaf sign language interpretor and most adult education classes that are free would not have a teacher who knows sign

 

OP:   How good is your sign

do you practice in sign?

How good is her knowledge of written English?

The following is from 

 

https://www.lawyers.com/legal-info/immigration/citizenship/can-uscis-accommodate-my-disability-when-interviewing-me-for-citizenship.html#:~:text=Most of the interview

 

Most of the interview is ordinarily conducted orally, including the civics exam. If you're deaf or hard of hearing, USCIS will honor your requests for how to conduct the interview. ... You can ask to use any communication aids that USCIS has available, ask to read lips, or ask to be able to provide your answers in writing.Mar 8, 2021

 

   I  would think to ask for the next interview to be done in writing and work on her writing skills

The OP said the interviewer (i.e. USCIS agent) was the one who was deaf, not his wife, the applicant.

[JeanneAdil 6,543]

trying to add to my post

when English is not the natural language it is a 3 part process to sign

from native language to english to sign

and sign is done many times from popular signings and idioms (English sayings)

like the sign for apple is a closed fist to the eye for "apple of my eye"

its a hard language to learn 

[JeanneAdil 6,543]

4 minutes ago, Stuff2447 said:

The OP said the interviewer (i.e. USCIS agent) was the one who was deaf, not his wife, the applicant.

why would they issue a person who does sign if the foreigner did not know sign?

[Stuff2447 32]

Just now, JeanneAdil said:

why would they issue a person who does sign if the foreigner did not know sign?

Like the OP said in his post, the deaf agent had a sign interpreter who interpreted the applicants answers for the USCIS agent.

[JeanneAdil 6,543]

41 minutes ago, Stuff2447 said:

Like the OP said in his post, the deaf agent had a sign interpreter who interpreted the applicants answers for the USCIS agent.

worked with many deaf students (before i retired as PT)   and it is only proper for sign language to be used when both parties that are part of this  talk know sign 

otherwise the sign agent should write questions to the undeaf person 

that is what they are taught

i would write and ask for new interview 

the interviewee was not included in that part of the interview and this is all wrong

 

Edited May 25, 2021 by JeanneAdil

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, JeanneAdil said:

worked with many deaf students (before i retired as PT)   and it is only proper for sign language to be used when both parties that are part of this  talk know sign 

otherwise the sign agent should write questions to the undeaf person 

that is what they are taught

i would write and ask for new interview 

the interviewee was not included in that part of the interview and this is all wrong

 

Are you saying that uscis cannot have deaf interviewers (“is only proper for sign language to be used when both parties that are part of this  talk know sign ”) ? Why should the questions be written not asked orally to the interviewee, I don’t see the difference?

Edited May 25, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[Stuff2447 32]

3 hours ago, JeanneAdil said:

worked with many deaf students (before i retired as PT)   and it is only proper for sign language to be used when both parties that are part of this  talk know sign 

otherwise the sign agent should write questions to the undeaf person 

that is what they are taught

i would write and ask for new interview 

the interviewee was not included in that part of the interview and this is all wrong

 

She did in fact have a second interview (as stated by the OP) and unfortunately, she did not pass that one either.

[Boiler 45,658]

Why not let her have time, no requirement to naturalise she can maintain her LPR status.