Interview at Orlando Field Office August 2023

[KHotDog 4]

Prior to my interview I was trying to locate recent interview experiences but couldn't find any, I hope this helps someone  

 

I applied for Naturalization under the 5 year rule in June 2023, a few days after I applied I received receipt of application and a few days/maybe a week following that I received another notification saying they would be reusing the bio info they have on file already.

3 weeks after that, so around July 7th I received an interview notification - I was expecting to see a date in 2024, but to my surprise it was for August 2023!  I had less than a month to prepare, scary but exciting all rolled into one.

 

I had a few tricks up my sleeve to memorize all the 100 civics questions, I purchased flash cards from Amazon, so quite a few I just memorized the look of the card, others I used silly things like Senate > Sen > Cen > Century (100 members) and S (essss) for six - 6 years.  It seems silly but it was so much easier to remember all the facts.  I also made up stories like I have 435 people coming to my house party and Kevin M won't stop speaking.  Anyway, for anyone struggling to remember things... make up a story, include a number of facts in the story... it might help recall some of the questions and answers.

 

Interview Day starts here:

 

My appointment was at 1pm, I arrived near the offices at 12:20pm.

At the door I was greeted by a friendly security lady who asked to see my ID and appointment letter, she also asked if I had any weapons.

Next was heading through the security metal detectors, much like TSA but on a smaller, friendlier scale... the only thing they wouldn't allow as far as I could tell were weapons, but everything else was fine.  I had a few snacks for my nerves like cheese goldfish and a bottle of water, my phone... these were all fine. (There are also vending machines in there too, one with snacks and one with soda's).

 

Next is heading to the check in reception, here the lady checked my appointment letter, ID and Green Card.  She also took my photo and finger prints.

 

The next step is to wait. The one thing I liked about this office was the natural light, there are large sky lights letting natural light in and also large windows in the waiting room that make this place feel much less claustrophobic than some of the other offices I've seen throughout this journey.  And to add to that all the staff seemed to be in good spirits too which was nice.

 

I should add here, when I came in a group of successful applicants were queueing up to go and take their oath, which also gave the room a level upbeat energy seeing them all so excited.

 

Ok but back to waiting, like I said my appointment was at 1pm... they were approx 30 numbers away from mine at 12:55 pm so it was clear they weren't going to get to me or anyone on time.

 

During the wait, the door into the interview rooms would open a number would be called and off that person would go... everyone and I mean everyone in the room was paying attention to the demeanor of each officer that called a number.  I'll put your mind at ease.  Every single one opened the door and met their applicant with a smile and with reassurance... even the ones with a slightly more serious tone smiled, held the door, told the person not to worry... for me this immediately put me at ease.

 

Fast forward 1 hour later, my number was called - my heart fluttered yikes this is it!

 

The officer asked how I was doing, I said great but nervous all rolled into one.  He said there's no need to be, as long as I've got the civics questions down this will be a breeze.

 

We head into his office, it's very relaxed - I was expecting it to feel stiff, thick air nerves but he was very conversational, nothing felt too formal just like chatting with someone at a dinner perhaps.

He confirmed my basic details like name, date of birth, address and then immediately went into the civics questions.. no warning just straight in, which I liked because I was worried I'd have to keep all these memorized cards in my head until the end... so he asked the 6 questions, I passed on the first 6.  He then moved on to ask the form questions, he asked if I'd traveled so I said not since 2019, he asked a few other questions that are on the end of the form, he did not ask me to clarify what they meant.   He then moved on to asking me about my recent holiday destination and any recommendations because he wanted to visit there.

 

Less than 10 minutes, all approved and I was back in the waiting room waiting to take the oath.

 

It was a very pleasant experience, there was absolutely no need to feel stressed.

 

I should also add since some people like to know this info, there are restrooms, they're very clean! 

 

I hope this helps someone!

 

 

 

 

[randomstairs 270]

Congrats! So did you get to the Oath?

[Redro 4,601]

What 6 questions were you asked? @KHotDog

[KHotDog 4]

Thank you! Yes, I took oath the same day @randomstairs 

 

@Redro Questions were:

1. What does the constitution do?
2. Name one branch of the government
3. What stops one branch of government from becoming too powerful
4. TheHouse of Representatives has how many voting members?
5. In what month do we vote for the President?
6. Who is the current Vice President?

Edited August 10, 2023 by KHotDog