NuHere

What kind of documents did you submit when you were going through your green card process? It seems that your situation was not an issue back then. What makes it an issue now?

Did you get divorced immediately after your condition was removed? That could be a red flag now.

Unless your parents are US citizens (which sounds like that is not the case), you don't fill out this section. You only answer if you parents are US citizens.

Welfare, Medicaid... I have seen no questions regarding them on the N400 form.

Diazy, where did you see the information regarding the reimbursement?

I am a GC holder and in a few days my husband and I are traveling up to NY for a friends wedding & then flying back to the UK so we can visit friends & family.

I will be using my British passport to fly back to the UK but when we fly back home to the US what immigration line do I wait in? Do I just stand in the US citizen line and show them my green card?

There are 3 lines.. US citizens, residents and visitors. Technically, you should stand in the line for residents. But since you're coming with your husband who is a US citizen, perhaps, as others pointed out, it's ok for you to join him in the citizen line.

I don't know how old that list is, but there is at least one inaccuracy. Czech Republic allows dual citizenship.

You're right that most states use the voter registration rosters for their jury lists, but some have expanded their jury lists to include anyone who applies for a drivers license. So in some states, it's very rare for a non-citizen to get a jury duty call (it only happens if there's a mistake or an improper claim of citizenship), but in other states it happens all the time and it's up to the green card or visa holder to inform them that he's not a citizen and can't serve.

Hahahaha.. you're making me rethink the whole thing!!! I had hopes along the same lines... that it was gonna be all from now on.

Thanks, man..

Getting everything together in the next couple of days. Looked up all my past trips today.

I'm ready for the long haul, haha. New York is slow. If I get a "less than euphoric" officer at my interview, I'll deal with it.

Hopefully those could be the only two kinds of disappointment and the result will be a blue passport in my hand..

I was just playing..

Hope to be in your position in a not too distant future.

Hahahaha... I don't think Lisa wanted to hear that.

By the way, what time zone do you live in, Darth? You have received your passport on Aug 18th???

Congratulations on being done with the journey!

The interview can be intimidating for sure but mine was uneventful and my officer couldn't have been more professional and friendly. Here is my advice, for what it is worth. Be respectful. Be professional. Dress in a suit (I wore a navy blue pant suit). Be prepared with documents. Be open and honest and sincere. Be nice to them and they will be nice back. We managed to create some friendly camaraderie and I commiserated with her about some really bulky files on her desk. I'm not saying suck up, but I am saying see them as a person too who is just doing their job. Treat it like a job interview - the most important job interview of your life - and assume that all will be fine, be positive - and it should be.

I'm not saying some of them aren't jerks or having bad days.

I started the thread in reaction to a few recent posts here and figured it was obvious that I was mainly talking about a scenario when the immigration officer displays a disrespectful behavior or acts in a intimidating way for NO APPARENT reason.

It goes without saying that one should be honest, sincere, respectful, professional.. all that jazz.

However, "be nice to them and they will be nice back" did not seem to be the case in the stories a few people shared.

It's sad whenever intimidation is restored to as means to obtain information on a mass scale. I'm sorry you had to go through that experience, Jimmy. If everyone's consciousness operated on the level of treating others you want to be treated yourself, it would be a much smoother ride. But not everyone is quite there yet.

Darth, I'd say that is a 100% spot on summary. Only you know yourself and have to make the call if a few hundred dollars might be worth the relative peace of mind you'd gain from being accompanied by an attorney. In New York, you'd be looking at waaaay more than $300.

I hear you. I'm sure all of us deal with a similar situation differently. Someone like you, Jimmy, might shrug the whole thing off (if it happened to you) and be all about fact. I think that is the bet way to approach anything USCIS related. Others might spend days and weeks worrying and stressing over it until they hear the decision. And that to me when the IO's behavior is basically ruining someone's life (for a limited time).

Darth, you are right that an attorney's legal authority might be limited, but I would tend to agree with Happy Chic. I think the fact that a third person who isn't intimidated sits in the room affects the IO and how he/she treats the person being interviewed.

That's the thing, I don't think it would ultimately help the person filing the complaint. But perhaps if, as you say, an officer had a few complaints against him/her, some sort of a disciplinary action could take place. In reality, with the recent news about police behavior and action, I'm just frustrated by seeing people abuse their authority. That's all.

Perhaps, this is why some people hire attorneys. I assume the IOs act in a different manner with an attorney present, representing their client.

With the recent posts where people shared their unpleasant interview experiences, I was wondering if there was an official way to file a complaint against the interviewing officer or requesting to speak to his/her supervisor and letting them know.

We have our rights too. I understand the position we, the immigrants being interviewed, are in and that most of wouldn't want to do it, but I'm curious.

The officers are aware of their authority and some totally abuse it. Even though I assume the majority of people don't lie on their applications and therefore have nothing to worry about, still... nobody wants to get into an argument with their IO out of fear of it affecting the application.

However, certain lines shouldn't be crossed (eye rolling, etc). That is just rude and extremely unprofessional.

Actually, I think December 2011 would make him eligible to file in September 2014, not August.

It's sad that some, when in a position of power or authority, feel the need to treat others this way. I understand that immigration officers have to conduct a lot of interviews every day and that it's not all that personal to them, but at least they could be neutral. They are well aware of how we feel during these interviews and how their behavior affects us.

Like others, I also think that if you told truth on your form and during your interview, there is nothing to fear. She can't deny your application based on you not remembering the employer's address.

Excellent and very informative posts. Thank you very much for taking the time to type it up.

I remember some Mexican friends of mine being annoyed by the term Latino. They would always explain to people that it was incorrect to call them that. Other Mexican friends would refer to themselves as Latinos all the time.

On the west coast, the term Latino was used for pretty much every one while on the east coast, people use the term Spanish.... which to me is even more retarded. It's like calling all white people Dutch.

Exactly. I would understand if Hispanic/Latino was in the race category as well and then if they want to know your ethnicity, you put down your ethnicity... Senegalese, Irish, whatever.

Just out of curiosity, why is Hispanic / Latino ethnicity singled out on the form?

There are so many ethnicities, why do they only care whether you are Hispanic / Latino or not?

Yes, I have only been checking for New York, NY office in other posts... not Queens, NY. Those are the other 2 offices that I don't think apply to me.

Unfortunately, seems like the one in Manhattan is the slowest one in the country.

A friend of mine got recently naturalized in San Francisco and the whole thing was done under 4 months.

Sounds like I won't gain anything by waiting and should just go for it.

I thought maybe the summer timelines are significantly longer, so by waiting a month (or so), I could at the end save more time than that.

What you're saying makes sense.

I'd like for the whole process to be fast, of course.

Ultimately, it's not how long it takes that matters though. I'd like to be naturalized as soon as possible.

I've been eligible for many years.

Seems like 6-8 months is the average processing time. Summers are apparently the slowest.

Would it make sense to wait with filing till Sep or Oct instead of now?

Do you guys think that if I applied in the fall, things could faster and in the end I could be done sooner than if I applied now?

Checking the USCIS website, it said the last update for New York City NY field office was from June 30 and the N-400 Processing Timeframe was November 13, 2013.

Thank you.

Yes, both you and JohnR! are saying the same thing. Coming back to the US, both passports have to be presented (if leaving your native country that you had entered using your native passport).

Thank you guys for your help.

Thanks. Not only is it better, it is actually a law for US citizens to enter USA with a US passport.

I was mainly confused about leaving the other, non US airport.

JohnR! seems to have it down. I'll follow his advice in the future.