chitown

This doesn't mean the other 80 are easy, civics is arbitrary, meaning either you know the correct answer or not. Can't use either logic nor reasoning to figure it out. Was gathering study materials for my wife and thought I would share this. Ha, was tripped on that question that only congress can declare war and regarding the 27 amendments to the constitution, just don't use that on a day to day basis, but good questions to use on a TV quiz show if you don't want anybody to win the prize.

1. How many stripes are there on the U.S. flag?

10

13 *

50

51

2. Who is the chief justice of the Supreme Court today?

George W. Bush

Alberto Gonzales

Thomas Jefferson

John G. Roberts Jr. *

3. In what year was the Constitution written?

1776

1787 *

1876

1812

4. Which of these is guaranteed by the First Amendment?

Freedom of the press *

Right to bear arms

Right to happiness

Right to trial by jury

5. How many Supreme Court justices are there?

3

9 *

10

13

6. What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?

The Preamble

The Bill of Rights *

First Ten Amendments

Lewis "Scooter" Libby

7. When was the Declaration of Independence adopted?

July 4, 1776 *

July 4, 1787

July 4, 1812

July 4, 1876

8. Which of the following amendments to the Constitution does NOT address or guarantee voting rights?

19th Amendment

24th Amendment

15th Amendment

7th Amendment *

9. What are the 13 original states?

Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Zealand, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Ohio, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, Maryland

Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, Maryland *

Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Kentucky, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, Maryland

Connecticut, New Hampshire, New York, New Jersey, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Delaware, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, Georgia, Rhode Island, Maryland, Washington, D.C.

10. What do the stripes on the U.S. flag mean?

The Cabinet

One for each state in the Union

They represent the 13 original states *

One for each article of the Constitution

11. What is the introduction to the Constitution called?

The Preamble *

The Bill of Rights

The Declaration of Independence

The Articles of Confederation

12. How many changes or amendments are there to the Constitution?

9

10

13

27 *

13. Which of the following is NOT one of the constitutional requirements to be eligible to become president?

Must be at least 35 years old by the time he/she will serve

Must have lived in the United States for at least 14 years

Must be a natural-born citizen of the United States

Must have served as a governor *

14. Who selects the Supreme Court justices?

The Electoral College

The people

They are appointed by the president *

The Senate

(NOTE: This is the response given on the official United States Citizenship and Immigration Services Web site. The president selects the justices; however, they must be confirmed by the U.S. Senate. If they are rejected by the Senate, then the president must choose a new nominee, who, again, is subject to Senate approval.)

15. How many representatives are there in Congress?

50

100

102

435 *

(NOTE: The Legislative branch of the U.S. government is divided into two Houses. One is called the United States Senate, which has 100 Senators. The other is called the House of Representatives, which has 435 Representatives. There are a total of 535 Legislators. Unfortunately, by convention in American English, Representatives are sometimes referred to as Congressmen (or Congresswomen), while Senators are always referred to as Senators. To make it really confusing, sometimes the entire Legislative branch, meaning both the Senate and the House, are referred to collectively as the Congress.)

16. Who said, "Give me liberty or give me death?"

George Washington

Benjamin Franklin

Thomas Jefferson

Patrick Henry *

17. Why did the Pilgrims come to America?

In search of gold

To meet the Indians

For religious freedom *

To escape the Revolutionary War

18. Who has the power to declare war?

Congress *

The president

Chief justice of the Supreme Court

Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

19. What INS form is used to apply to become a naturalized citizen?

Form N-200 "Petition for Naturalization"

N-400 "Application for Naturalization" *

Social Security card

FD-258

20. Which of these contains three rights or freedoms guaranteed by the Bill of Rights?

Right to life, right to liberty, right to the pursuit of happiness

Freedom of speech, freedom of press, freedom of religion *

Right to protest, right to protection under the law, freedom of religion

Freedom of religion, right to elect representatives, human rights

Thank you NickD... those Questions above are a good reminder especially the dreaded "Name the 13 states in the Colonies"... 'I am knocking on wood not to get this question...'

Hi,

I'm so Confused about the Question about kids.My Wife have kid before I get Married to her.The Kids are born in Usand living with us.Do I need to put kids of my wife in to my citizenship application.Please advide and If I dont include in the application what are consequences. and what about If my wife's kid is not living with us.

What I understand is that you are currently legally married to your wife so you must list ALL children. Both from your side or your wife's side before your marriage will be included.

i wonder what happened to joannak and pathmover. i hope they got the approval.

Sorry I didn't report back. Interview went well and was approved. Hoping to get an oath soon.

Congrats Joannak !!!

they keep saying ur case is under regular processing months so u have to give us a call back if u dont get the IL within the normal processing months which is 7 months.so over all they r saying wait 7 months..why do they say this? in mid june it will be 7 months ..they dont explain why they r saying this but just repeat that ur case is in the normal 7 month period if u dont hear anything call us..did anyone hear about this or do u know whats the deal? they confuse me cus when i ask dont u go by the local office dates they say yes we do so which is it? it cant be two things at once its one or the other????? how is this?

flava,

I think the verbiage is just standard that USCIS customer service keep saying ... if it helps you better, you might want to keep checking every 2-3 weeks via phone on the 1800 #.... just my 2cents

I passed the interview on May 28th... now waiting for oath ceremony letter :star:

Congratulations Bertrand !!! That's a breeze for you ... hopefully you got your Oath Letter within days... I am just hoping Chicago DO moves fast... what concerns me is that some Chicago filers in this forum and also in the other forum such as: bolaian12, famy122, chicagonorth and shahhar5 said that they haven't received OL even though they have passed their Interviews a month ago (end April-early May).... yet other filers got it in 10-12 days such as roo724 and pal70.

Anyway enjoy your Moment my friend !!

Cheers!!

hi peoples

in chicago center for immrigra in b/w this days or april to may period send for anybody oath letter

pass exam may now i complete 4 weeks not come any oath lettter and and mark on result n 652 point A CROSS MARK not B

IO told me 2 - 3 weeks come to letter for oath whats happen

did any body wait same ship for this launcher

help and inforamation share

god help us

Hi Bolaian12,

I am in Chicago DO like yourself but I haven't got that far yet (interview at the end of this month). I saw in another forum 2 people in Chicago DO got interviews in Apr and May and within 2 weeks got their oath letters. However there is 1 person who interview at the same time with the other 2 and still have not received OL yet. I don't whether he/she forgot to update the forum or until today he/she still has not received OL yet.

Since your case is 4 weeks already I would call USCIS or Infopass at Congress Parkway downtown.

BTW since you have passed your interview and exam, did the officer gave you his/her name? I am thinking whether or not you can possibly track her/him down at the local office... just my thought..

Update: Lucy passed her civics test this morning!

Nothing out of the ordinary to report. The examiner went over the N-400, asked the "have you ever...." questions, and asked ten civics questions from the standard list. She did ask all ten questions, instead of stopping at 6 or 7 like I've heard for others people. Lucy answered all ten questions correctly.

The whole process took about ten minutes.

One note: the San Francisco office (at 630 Sansome) doesn't allow any cell phones, cameras, or pocket knives inside the building, and there's no place to store them outside. I had to run back to the car. Fortunately, we had plenty of time. I don't know if all offices are similar, but I'd suggest leaving any such things at home or in the car.

Now it's just time to wait for the oath notice.

Congratsss lucyrich!!! Hopefully you can get into the Mega Ceremonies on July 4th together with some other January filers such as staashi and bertrand

Maybe someone is able to help me, when I put in my receipt # to get the case status, I am getting this error:

Validation Error(s)

You must correct the following error(s) before proceeding:

* Case Status Retrieval Failed

* This Receipt Number cannot be found at this time in this automated system. Please check your case receipt number to see if it is correct. If you have questions or concerns about your case status, please contact the National Customer Service Center.\

The receipt begins with WSC*00......., is the star part of it? Does anyone else have this issue?

Yes, the star is part of it. Sometimes though for whatever reason, it will not pull up a case. Crazy.

Any suggestions on what I should do?

Hi jilanik,

Thank you for the correction above on your DO name. I don't get your PM btw.

Anyway, for those error message it is most likely a good thing. Most of the people who got error message in another forum (immigration portal) shares that the disappearance when pulling their application# on USCIS means their status is already being processed and moved to individual/ designated DO -- meaning waiting or putting in queue for Interview Date.

However, some oddballs such as myself, my case application # NEVER appear , not even once since day one, in USCIS website. The good thing is I received IL last month (for Interview Date at the end of next month). I think they just never put in my application # at all in the website.

So it should be a great sign for you

My husband is Australian and was issued a green card October 2007. He is a permanent resident. He needs to be living here in the U.S. for three years to obtain citizenship since he is married to me, an American citizen. But there are exceptions to this three-year rule. He can leave the U.S. for trips of under six months.

Does that mean he can take a trip from the U.S. for 5 1/2 months, then return for a short period, then leave again another 5 1/2 months, ect? Or does that mean a total of 6 months?

We're asking because we'd like to study and do internships overseas (Italy).

I called USCIS and they told me that he has to be living in the U.S. for 18 months total, within that 3 year period. And yes, he can go for a trip of 5 1/2 months and return briefly and go for another 5 1/2 month trip.

Can anyone back up this information? Or has anyone had a similar experience and had trouble obtaining citizenship? I just want to be absolutely sure! We plan to live in the U.S. our whole lives, and wouldn't want a few overseas opportunities to interfere with that.

Thank you!!

Lorra

Hi LorraV,

What USCIS told you is correct. Your hubby will be able to apply N400 citizenship (based on marriage) on October 2010. I am assuming you both are married before or at least since October 2007 (when your hubby received his greencard).

Now the time requirement for for staying in US is Half of the total 3 years ( 3years means 36 months). So half of 36months is 18 months. It means your hubby can spend time outside US in total of 18 months maximum. You can divide the 18months into several trip such as what the USCIS Immigration Officer told you (example: 5.5 months per single trip).

In anyway if you have emergency and your hubby must stay beyond 6 mos but less than 1 year in a single trip, make sure he has valid proof that he is maintaining residency in US. Valid proof such as: paystub, house/ rental payment, credit card payment, or family ties living/left behind in US while he is outside US (could be you or you and children live in US).

...just my 2cents..

Tunafish...

I guess you are NEXT... since your PD is exactly the same with mine

Finally! Interview letter has arrived in the mail! IL dated May 6th, Interview scheduled for July 2nd.

Congratulations Tunafish !!!

It is absolutely amazing our dates are exactly similar .. and indeed our Interview Dates are only 5days apart

Enjoy the moment

More good news from hotairguy, jennnybirgitta & tunafish

User Name SC/DO PD FP IL ID

bertrand NSC/Chicago 12/19/2008 1/24/2008 2/25/2008 5/28/2008

kiwis NSC/Portland 12/26/2007 1/26/2008

hotairguy NSC/Denver 1/5/2008 5/20/2008

nscvet CSC/Los Angeles 1/11/2008 2/7/2008

jlanik CSC/San Diego 1/14/2008 2/7/2008

jennybirgitta CSC/San Diego 1/16/2008 2/7/2008 4/27/2008 6/17/2008

tunafish:D NSC/Detroit 1/17/2008 2/15/2008 5/16/08 7/2/08

chitown08 NSC/Chicago 1/17/2008 2/15/2008 4/15/2008 6/27/2008

patricks Fairfax VA 1/21/2008 2/22/2008

lucyrich CSC/SF Bay Area 1/23/2008 2/19/2008 3/27/2008 5/30/2008

staashi TSX/Jacksonville 1/28/2008 3/18/2008 4/2/2008 5/6/2008

cmartyn VSC/Hartford 1/30/2008 3/15/2008

Here is the simple January 2008 filers updates as of last good news from hotairguy & jennnybirgitta:

User Name SC/DO PD FP IL ID

bertrand NSC/Chicago 12/19/2008 1/24/2008 2/25/2008 5/28/2008

kiwis NSC/Portland 12/26/2007 1/26/2008

hotairguy NSC/Denver 1/5/2008 5/20/2008

nscvet CSC/Los Angeles 1/11/2008 2/7/2008

jlanik CSC/San Diego 1/14/2008 2/7/2008

jennybirgitta CSC/San Diego 1/16/2008 2/7/2008 4/27/2008 6/17/2008

tunafish NSC/Detroit 1/17/2008 2/15/2008

chitown08 NSC/Chicago 1/17/2008 2/15/2008 4/15/2008 6/27/2008

patricks Fairfax VA 1/21/2008 2/22/2008

lucyrich CSC/SF Bay Area 1/23/2008 2/19/2008 3/27/2008 5/30/2008

staashi TSX/Jacksonville 1/28/2008 3/18/2008 4/2/2008 5/6/2008

cmartyn VSC/Hartford 1/30/2008 3/15/2008

Updated ...

1/05/08 - N-400 sent to NSC

1/10/08 - NSC cashes check

1/16/08 - Received NOA1 for N-400. Notice (NOA1) states we should expect to be notified within 450 days. Glad that fee increase gave us the results the USCIS promised!

Updated ...

1/05/08 - N-400 sent to NSC

1/10/08 - NSC cashes check

1/16/08 - Received NOA1 for N-400. Notice (NOA1) states we should expect to be notified within 450 days. Glad that fee increase gave us the results the USCIS promised!

5/8/08 - FINALLY received biometrics notice for 5/20/08. The USCIS website still does not acknowledge our service center number though and I cannot track any touches or updates. We have also found out that we cannot use the 800 number because it asks for our service center number and since it isn't registered, it hangs up on us.

I am happy for you at least you got the process going... it's strange IMHO that your FP is almost 4months after your PD. Other I see is really fast usually only 2-4 weeks ... o well it is USCIS... enjoy the moment

Had my interview today and got the approval. thanks so much guys for your help!!!

ives

Congratulations ives-damian on passing the Interview

My husband got his interview letter today, it's the second week of July. He better get crackin!!!

congrats Tammi ... exam time now n Goodluck

i was curious about my name check and fingerprint status so i made an infopass appointment today. the officer told me i passed both since march and now in the queue for interview. i am delighted that i passed the name check (having seen so many "stuck in name check" cases but at the same time becoz my DO is an extremely slow office, i really am not expecting any interview letter for another 3 months i think.

btw, does anyone here know about registering in boards.immigrationportal.com? i registered for an account there but never rec the activation email.

Hi satura,

I also join immigrationportal forum. It was fine when I registered it few months ago. You might want to check your spam folder since it could be accidentally filtered on your email account and get into the spam folder.

And here I am to deliver my SUPER-DUPER good news!!!!!

Not only I passed my interview with flying colors (to use the IO's words lol) I have my Oath Scheduled at 3:00 pm THIS AFTERNOON!!!!!!!! Isn't that amazing?? When she told me the ceremony would be today I had to ask her to repeat it again because I thought my ears had just failed me I just came home for a bit, we'll drive there later on (the district office is only about 25 minutes drive)

Anyways...here's how it went. I arrived about 40 minutes prior my appointment's scheduled time, ended up being called over an hour later . My IO wasn't a born American because she had a really thick Spanish accent that actually made it a bit difficult to understand her when she was talking, also because she spoke very subtle too...but she was very friendly and nice so I'm not complaining! She made me raise my right hand to swear I would be telling the truth, then she started asking for my passport, ID and green card. She then asked me "Have you taken your test Mrs?"...me--> I wasn't sure what she meant by that so I asked "what test?", she said "I mean, have you been studying?" DUH! I panicked a bit because I was kinda nervous and thought that maybe I had forgotten to do something or whatever ...anyways..she proceeded to ask me the questions, I got lucky because they were really easy ones...I do not remember them all, only 5 out of 6 for some reason...

1.Who has the power to declare war?

2.When was the constitution written?

3.What colors are the stripes on our flag?

4.Where is the White House located?

5.What countries did we fight in WWII? (I was expecting this one since Italy is one of them )

6. I cannot remember this one...if I do I will post it later

Then I was asked to write "I have three children", she requested I write "3" both in word and figure.

She stopped telling me I passed the test, then she asked for the IRS tax transcripts.

Then she went over my N-400 form asking me all the YES/NO questions towards the end. She then asked for my personal info and all to see if I would match what was in the form. Then she updated my trips-outside-the-US list and enquired a bit about a long stay I had in Italy in 2007 (almost 6 months but for a week), she wrote down my explanation telling me they have to justify longer trips, then wrote down that I went to Italy again after I filed for the N-400. That was pretty much it. The last thing I had to do was of course to answer her question about whether or not I wanted to be a US Citizen and sign the form in front of her. That's when she handed me the paper about the ceremony at 3:00 pm today...which is also when my jaws dropped

I probably forgot some details... BTW it sounds longer than it actually was...the whole thing was probably no longer than 15 minutes after I was called inside.

I suppose I was not that lucky with the waiting time for the interview, but I really was blessed to be able to do everything in one day...Baltimore rocks!!

Good luck to everyone who is still waiting, I might post later about the ceremony!

P.S.

For those who are interested, in Baltimore the spouse isn't allowed to be present at the interview.

Congratulations Churipu ... I am happy for you and your whole family

pass test wait for oath now

how long ????????

Hi Bolaian,

I notice you are on the same boat with me from Chicago DO. Although I haven't personally experienced it yet nor passing the interview yet, but I read on some posts on another forum that Chicago DO oath letter arrival seems pretty fast about 2-4weeks after you pass your interview.

Theoretically, USCIS has the official time up to 120days (4months) after interview to send any applicant the oath letter. Hope it helps.

Congratulation LovelyTena.... !!! Finally it is all welldone....

God Bless America

Interview Dates February filers

Satura..........

Joannak......... 5/15/8

Miri............... 6/12/8

Ives Damian.... 5/13/8

hellokittymm...

Balad.............. 6/3/8

Jas noel..........

Vogue............ 6/18/8

Danutuke........

Lady_k........... 6/26/8

Pathmover......

Hi Chitown, are you just waiting for the ceremony ?

No Lady_K,

I am not even passing interview yet (my timeline is on January Thread) .... hopefully by the end of June.

Here is my timeline so far, almost done.

May 2005- Green Card

02/28/2008- N-400 sent to service center

03/19/2008- I-757 Notice of Action Biometrics

04/03/2008- Biometrics Appointment

04/23/2008- I-757 Notice of Action Naturalization Interveiw

05/20/2008- Interveiw Day

??/??/?? Oath TBD

Regards

Wow ... you are so fast pathmover. Your FP to IL is only 20 Days !! Excellent for you... Goodluck to your countdown to Interview Day only 2 more weeks from now

Satura..........

Joannak......... 5/15/8

Miri............... 6/12/8

Ives Damian.... 5/13/8

hellokittymm...

Balad.............. 6/3/8

Jas noel..........

Vogue............ 6/18/8

Danutuke........

Lady_k........... 6/26/8

Congrats LadyK... the end of tunnel is appearing !.... February filers looks faster than January filers that is very promising. It means USCIS new staff works faster I hope

Hey Everyone! Well, my husband had his interview today and passed. Thank the Lord it is done. His interviewer wasn't very nice, wouldn't shake my husband's hand at the end:wow: ...but I'm not too worried about that. What matters is that he passed. He said the interviewer spoke so fast, didn't ask for any papers that we submitted, nothing. He was in and out within...6 minutes!!! He didn't ask to see me, just asked my husband if everything was ok with our marriage - it is. And then it was over. We just now have to wait for the oath letter, which we believe will be the 4th of July Celebration here in town.

Good luck to everyone.

Congratulations Staashi... can't wait for the BBQ party along with the July 4th Oath party :D

San Diego CA N400 Timeline ....

Hello All,

I have been looking for other N400 applicants with a similar experience to try to gauge when we might expect our Oath Ceremony Date Notification.

My wife and I applied at the same time and were interviewed on the same day .

Receipt Priority Date July 31 2007

FP December 20 2007

Interview March 27 , 2008 ( 880 Front Street)

Oath Date ( Letter ) ?????

I know its been only a month sice we passed our interview, and just wondering how long it might take to receive our Oath Notification Letter. We know other people in SD who have been given their Oath Dates on the same day as their interview. Anyone else interviewed in March 08 and still waiting ? It's been a long journey and we are so looking forward attending the ceremony together.

Ray

Hi RayG, Congrats for both you and your wife on passing the Interview !!!! That's the big hurdle you pass!! and now just waiting for your Oath...

Since your PD is last summer backlog 2007 I think you will get your Oath Letter QUICKLY. The USCIS will have up to 120 days (about 4months) after your Interview Date March 27th, 2008 to send you the letter. I havenot even gone to interview yet so I cannot give you my personal waiting time for oath since it hasnot happened yet to me. IMHO you probably might want to wait until July27 and if by that time you still don't get any you might want to schedule INFOPASS and see the Immigration Officer at your local San Diego District Office.

Let's wait for other applicants from San Diego DO who also have passed the Interviewed and received Oath Letter to gauge the timeline they have completed the waiting between ID (interview Date) and Oath Letter.

Not for nuttin but you updated an old version of the list. Im VSC/Hartford remember?

Thank you cmartyn for reminding me, here is the list:

User Name SC/DO PD FP IL ID

kiwis NSC/Portland 12/26/2007 1/26/2008

hotairguy NSC/Denver 1/5/2008

honda99 TSC/NA 1/10/2008

nscvet CSC/Los Angeles 1/11/2008 2/7/2008

jlanik CSC/San Diego 1/14/2008 2/7/2008

jennybirgitta CSC/San Diego 1/16/2008 2/7/2008 end Apr2008 6/17/2008

tunafish NSC/Detroit 1/17/2008 2/15/2008

chitown08 NSC/Chicago 1/17/2008 2/15/2008 4/15/2008 6/27/2008

patricks Fairfax VA 1/21/2008 2/22/2008

lucyrich CSC/SF Bay Area 1/23/2008 2/19/2008 3/27/2008 5/30/2008

staashi TSX/Jacksonville 1/28/2008 3/18/2008 4/2/2008 5/6/2008

cmartyn VSC/Hartford 1/30/2008 3/15/2008

rohamica VSC/ Newark 2/4/2008 2/28/2008 4/19/2008 6/23/2008

amaka TSC/Dallas NA 3/5/2008 4/11/2008 6/6/2008

cal NSC/Denver 3/21/2008 4/16/2008