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MrsP2010

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    N-400 November 2020 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, isthisconfusing said:

    Hey, sorry, I hope my message didn't come off as suggesting that I was judging you or anything you did or didn't do - I'm just surprised that this law is still on the books more than anything...

    oh, no not at all - I got what you were saying, all good! It is surprising, I had zero idea! Honestly it really took me aback when he brought it up.

    N-400 November 2020 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    13 hours ago, isthisconfusing said:

    Wow. Just wow.

    It's a bit alarming. I get that it's not an ideal situation for a relationship, but life happens and I feel like it's not up to anyone else to judge, especially make immigration decisions on. To be fair, after I answered no, he explained a little bit that it was an archaic thing and expressed a bit of disappointment that it had to even be brought up.

    N-400 November 2020 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    Here's my full run-down of how it went (Nashville).

     

    Documents I brought: All passports covering my time in the USCIS process, drivers licenses (US and UK), SSN cards, birth certificate, marriage certificate showing name change, old marriage and divorce certificate, copy of I-751 paperwork, 4 years tax returns, copy of application, all USCIS-issued letters, pen, little flag.

     

    My interview was at 11:25am CST so we arrived at the parking lot at like 11am and I headed in (breaking the 15 mins covid rule, but they let me in early anyway). When I got in they asked me to read the covid rules and agree to them, then go through a scan (removing shoes and things from pockets - phones are allowed but must be on silent). Upon entering the ‘bullpen’ I was asked to walk to a booth and check, in then told to take a seat and wait for my number to be called. I think I was called around 11:40am.

     

    We walk down the hall and into the room, he asks me to stay standing while I swore in, and then allowed me to sit. So far, very formal and not chatty. I think at this point he asks me to confirm basic details and for ID, and then tells me we’re going to do the civics test. He starts clicking around and mumbling, so I offered sympathies for the computer misbehaving and that seemed to melt the ice. Then we started the test:

     

    What is the supreme law of the land?
    How many amendments does the Constitution have?
    Why do some states have more Representatives than other states?
    We elect a President for how many years?
    What did Susan B. Anthony do?
    What is the name of the national anthem?

     

    I got all 6 right so he didn’t need to ask any others, and moved on to the spoken and written part. I think it was something like “Washington was the first president”, I had to say it and then write it on a tablet (which is surprisingly hard to do with clammy hands!)

     

    Then, we looked at my application. There were some things to clear up, even though I was petitioning through the 5 year rule, they still had to check on a couple of marriage-based things, you see, I knew my (now) husband when I was married to my first husband - we were all friends and met at the same time. Their names are both on documents together (we lived together in a shared house for a time), so he needed me to clarify that marriage 1 ended on its own terms and marriage 2 started on its own terms - apparently adultery is classified as an offense of ‘good moral character’. I confirmed that no, there was no adultery. Then, I accidentally gave him the wrong marriage certificate (marriage 1) to prove my name change, which caused a lot more confusion. Finally, we got the timeline and correct paperwork drilled down, and moved on to the rest of the form. He checked over my answers, and confirmed that it was good that I explained things like speeding tickets and my involvement with the girl guides, as it showed that I was trying hard to be as honest as possible. Then, he asked me ALL the YES/NO questions from the form again, which was an exercise of seeing how many different ways I could say a single syllable word. Guess I’ll never lose that British awkwardness.

     

    Once the form was done, he was fumbling around on his computer and gave me a printout saying “Congratulations! We are recommending that you pass” or something to that effect. I was quite excited at this point, then he started glaring at his computer and having more technical issues, so I asked him “while we have a moment, may I ask you a question?” and he said sure, so I asked “are there same day oaths happening here right now?” and I saw the wind go out of his sails - turns out he was trying to print out the paperwork for the same day oath so he could surprise me (I’d already said I was hoping to have a July 4th as a citizen). That’s when I lost all professionalism and started squealing with excitement. He took my greencard from me and stamped it and filed it away - guess I don’t need that anymore. We stood up, he sternly had me repeat the Pledge of Allegiance in small sections, and then his icy expression broke and in a slightly excited and higher pitched voice he said “Congratulations, you are now a US Citizen!”. Cue lump in my throat and wobbly bottom lip!

     

    He had me grab my paperwork and things and walk down a hall, where he explained that I would need a US passport for any travel from this point onwards. Then he showed me into an oath ceremony room where he told me to wait to receive my certificate. About 10 mins later a lady came and handed us our certs (rather casually), and told us congratulations and we were free to go! I walked out through the waiting room, out into the car park, to a waiting husband who had been terrified about how long it was taking. He soon cheered up when I showed him the pass letter, and then the certificate of naturalization. 

     

    In summary, it wasn’t without its stressful moments - I would rather have not talked about my first marriage at all, especially as I was applying based on the 5 year rule and he’s been out of my life since my divorce in 2013, but I guess they have to clear up whatever they need to. The officer seemed very sympathetic to my stress, even reassuring me that he would avoid any questioning about it that wasn’t essential. The officer was very friendly, chatty, made me laugh several times, so that was good. I did get a slight “Columbo” sense from him, that maybe some of the chatter was orchestrated to lull me into confessing something incriminating, but honestly I don’t blame him. As with most international relationships/visa journeys, ours was surrounded by unusual circumstances, and it is their job to make sure everything meets criteria.

     

    8/10, will hopefully never see this office again!
     

    N-400 November 2020 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    2 hours ago, pdx751 said:

    Congrats to everyone who had successful interviews in the last few days and weeks !

     

    General question...especially to ppl applying under the 5-year PR rule

     

    What additional docs did you take to your interview , aside from the docs already submitted with your application?

     

    I took all my passports, my SSN cards (as I changed my name at marriage and so I figured those would show my new name), my marriage cert showing name change, I also included marriage cert and divorce cert from my first (utter trainwreck) marriage, 4 years of tax transcripts (which were not asked for), and all the USCIS notifications from the whole process so I had official dates if they asked me. I also took a printout of my application so I could revise on what I'd written and be consistent.

     

    2 hours ago, El Escocés said:

    Tell me, other than naturalization certificate, what other paperwork do they give you?

    I got a printout with a bunch of checkboxes, checked was the one that said "Congrats" and details of next steps (which were moot because the oath happened right away anyway), the cert, and info on applying for a passport and registering to vote. And a socially distanced high five from another applicant who was in the room waiting for their cert too.

    N-400 November 2020 Filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    27 minutes ago, Stefi said:

    I got approved. I could have taken the oath today, however since I am traveling and won't be able the get the passport on time, the officer suggested to take the oath when I come back. The interview  was super easy, the officer was very friendly. Got the first 6 questions right. The reading sentence was " Who lives in the White House?" And I had to write The President lives in the White House.

    Good luck to everyone!

     

    Wooo congrats! I too got approved and took the oath. Got my passport appt booked for tomorrow. Yeaaaahhhh!

    Civics Test Question Question - "Name your U.S. Representative."

    in US Citizenship General Discussion

    Posted

    1 minute ago, Jorgedig said:

    The number of reps by states is based on population, which is one of the reasons why it is so important for Americans to comply with the US census every ten years.

     

    Every state has two US senators, including North Dakota, where hardly anyone lives, and California, where most people live ;-).

     

    Good luck with the test.  You'll do fine!   

    Thank you! I've been listening to YouTube videos all day and yelling out my answer. Now to de-program my incorrect rep. answer... lol!

    Civics Test Question Question - "Name your U.S. Representative."

    in US Citizenship General Discussion

    Posted

    8 minutes ago, Jorgedig said:

    Well, yes, because......       you vote for the candidates running for office in the district where you reside.   You don't vote for candidates running in districts where you don't reside.  

    I didn't know that honestly. The other question talks about why there are different amounts of reps for different states, so my brain just assumed it was a "of the state" question. I feel like it's one of those things that's SUPER obvious when you know it, and not obvious at all when you don't.

    Civics Test Question Question - "Name your U.S. Representative."

    in US Citizenship General Discussion

    Posted

    This is a stupid question but I'm severely overthinking things and I need assurance.... they just want one of the 9 representatives' names from my state, right? Not specifically the one in the district I reside? I ask because I have a good memory device for the ones I picked, and now I'm panicking that I need to name a specific representative... like I say, I am severely overthinking things! Interview is tomorrow.....!!!!

    N-400 Tennessee filers

    in US Citizenship Case Filing and Progress Reports

    Posted

    7 hours ago, whatsawotsit said:

    Many congrats, one Memphis based Anglo-would-be-American to another. I see you filed in November 2020 - the order in which they deal with cases seems unfathomable (I filed in May 2020). Still, this keeps hope alive that this office is doing something! Best wishes for your interview.

    Wow that sucks, I'm sorry. Fingers crossed you hear back soon!

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