ForumTitleContentMemberSexCountryDate/Time
US Citizenship General Discussionapprox time to get interview for California?
My application stretched 124 days between receipt of application and oath ceremony, a few days over 4 months.

My DO is Los Angeles and my case is typical of that DO. Other DOs are normally much faster, like San Diego, I believe.









wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-10 12:26:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionFingerprints
Water under the bridge..

But for the sake of other members who might come across this thread : Don't re-schedule without trying walk-in FP on Wednesdays and Saturdays! Try it at least 3 times. Very, very high possibility that the ASC will accomodate you.


wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-07-30 16:30:00
US Citizenship General Discussionbest way to study for the 100 questions
QUOTE (cookiee @ Aug 12 2009, 12:19 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
So , How we need to answer this question ?

what is the rule of law?

every one must follow the rule
leaders must obey the law
government must obey the law
no one is above the law

every answer has a different meaning. so we need to say all ?!


I'd give just one answer. All of them are correct.

QUOTE (cookiee @ Aug 12 2009, 12:41 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
and this question ?????????

What does the judicial branch do?

- reviews laws;
- explains laws;
- resolves disputes (disagreements)
- decides if a law goes against the Constitution


I'd give just one answer. All of these are correct.

QUOTE (cookiee @ Aug 12 2009, 12:46 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
and this one !!!

Why did the colonists fight the British?

because of high taxes (taxation without representation)
because the British army stayed in their houses (boarding, quartering)
because they didn't have self-government


One answer also.
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-12 12:15:00
US Citizenship General Discussionbest way to study for the 100 questions
QUOTE (cookiee @ Aug 11 2009, 02:55 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
wifey246, if question ask for ONE , you must say only ONE

if question doesn't ask for one, you must say ALL

i don't get why you guys make it so complicated.. that's so clear


On the contrary, if the question specifically requires more than one, you should provide those number of answers.

Otherwise, any of the answers will suffice. If you notice, the multiple answers to questions that do not specify the number of required answers are different phrasings of the same idea:

2. What does the Constitution do?
? sets up the government
? defines the government
? protects basic rights of Americans

Sets up / defines the government is basically the same, and its ultimate purpose is to protect basic rights of Americans.

The important thing is that you have a basic understanding of the subject matter. Unless you have limited command of English language, you do not even have to use the exact same words. It is an oral exam. The IO will be able to to understand what you're getting at - if you are able to communicate well. As opposed to a computerized exam where one wrong letter or number will trigger a command that tags the answer as erroneous.
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-11 18:01:00
US Citizenship General Discussionbest way to study for the 100 questions
QUOTE (cookiee @ Aug 11 2009, 01:50 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (roi_aggie @ Aug 11 2009, 04:45 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (cookiee @ Aug 11 2009, 04:32 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (hello28 @ Aug 11 2009, 11:01 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
wow, thanks for all your help everyone! I noticed that some questions have more than one answer, like one question has the answer...

- sets up the government
- defines the government
- protects basic rights of Americans

So for questions like these, does the applicant have to know just one of the answers or must know all 3? Thanks for all your help!


you must know all 3 , every answer has a different meaning

That is not correct.


that is so correct.. if you wanna study only one answer, it's up to you.. that's not my problem


It's good to know all 3 answers but the IO will expect you to provide only one.
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-11 16:44:00
US Citizenship General Discussionbest way to study for the 100 questions
QUOTE (daveh @ Aug 10 2009, 09:12 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
QUOTE (hello28 @ Aug 10 2009, 08:18 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
My wife will be taking the updated citizenship test that went into effect recently. What's the best way to study the 100 questions. Is there an online site to help one study for this, or even an interactive online pay site that quizzes you on the questions so you get practice? Thanks for any help!


My wife wrote her own flash cards. The act of writing them down helps her remember the questions and answers. Also, it prompted her to find the answer to some of the locale specific answers.

Since they are cards and not folded pieces of paper, it's easy to shuffle them. The CD and the study guide have all the questions grouped together which may make you remember them incorrectly based on question order. For example, there is a ####### load of questions in which "The President" is the answer all together. Also with the geography questions, it's easy to flub on the east coast / west coast oceans as well as which states border Mexico versus Canada because your brain may associate the answers with the order in which they were asked instead of the questions.

Good luck!
Dave.



Play the CD in "RANDOM" mode! I found this very effective. Keep the CD in the car and play it for a week driving to work or school.
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-10 17:49:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionWife Naturalized Today
Congratulations!!

I took the oath yesterday too!

The letter said no cameras or cellphones will be allowed inside, so i left my cellphone in the car. Big mistake! My ceremony was in LA Convention Center, and there were more than 3,000 applicants, and probably around 6,000 family and friends! Most of the oath-takers brought their cellphones and cameras. They once reminded the crowd that at that time, that place is a court of justice, and cameras and cellphones should be turned off. nobody paid attention--cameras were flashing, videos were rolling and cellphones were ringing during the whole ceremony.

I was so bummed that I couldnt tell my parents, husband and daughter which part of the crowd i was seated at:( Even worse, we did not set a meeting place after the ceremony. My poor husband had to wait at the bottom of the escalator to make sure we find each other in the crowd.



wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-30 04:47:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionMy husband is no longer married to an alien
Congrats, Kathryn!

Thanks for the info on children's citizenship. The N600 is optional. We can apply for our children's US passport using our certificates, then the US passport can serve as the children's proof of citizenship. The importance of N600 has been discussed so many times in this forum. My take on this is that it is a nice thing to have but if you want to spare the expense, you can live without it for now until some circumstance in the future will make it absolutely necessary to get one. There is no time limit in applying for the certificate.

I wasn't going to apply for a N600 for my daughter but after learning from your post that children 14 years old and above get to say the oath in a USCIS office, I figured she will get a kick out of it. I want her to have that experience so she can appreciate its meaning.




wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-26 16:42:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 - March 2009 Applicants
QUOTE (meogia @ May 19 2009, 06:06 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Just want to share with you guys my 2 cents. Hope it'll help when you call uscis.

I've just used the instruction on www.get2human.com to call uscis at 5:25 PM today. I didn't think anybody will pick up the phone at this late hour, but I gave it a shot anyway. It went through almost immediately and I was able to talk to both a representative and a data analyst. Looks like nobody call uscis after 5:00 PM.

First, I told the representative that I got a yellow letter from uscis 02 weeks ago, requesting me to bring "...." to the interview. I have been longing for the interview letter but still have not received it yet. So, she told me to hold on, she would transfer me to the data analyst, or something like that.

When connected to the analyst, I told him the same statement as to the representative. He asked for my green card number, looked up data and told me everything was fine and hurried to get me off the phone. So I asked if he could give me a few seconds to explain my case. I tried to win his sympathy, telling him that my co-worker and I are state employees (which is true), both of us filed for naturalization about the same time, and he got his interview letter almost 2 weeks ago, but I still haven't got my yet. So he started asking me about my address, date of birth... to verify my identification before informing me that my interview letter was sent out this morning, and I will be scheduled for interview in "city", July "date", at 7:30... Then "I am so happy to hear this", "thank you so much", "I appreciate your help"...

Now I will wait till friday to see if I get my letter or I have to call them again.


Hi Meogia,

Did you get anything yet?

We have the same DO and I'm trying to gather statistics smile.gif
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-05-26 16:39:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
Congratulations, Pampita & mrpuffybunny!!

I must say, the oath ceremony was exhilirating, but being in a room with thousands of new citizens still made me feel like I was just getting off the boat. When the blue passport came in the mail, I felt like it was the period or exclamation point at the end of the sentence. This is it! I am an American!


wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-09-24 15:35:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!

Took my oath yesterday with 3,497 other new citizens! I was amazed at how organized they were! The judge was a little late. When it was announced, the crowd booed loudly. I thought it was rude - of the judge to be late knowing thousands of people were waiting and of the crowd to be so disrespectul. But as I overheard somebody say - most of us waited 5 years, what's a few minutes more?

Most people were emotionally moved after the videos were played and were dabbing their eyes when the lights were turned back on. A few looked bored as hell.

In my opinion, it was a good ceremony.

Now, I'm heading to costco to have a passport picture taken, then off to the post office to apply for a passport.


wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-29 13:00:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
QUOTE (pampita2 @ Aug 26 2009, 01:28 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Well guy you are right I forgot that now you are citizen , but was really nice read all your experience and support, my Oath is in sept 21 so I will stay here for a while. maybe after sept 21 I wont be here neither aggggggg God bless you all.



My oath ceremony is on Friday. I'll be checking in until my daughter and I get our US passports.

I just can't think of how to spend all the extra time I will have when I finally stop lurking in immigration websites blink.gif .
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-26 15:44:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
Congratulations, MrPuffyBunny!!! kicking.gif


wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-20 12:52:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
QUOTE (Kathryn41 @ Aug 13 2009, 02:20 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Well I was approved! My husband and I arrived at 12:50 for my 1:05 appointment. My name was called at 1:20. The officer was very straight forward - had my huge file on her desk (she even said it was 'huge'), went through the application, asked about my 'windsurfing without a lifejacket' offense (hehehe), asked me the citizenship oath questions, had me sign the form, and then asked me to read "How many Senators are there" and write" There are 100 senators"

The questions were:
What is the name of the National Anthem?
What ocean is on the west coast?
What happened September 11, 2001?
Why are there 13 stripes?
What is the Rule of Law?
How old do you have to be to vote?

She asked to see my green card, my DL and my SSN card. I also offered my military ID card. She did not want to see my passports nor any other evidence. She did not ask to see the originals of my husband's BC, our marriage license - nor any utility bills (hehehhe).

She then said that the next oath ceremony is August 26th and did I want to be scheduled for that? I said yes and she said she just needed to get a supervisor's approval and to wait back in the office and they would bring me my oath letter.

The interview was maybe 15 minutes in total, and after about 10 minutes of waiting I got my oath letter.

There were two things really interesting - people waiting for today's oath ceremony were in the same room with us and it was kind of neat to see the mixtures of races and cultures present. They were also conducting green card interviews as well as citizenship interviews (we overheard some lawyers giving clients advice, etc.) but it seems like a lot of times - we figured maybe as high as 50% of the time - an officer would come out and call a name - and no one would respond. It seems unbelievable there would be that many people who miss their appointments but that is what it seemed like was happening.

Anyway, oath ceremony on August 26th at 2:30 pm.




Congrats Kathryn!!!
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-13 19:30:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
adding pampita's oath ceremony

IMPORTANT!
1. Select Rich Text Editor as your message setting (go to My Controls > click Board Settings).
2. Click 'Reply' on the most recent/updated posting version of this list.
3. Remove the quote tags from the top and the bottom of the list.
4. Use the Lucida Console font.
5. Do not move or delete these instructions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USCIS Lockbox Texas
UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office
KromiX...........04/01/09....04/13/09....04/28/09......05/09/09........07/02/09.....07/27/09....Miami, FL
Raleighn400......04/02/09....04/07/09....05/11/09......05/22/09........07/29/09.....07/30/09....Durham, NC
SY2k9............04/02/09....04/11/09....05/02/09......05/11/09........06/18/09.....06/25/09....San Antonio, TX
Tumande..........04/02/09....04/10/09....05/01/09......05/15/09........06/23/09.....--/--/--....Dallas, TX
GabLopSan........04/06/09....04/13/09....05/08/09......06/02/09........08/20/09.....--/--/--....Newark NJ
James............04/07/09....04/10/09....05/01/09......05/21/09........07/08/09.....07/24/09....Miami, FL
Ssalburo.........04/07/09....04/13/09....05/08/09......05/18/09........08/06/09.....--/--/--....Baltimore, MD
SleepBear........04/10/09....04/20/09....05/11/09......06/01/09........07/06/09.....07/15/09....Miami, FL
weirdon..........04/10/09....04/20/09....05/20/09......06/08/09........07/28/09.....--/--/--....Philadelphia, PA
l.j./1999........04/11/09....04/16/09....05/07/09......06/27/09........08/18/09.....--/--/--....New York, NY
n400filer........04/11/09....04/20/09....05/22/09......05/27/09........07/28/09.....08/13/09....Boston, MA
liahnsilver......04/16/09....05/05/09....05/30/09......06/21/09........07/30/09.....08/19/09....Houston,TX
jeangab .........04/20/09....04/30/09....05/15/09......06/05/09........07/29/09.....08/14/09....Durham, NC
pampita2.........04/20/09....05/04/09....06/05/09......06/19/09........07/22/09.....09/21/09....Front Royal, VA
Cliff_Ksenia.....04/23/09....04/29/09....05/20/09......06/08/09........07/22/09.....--/--/--....Christiansted, VI
J&D..............04/24/09....04/30/09....05/16/09......06/04/09........07/23/09.....07/23/09....Tampa, FL
Kathryn41........04/30/09....05/06/09....06/03/09......07/06/09........08/13/09.....--/--/--....Atlanta, GA
king&queen.......04/30/09....05/04/09....06/03/09......07/07/09........08/13/09.....--/--/--....Atlanta, GA
etahb............04/30/09....05/04/09....06/03/09......06/12/09........07/23/09.....09/25/09....Albany, NY

USCIS Lockbox Arizona
UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office
anci78...........03/26/09....04/02/09....04/22/09......05/15/09........06/22/09.....08/05/09....San Francisco, CA
jsnearline.......03/28/09....04/03/09....04/25/09......05/20/09........07/17/09.....08/28/09....Denver, CO
gopalag..........04/01/09....04/13/09....04/29/09......05/21/09........07/01/09.....08/19/09....San Diego, CA
sjjp1974.........04/03/09....04/17/09....05/09/09......05/22/09........07/21/09.....07/22/09....Portland, OR
Babonsi..........04/06/09....04/18/09....05/08/09......05/26/09........07/07/09.....08/12/09....Sacramento, CA
Swatcat..........04/09/09....04/17/09....05/27/09......06/18/09........07/28/09.....--/--/--....Kansas City, MO
macb1980.........04/09/09....04/16/09....05/08/09......05/26/09........07/07/09.....08/28/09....Cincinnati, OH
RDan19...........04/18/09....04/20/09....05/19/09......07/07/09........08/18/09.....--/--/--....St.Paul, MN
MsAnn............04/20/09....04/27/09....05/29/09......06/17/09........08/19/09.....--/--/--....Portland, OR
mrPuffyBunny.....04/20/09....04/27/09....05/28/09......07/06/09........08/20/09.....--/--/--....St.Paul, MN
tpontirolli......04/22/09....04/29/09....05/22/09......06/05/09........07/22/09.....08/19/09....San Diego, CA
Wifey246.........04/24/09....04/30/09....05/13/09......06/08/09........07/30/09.....08/28/09....Los Angeles, CA
Clarax...........04/28/09....05/08/09....05/26/09......06/26/09........08/11/09.....--/--/--....Denver, CO

USCIS Lockbox Nebraska
UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office
GermanInDixie....04/03/09....04/09/09....04/29/09......06/02/09........06/16/09.....07/22/09....Atlanta, GA
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-12 17:25:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
QUOTE (Clarax @ Aug 12 2009, 11:20 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
Hi All,

I had my interview yesterday. It went great and my IO was the nicest one I've met so far.

The questions asked were...

1. If the President can no longer serve who is next in line?
2. During the Cold war what was the main concern?
3. What is one right from the first ammendment?
4. Who is in charge of the executive branch?

And I can't remember the other two. I answered them all correctly so she stopped at 6.

Make sure that you carefully review all the your personal information that they will use for your Naturalization Certificate. They had my telephone # and my former nationality incorrect - they said I was from Ukraine - not United Kingdom. If I had missed that, she said they would have charged me $300 to reprint the certificate with the correct information.

Also, I had been sent a yellow letter asking to supply last 3 years of tax returns (which I had already sent in) but she didn't ask me for them. Instead she asked me fro proof that my husband and I had been living together since I filed for removal of conditions. Luckily before I left the house I had grabbed a few bills, letters, cards etc addressed to both of us so she was very happy with that.

The whole thing took about 20 minutes. Then she said that she didn't know when my Oath ceremony would be - I just have to wait for a letter in the mail. Hopefully it will be soon...

Journey is almost over...

Clara


Congratulations, Clara!!!
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-12 13:54:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
QUOTE (MsAnn @ Aug 11 2009, 12:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
My interview is next week and I'm soooooooooooo scared!!! My boyfriend has been going over the civic questions with me and I keep messing up because I'm so nervous!! The seriousness of the situation has come down on me. unsure.gif I can only hope it goes smoothly, I just need to try and calm down blink.gif .



Here's a tip: Bring something to get your mind off the interview. We brought a puzzle book. My husband and I were having so much fun playing that we didn't notice an hour has passed by. When the IO called my name, I quickly gathered my stuff, walked to the interview room, and everything happened so quick, I didn't even have time to feel the stress.

If I didn't bring that puzzle books, I bet I'd have been so strung up. Instead, it was a very pleasant experience. I was more relaxed and at ease than my IO was. I thought I would never get him to warm up but surprisingly, he ended up discussing his previous interviews with me and even made a few jokes in the end. I actually recognized the applicant's case in another forum. The applicant confirmed that it was indeed his case. Some people can say that was unethical but I don't think the IO ever imagined that some of us are so obsessed with the immigration process and these forums that we are so familiar with the other members' problems, fears and joys.

Edited by wifey246, 11 August 2009 - 07:22 PM.

wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-11 19:22:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
Adding my oath date kicking.gif

IMPORTANT!
1. Select Rich Text Editor as your message setting (go to My Controls > click Board Settings).
2. Click 'Reply' on the most recent/updated posting version of this list.
3. Remove the quote tags from the top and the bottom of the list.
4. Use the Lucida Console font.
5. Do not move or delete these instructions.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

USCIS Lockbox Texas
UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office
KromiX...........04/01/09....04/13/09....04/28/09......05/09/09........07/02/09.....07/27/09....Miami, FL
Raleighn400......04/02/09....04/07/09....05/11/09......05/22/09........07/29/09.....07/30/09....Durham, NC
SY2k9............04/02/09....04/11/09....05/02/09......05/11/09........06/18/09.....06/25/09....San Antonio, TX
Tumande..........04/02/09....04/10/09....05/01/09......05/15/09........06/23/09.....--/--/--....Dallas, TX
GabLopSan........04/06/09....04/13/09....05/08/09......06/02/09........08/20/09.....--/--/--....Newark NJ
James............04/07/09....04/10/09....05/01/09......05/21/09........07/08/09.....07/24/09....Miami, FL
Ssalburo.........04/07/09....04/13/09....05/08/09......05/18/09........08/06/09.....--/--/--....Baltimore, MD
SleepBear........04/10/09....04/20/09....05/11/09......06/01/09........07/06/09.....07/15/09....Miami, FL
weirdon..........04/10/09....04/20/09....05/20/09......06/08/09........07/28/09.....--/--/--....Philadelphia, PA
l.j./1999........04/11/09....04/16/09....05/07/09......06/27/09........08/18/09.....--/--/--....New York, NY
n400filer........04/11/09....04/20/09....05/22/09......05/27/09........07/28/09.....08/13/09....Boston, MA
liahnsilver......04/16/09....05/05/09....05/30/09......06/21/09........07/30/09.....08/19/09....Houston,TX
jeangab .........04/20/09....04/30/09....05/15/09......06/05/09........07/29/09.....08/14/09....Durham, NC
pampita2.........04/20/09....05/04/09....06/05/09......06/19/09........07/22/09.....--/--/--....Front Royal, VA
Cliff_Ksenia.....04/23/09....04/29/09....05/20/09......06/08/09........07/22/09.....--/--/--....Christiansted, VI
J&D..............04/24/09....04/30/09....05/16/09......06/04/09........07/23/09.....07/23/09....Tampa, FL
Kathryn41........04/30/09....05/06/09....06/03/09......07/06/09........08/13/09.....--/--/--....Atlanta, GA
king&queen.......04/30/09....05/04/09....06/03/09......07/07/09........08/13/09.....--/--/--....Atlanta, GA
etahb............04/30/09....05/04/09....06/03/09......06/12/09........07/23/09.....09/25/09....Albany, NY

USCIS Lockbox Arizona
UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office
anci78...........03/26/09....04/02/09....04/22/09......05/15/09........06/22/09.....08/05/09....San Francisco, CA
jsnearline.......03/28/09....04/03/09....04/25/09......05/20/09........07/17/09.....08/28/09....Denver, CO
gopalag..........04/01/09....04/13/09....04/29/09......05/21/09........07/01/09.....08/19/09....San Diego, CA
sjjp1974.........04/03/09....04/17/09....05/09/09......05/22/09........07/21/09.....07/22/09....Portland, OR
Babonsi..........04/06/09....04/18/09....05/08/09......05/26/09........07/07/09.....08/12/09....Sacramento, CA
Swatcat..........04/09/09....04/17/09....05/27/09......06/18/09........07/28/09.....--/--/--....Kansas City, MO
macb1980.........04/09/09....04/16/09....05/08/09......05/26/09........07/07/09.....--/--/--....Cincinnati, OH
RDan19...........04/18/09....04/20/09....05/19/09......07/07/09........08/18/09.....--/--/--....St.Paul, MN
MsAnn............04/20/09....04/27/09....05/29/09......06/17/09........08/19/09.....--/--/--....Portland, OR
mrPuffyBunny.....04/20/09....04/27/09....05/28/09......07/06/09........08/20/09.....--/--/--....St.Paul, MN
tpontirolli......04/22/09....04/29/09....05/22/09......06/05/09........07/22/09.....08/19/09....San Diego, CA
Wifey246.........04/24/09....04/30/09....05/13/09......06/08/09........07/30/09.....08/28/09....Los Angeles, CA
Clarax...........04/28/09....05/08/09....05/26/09......06/26/09........08/11/09.....--/--/--....Denver, CO

USCIS Lockbox Nebraska
UserName.........Sent........NOA1........Biometrics....Int ltr recd....Interview....Oath........Office
GermanInDixie....04/03/09....04/09/09....04/29/09......06/02/09........06/16/09.....07/22/09....Atlanta, GA
wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-10 12:02:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
QUOTE (jeangab75 @ Aug 5 2009, 06:50 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
If you want a reason to get the citizenship i was just grilled by the Border officer at Logan Airport on my way back from France. He asked me all kinds of questions :where at work, name of my position, how long i was working for my company, where do I keep my green card etc etc
I don't know what was his problem but he made me feel uncomfortable. It was really the first time that I had such a hard time at a US border. Normally they are very nice.

I can't wait to be a citizen not to have to worry about what these guys are thinking about me anymore.


You may be disappointed. My USC husband, who travels internationally at least 3x/year for the last 10 years gets grilled by customs officers half the time. He even ends up in the interrogating room. I never even got questioned in the past 3 years that I've travelled with him. He has been a citizen for 30 years. Must be something to do with his very common name. They wouldn't explain why. Apparently they have the authority to do that to anybody entering the US, citizen or not. If not, let us know so we can file a complaint next time. A few times, we almost didn't make it to connecting flights.

Edited by wifey246, 05 August 2009 - 10:04 AM.

wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-08-05 10:01:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
Passed the interview today! dancin5hr.gif

As everybody said, it's a breeze. We left really early for the 8:15 appointment, to allow for L.A. traffic. But traffic was good this morning, so we got there at 7:00 am. There was a long line outside the building. Plenty of people still browsing through the booklet.

We decided to get some coffee and croissants in the coffee stall in the lobby and didn't come up until 7:45. The room was almost full of people. We realized we should've come up right away. But we brought some puzzle books and didn't notice that an hour has passed until my name was called at 8:45.

The IO was nice but very professional. I was asked to raise my hand and swear to tell the truth. There was chit-chatting every now and then. He has my 4-inch file on the desk which contains everything I've submitted to INS. He looked at our old pictures, couldn't find me in some, and commented that I looked so different now. He asked if I am still married, I said yes. "Is that him out there?" "Yes."

He went through my N400, not really quizzing me but confirming what I wrote there. I realized I made a mistake on the dates of my trips abroad when he said my last trip was in 2008. It was in 2009 - I made a typo, which he corrected.

He didn't ask for additional proof that we are still married and living together. I did include plenty of these in my application.

Lastly, he asked me to write my alien number and today's date on 4 pages of the exam papers and proceeded with the history questions and reading/writing parts.

- Who is the father of our country?
- How many years ... representative?
- Who wrote the Declaration of Independence?
- Name one war ... in 1900s.

Can't remember the other 2..

Read : Who is the first president of the US? (Or something like that)
Write : George Washington is the first president.

Then he said he approved my application, stamped and handed me the I-652 and said I should receive a letter in the mail regarding the oath-taking. He asked if I have any question, I said no. He said he has one. He opened my file and asked me who this girl in one of my pictures was. I said she's my friend's daughter. I asked "Why, you find her pretty?" He just smiled.

That was it. It took 15 minutes. Out of there by 9am and got to work at 9:45am. I wanted to ditch work, but my husband has some meetings scheduled today. He promised that we will ditch work on my oath-taking and we will celebrate with a bang smile.gif

BTW, I didn't change my name as planned. A few minutes before I was called in, I suddenly had second thoughts about it - all the hassles involved and how to explain to my parents why I don't want the name they have chosen even before they got married:) So I flipped a coin. It was heads - I keep my name.






wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-07-30 13:14:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!

Congratulations!!

Tomorrow is my turn. I'm sooo stressed. I have been so busy at work and too many things going on in my life these days.. I haven't even dug out my N400 copies.

I'm applying based on marriage - 90 days minus 3 years. When I turned in my N400 back in April, I was pretty confident that all my ducks are in a row. I gotta check up on them tonight.

I'll be so happy to get these immigration issues over with... But it's been a part of my life for the past 4 years, I'm afraid I'd be a little lost without it smile.gif

wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-07-29 15:08:00
US Citizenship General DiscussionN-400 ... April 2009 Applicants, Post your dates here!
QUOTE (Kathryn41 @ Jul 28 2009, 06:52 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>
wifey, if it helps any when I was at my infopass appointment in the Atlanta USCIS no one was using cell phones in the waiting room but in the restroom there was a girl having a long and involved conversation on her cell phone, so maybe he can use the restroom a lot smile.gif .


Thanks, Kathryn. We mostly use the cellphone for surfing the web - reading news, sports, etc. We'll just bring magazines or newspapers. I'd be needing those too. I need to take my mind off the interview while waiting or else I'll be so stressed during the interview.

But we don't have to leave the phones in the car, right? We can just turn it off when we enter the building? It's a loooonng walk from the parking lot to Los Angeles DO..

I found the CD and I played it in random mode in my drive to work. I think I can make the 6 correct answers. I don't think I can finish the booklet though. I fell asleep on page 3 last night. smile.gif

Edited by wifey246, 28 July 2009 - 12:25 PM.

wifey246FemalePhilippines2009-07-28 12:23:00