N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
Feb 15th 2007, 11:11 pm
#46
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Location: Guess!
Posts: 179
Re: UPDATE Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
I took my citizenship test today. It was touch and go there for a while. I had to read a difficult sentence: "The woman liked her new house." Then I had to write something almost as tricky. I tried to get out of it by mentioning that actually we speak English in England too. I even threw in the fact that I teach ESOL for good measure. I'm pleased to tell you the defenders of Homeland Security take their jobs seriously. He didn't even crack a smile as he handed me the pen and then scrutinized my scrawl.
There was a tricky moment when he asked me whether I supported the government. I managed to resist launching into an anti-war polemic by realizing just in time that he was referring to the government as an institution rather than the present administration in particular. Phew!
I confessed to knowing who the VP was, why there are 100 US senators, and what the constitution is. There were a couple of other no-brainers, and that was it. He didn't ask me for the 13 original states or which amendments guaranteed voting rights.
I promised I had never been a member of the communist party or a terrorist organization. I didn't get asked this time (as I did when I applied for my green card) whether I had ever been a Nazi or a prostitute, so things have definitely improved on the old insult-the-immigrant-o-meter. He asked if I was registered to vote (trick question), and I brandished my "Obama for America" bag and told him not yet, but I'd be signing on the dotted line as soon as I've taken the oath.
They lost one of my photos, so I had to dash across the road and get some more done, but it was all pretty quick.
I'm not a 'Mercan till after the oath ceremony (TBA), so my dad is, at this point, still speaking to me.
But soon there'll be one more Democrat in Texas. Onward to the polls!!!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outre.../main/scarlett
Regards
-=-
Scarlett
Updated timeline below:
OCTOBER 2, 2006
N-400 goes in ordinary US mail, addressed to TSC, along with:
*Filing fee (personal check) of $330
*Fingerprint fee (2nd personal check) of $70
*2 color passport photos
*Marriage certificate
*Copy of US husband's birth certificate (proof of citizenship)
*Copy of both sides of Perm. resident card
*Evidence of co-mingled finances
----joint mortgage papers
----joint bank account docs
----evidence of joint car loans
----evidence of joint liablity on credit cards
*Evidence of termination of prior marriages
----Copy of a death certificate
----Copy of a divorce decree absolute
*Cover index page listing all the above as provided
OCTOBER 6, 2006
Both checks show up as cashed in my bank account. So far so good.
OCTOBER 14, 2006
Received two NOAs
*Application received, priority date 10/4/06. I should expect to be notified of date and place of interview within 540 days of the notice.
*Fingerprint appointment scheduled for 10/24/06
OCTOBER 24, 2006
Fingerprint appointment.
DECEMBER 21, 2006
Received interview letter.
FEBRUARY 15, 2007
Successful N-400 interview.
Oath ceremony TBA.
There was a tricky moment when he asked me whether I supported the government. I managed to resist launching into an anti-war polemic by realizing just in time that he was referring to the government as an institution rather than the present administration in particular. Phew!
I confessed to knowing who the VP was, why there are 100 US senators, and what the constitution is. There were a couple of other no-brainers, and that was it. He didn't ask me for the 13 original states or which amendments guaranteed voting rights.
I promised I had never been a member of the communist party or a terrorist organization. I didn't get asked this time (as I did when I applied for my green card) whether I had ever been a Nazi or a prostitute, so things have definitely improved on the old insult-the-immigrant-o-meter. He asked if I was registered to vote (trick question), and I brandished my "Obama for America" bag and told him not yet, but I'd be signing on the dotted line as soon as I've taken the oath.
They lost one of my photos, so I had to dash across the road and get some more done, but it was all pretty quick.
I'm not a 'Mercan till after the oath ceremony (TBA), so my dad is, at this point, still speaking to me.
But soon there'll be one more Democrat in Texas. Onward to the polls!!!
http://my.barackobama.com/page/outre.../main/scarlett
Regards
-=-
Scarlett
Updated timeline below:
OCTOBER 2, 2006
N-400 goes in ordinary US mail, addressed to TSC, along with:
*Filing fee (personal check) of $330
*Fingerprint fee (2nd personal check) of $70
*2 color passport photos
*Marriage certificate
*Copy of US husband's birth certificate (proof of citizenship)
*Copy of both sides of Perm. resident card
*Evidence of co-mingled finances
----joint mortgage papers
----joint bank account docs
----evidence of joint car loans
----evidence of joint liablity on credit cards
*Evidence of termination of prior marriages
----Copy of a death certificate
----Copy of a divorce decree absolute
*Cover index page listing all the above as provided
OCTOBER 6, 2006
Both checks show up as cashed in my bank account. So far so good.
OCTOBER 14, 2006
Received two NOAs
*Application received, priority date 10/4/06. I should expect to be notified of date and place of interview within 540 days of the notice.
*Fingerprint appointment scheduled for 10/24/06
OCTOBER 24, 2006
Fingerprint appointment.
DECEMBER 21, 2006
Received interview letter.
FEBRUARY 15, 2007
Successful N-400 interview.
Oath ceremony TBA.
Feb 15th 2007, 11:17 pm
#49
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Joined: May 2004
Location: Guess!
Posts: 179
Feb 15th 2007, 11:19 pm
#50
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 15,019
Re: UPDATE Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
Feb 15th 2007, 11:25 pm
#51
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,020
Re: UPDATE Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
According to the interviewer my daughter saw...yes...he turned several away that day. He said to my daughter...I see you're studying American Studies so there's no point in asking you the questions...you'll know them.
Feb 15th 2007, 11:27 pm
#52
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Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,020
Re: UPDATE Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
I took my citizenship test today. It was touch and go there for a while. I had to read a difficult sentence: "The woman liked her new house." Then I had to write something almost as tricky. I tried to get out of it by mentioning that actually we speak English in England too. I even threw in the fact that I teach ESOL for good measure. I'm pleased to tell you the defenders of Homeland Security take their jobs seriously. He didn't even crack a smile as he handed me the pen and then scrutinized my scrawl.
Feb 15th 2007, 11:44 pm
#53
Account Closed
Joined: Jul 2005
Posts: 15,019
Re: UPDATE Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
Feb 16th 2007, 11:27 am
#55
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Thread Starter
Joined: May 2004
Location: Guess!
Posts: 179
Feb 16th 2007, 6:05 pm
#57
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Thread Starter
Joined: May 2004
Location: Guess!
Posts: 179
Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
For completeness:
I also meant to mention that I was not asked for a single piece of marriage evidence during my interview. I did not send tax info with my application, and I was not asked for it at the interview (although I had it along with everything else). I was asked if I owed any taxes, but I was not asked to show anything.
The interviewer had a three-inch-thick file with everything I'd ever filled out. He looked through it and found all the proofs he needed in there from prior filings.
The only things I was asked to show were my greencard and my passport. This does not mean it's a good idea not to bring proofs with you. He COULD have asked for anything.
What I brought but didn't use:
Prior marriage termination proof
Tax transcripts
Girls' birth certs. showing my USC husband had legally adopted them
Joint mortgage proof
Joint bank account proof
USC husband's birth cert
Our marriage cert
Oh and... my husband! He had to wait outside the room though.
Regards
-=-
Scarlett
I also meant to mention that I was not asked for a single piece of marriage evidence during my interview. I did not send tax info with my application, and I was not asked for it at the interview (although I had it along with everything else). I was asked if I owed any taxes, but I was not asked to show anything.
The interviewer had a three-inch-thick file with everything I'd ever filled out. He looked through it and found all the proofs he needed in there from prior filings.
The only things I was asked to show were my greencard and my passport. This does not mean it's a good idea not to bring proofs with you. He COULD have asked for anything.
What I brought but didn't use:
Prior marriage termination proof
Tax transcripts
Girls' birth certs. showing my USC husband had legally adopted them
Joint mortgage proof
Joint bank account proof
USC husband's birth cert
Our marriage cert
Oh and... my husband! He had to wait outside the room though.
Regards
-=-
Scarlett
Feb 25th 2007, 5:24 pm
#58
time for a cuppa?
Joined: Feb 2007
Location: center of ohio
Posts: 349
Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
For completeness:
I also meant to mention that I was not asked for a single piece of marriage evidence during my interview. I did not send tax info with my application, and I was not asked for it at the interview (although I had it along with everything else). I was asked if I owed any taxes, but I was not asked to show anything.
The interviewer had a three-inch-thick file with everything I'd ever filled out. He looked through it and found all the proofs he needed in there from prior filings.
The only things I was asked to show were my greencard and my passport. This does not mean it's a good idea not to bring proofs with you. He COULD have asked for anything.
What I brought but didn't use:
Prior marriage termination proof
Tax transcripts
Girls' birth certs. showing my USC husband had legally adopted them
Joint mortgage proof
Joint bank account proof
USC husband's birth cert
Our marriage cert
Oh and... my husband! He had to wait outside the room though.
Regards
-=-
Scarlett
I also meant to mention that I was not asked for a single piece of marriage evidence during my interview. I did not send tax info with my application, and I was not asked for it at the interview (although I had it along with everything else). I was asked if I owed any taxes, but I was not asked to show anything.
The interviewer had a three-inch-thick file with everything I'd ever filled out. He looked through it and found all the proofs he needed in there from prior filings.
The only things I was asked to show were my greencard and my passport. This does not mean it's a good idea not to bring proofs with you. He COULD have asked for anything.
What I brought but didn't use:
Prior marriage termination proof
Tax transcripts
Girls' birth certs. showing my USC husband had legally adopted them
Joint mortgage proof
Joint bank account proof
USC husband's birth cert
Our marriage cert
Oh and... my husband! He had to wait outside the room though.
Regards
-=-
Scarlett
Congrats on the citizen ship. This was just the thread I was looking for as I am getting my citizenship too, after 14 years here! You are a gem! I have started filling out my form and my stomach is already churning! I am not sure how long you have been here but one problem I am having is my travel dates. I know when I came back into the country because of my entry stamps but for holidays before 2000 I have no clue when I left the country. Any advice?
Feb 26th 2007, 4:51 am
#59
SUPER MODERATOR
Joined: Dec 2005
Posts: 88,020
Re: N-400 timeline, Dallas (Oct 06- )
Hi There
Congrats on the citizen ship. This was just the thread I was looking for as I am getting my citizenship too, after 14 years here! You are a gem! I have started filling out my form and my stomach is already churning! I am not sure how long you have been here but one problem I am having is my travel dates. I know when I came back into the country because of my entry stamps but for holidays before 2000 I have no clue when I left the country. Any advice?
Congrats on the citizen ship. This was just the thread I was looking for as I am getting my citizenship too, after 14 years here! You are a gem! I have started filling out my form and my stomach is already churning! I am not sure how long you have been here but one problem I am having is my travel dates. I know when I came back into the country because of my entry stamps but for holidays before 2000 I have no clue when I left the country. Any advice?
Feb 26th 2007, 5:13 am
#60
Lapine Member
Joined: Nov 2004
Location: Austin, Texas in my own little world
Posts: 21,691