Pete F

Hi all.. Looong time no post..
Well I filed the N400 last Feb (2008) and phoned up the help line when I say that DC (my field office) was up to may 2008 and I hadnt had any notifications other than my fingerprinting in march last year.. They are checking.. In the mean time I have all the (old version ) answers down pat, but was having problems remembering the 1st 13 states names.. We looked for various aide de memoires but came up with a good one that MAY help others rememeber them..

3 NEW MDs Need to RSVP to GMC
Capital letters are the states initials pretty much.

Here is the break down

3 NEW (New York, Jersey and Hampshire)
M (Maryland)
D (Delaware)
(s)
Need (North Carolina)
(to)
R (Rhode Island)
S (South Carolina)
V (Virginia)
P (Pennsylvania)
(to)
G (Georgia)
M (Massachusetts)
C (Connecticut) .

Ta Da...

Cheers to all and Hi Rete, Secret Garden et all.

SecretGarden

Wow, a shout out to moi? I am flabbergasted!

Mr. Pink became a citizen on Sept. 2 in Chicago, and while I suggested a method for remembering those states like you described, he stubbornly stuck to his guns and refused to use it! :curse: Ah well, he passed with flying colors, so I can't complain.

BTW, we ended up doing an Infopass appt. because although he was not outside the posted "processing times", there were several posters here (Maggs for one) who applied quite a bit later than he did and were called for interview before he was. We ended up going to the Infopass appt. and the officer had no explanation as to why he hadn't be scheduled yet. That kind gentleman kicked things into gear for us and the appt. letter came within a week.

Something to consider if you are so inclined.

~SecretGarden

PS. DON'T trust the misinformation line!

Noorah101

Very cool little code there! The new test only requires you to name 3 of the 13 original states...my husband has his interview coming up on March 11, and he knows New York, New Jersey, and Georgia.

Good luck, I hope you hear something soon!

Rene

Pete F

Hi to both..
I believe, from the USCIS web site, i will be given the option of new or old test. I was given the old test CD and reading material at the fingerprinting. Of course, the President and VP have changed since the CD was made but other than that, hopefully I will get that choise when and if they get round to me..
Normally, every 2 months, DC sends a couple of people down to use at Roanoke for the interview etc .. Will then have to go to DC for the oath..
Anyone doing the oath at Monticello this year?.. I have heard its a looong day.. The kids wont sit still for that long..

Secret, Congrats to Mr. Pink..
Rene.. Fingers crossed for Hubby..

Cheers and beers..
Pete

Noorah101

Thanks! We're very excited!

SecretGarden

And we are excited *for* you!

~SG

SecretGarden

Psssst! Infopass!

~SG

Poppy girl

Hope you don't mind me asking a quick question related to the N400!

What happen's if we fail the exam, do we take it again and remain a resident, how mamy attempts do we get?

Yep Worried lol

Noorah101

I've been asking this too! My understanding is that if you fail the civics portion, you have 90 days to reschedule it again, for free. If you fail it again, you have to reapply, re-file a new N-400, pay the fee again. and wait your turn for interview again. But you don't lose anything else, you still remain a PR as you did before.

Rene

SecretGarden

You won't fail the exam. My understanding is that they start asking questions and once you have gotten six right they stop asking and consider you "passed". I would definitely look over the practice test(s) and do some memorizing, but I think it would be highly unlikely that you wouldn't be able to get six of them right.

~SG

Poppy girl

Pleased it was just not me then I better re-schedule before I take the 1st then lol...

Seriously is there a CD audio I believe there is, that I could learn in the car for the exam questions.

Meaunxa I see you rolling up laughing already don't go there lady

Poppy girl

Even I should manage 6 right

Noorah101

There isn't a CD available for the new test yet. I made a home-made version on cassette for Sadegh to listen to, and it has helped him SOOO much. I'd be willing to make a copy of it for you, Poppy....some of the answers are specific to Arizona, though, of course.

SG - they ask you 10 random questions from the 100. You have to get 6 of those right. Yes, if you answer the first 6 correctly, they stop. But if you only answer 5 right, and then don't know the next 5, you're out. (at least that's the way it's been explained to me.)

Rene

Poppy girl

And yes please in regards to the copy....so they have specific state questions I did not know that I thought they were US in general

Pity we cannot have an audio link on expats!

SecretGarden

Hmm. That is much harsher than I would expect! The way I've read the posters here is the way I described.....you keep going until you get a total of six correct. Then again, no one has really come clean to admit that they missed any, so........

I can see some of the questions being much more difficult for someone whose native language is not English. For native English speakers, though, I think it's memorization---there aren't any questions that are interpretive, so memorization of the facts should work.

Plan for every eventuality, but expect success!

~SG