It has been a long and winding journey for me towards the American dream. I remember when I came in to US about twenty years back, it was my work bringing me to a new destination. At that time, settling down in U.S. was never a thing for me. However, I liked the freedom that you can get in U.S., the ease of driving somewhere unplanned even if it is dead of the night. The new gadgets at the two big box stores (one of them closed down long ago) was also a major attraction. I also acquired some nice friends that made me feel right at home.
Somewhere down the line I started to think about getting settled in US and applied for residency. As I applied through my company, they had to file the PERM form with Department of Labor. After some months of wait, and getting the PERM approval, it was time for I-140 form to be submitted. Being from India means that now you are behind a crowd with your final target not visible at all. However I was fortunate enough to be able to file both my I-140 (Immigrant petition for alien worker) and I-485 (Adjustment of Status) together. After that it was just a waiting game. Someone said, patience is a virtue.
Eventually after a RFE later, one fine morning I got a notification that my green card (I-485) was issued and mailed. That was about six years back. Fast forward about five years, and I applied for naturalization (N-400).
This is based on my experience as I went through the process. If you are reading this because you have an interview scheduled, congratulations, your wait is nearly over. At the interview with immigration officer, you should expect somewhat similar experience.
Preparing for Naturalization Interview
The naturalization process needs you to go through an interview with an immigration officer. USCIS sends an appointment date via USPS snail mail service and normally it is at least couple of weeks off. (It is always a good idea to keep on checking status online. The forms sent to your home address are also uploaded along with the case status). This is where you start preparing for the interview as there is a Civics test that you will have to pass.
There are quite a few things that you will need to go through at this time.
Original Application
The original application submitted (N-400) to USCIS may have changes when you finally get a call for interview. Review this form in full before the interview. USCIS officer will verify all information pertaining to you. You will definitely have to remember all dates for your travel for the the last five years. You should also bring up any changes due to life events. Also, this is the chance where you can apply for a new name. You will also need to review all additional information that you had put in the form – as these will be verified by the immigration officer.
Civics Questions
One of the key things required for your citizenship is correctly answering Civics questions. You have to answer 6 correct out of 10 questions asked (the officer stops asking questions as soon as you have six correct, so I was never asked beyond six). Most of the candidates will be asked from 2008 version of the question set. You can find the questions for 2008 exam version here:
You can also find the questions as free booklet from your local library or from USCIS. I picked up one of the booklets from the library, but it is easier to just read online. There are 100 questions in this set and most of them are not very difficult to remember. USCIS has also put a video on YouTube to get an overview of how the interview process is. There are plenty of other youtube videos also available that are quite helpful.
English Language Test
You will also be required to pass an English language test. Please find below the list of words/ sentences that you are supposed to know. The immigration officer will randomly ask one reading and one writing question. You will only have three chances in this section to pass.
https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/guides/M-1178_Writing_Strips_E.pdf
If you can memorize all the civics questions and remember all information about you, should have no problem in passing the naturalization test.
Day of Naturalization interview
On the day of naturalization interview, you will want to make sure you reach at least half hour early to go through the security checks. Some USCIS location also have same day oath ceremonies (like New Jersey), so make sure to wear formal attire. You do not want to appear in a oath ceremony wearing a jeans, shorts or flip-flops. Unfortunately for me the interview was in the afternoon and it got dragged into the evening. So I had to appear for the oath at a later day.
The test itself is very easy if you have the civics questions memorized. The immigration officer that interviewed me was also very polite and respectful. While reviewing with the officer, you can also change any information on the form that has changed between the time this form was submitted and interview was scheduled. There is always a chance that you may be called for fingerprinting/ iris scans, however for me they could use the previous ones.
After the exam, you will receive the result of this exam on form N-652. In all probability you will have the first box checked and you would have passed English and US history tests. If the oath does not happen on the same day, a different form N-445 will be mailed across to you with the date for your oath ceremony.
Finally, the Oath
Now that the challenge is over, oath ceremony is the final formality that you will have to go through to become a citizen. You will be taken to a large room along with other ‘prospective’ newest citizens of US and will be sworn in. Congratulations, that completes the long waiting period.
Next Steps
After you get the naturalization certificate, the first thing that needs to be done is apply for an US passport. You can also register to vote now, but I think you can wait till the next election. After you receive the passport, make sure to surrender passports for your old affiliated country (this may not apply to you, however only a handful of countries have dual citizenship). One additional thing that needs to be done is to notify and make changes to your SSN. As a citizen, you do not need to show a separate document for work, so DHS would be removing the clause ‘Valid for work with DHS authorization’. This is only applicable if your SSN was through your employment.
Hope you find some of the information above useful. Ciao for now!