Citizenship Interview: The Citizenship Interview Experience
Aug 28th, 2008 by admin
If you want to become a United States citizen, the citizenship interview is one of the most important parts of the process. Pass it, and soon you will officially be a US citizen. But the citizenship interview is not easy, and you need to be well prepared. Here is how the test will take place, from scheduling to the final tests.
First of all, you will be fingerprinted. After this simple and fast process, you will be informed about the date, time, and place of your citizenship interview by mail (you will have to provide it). Make sure you check your mail frequently to prevent missing this important information. Also, make sure you do not miss the interview date. If something comes up and you are unable to make it at the given date/time, simply reschedule your citizenship interview. Keep in mind that rescheduling can add several months to your process of getting naturalized. So attending the first citizenship interview is highly recommended.
Here is how the interview itself can be successfully passed. Below are the 4 main things you have to do:
• Make sure you arrive at the specified time for the citizenship interview.
• Bring all the required documents. Double check if you have them all.
• Answer some questions on your application and background. Always be clear and, most of all, honest in your answers
• Pass the English and Civics tests
The citizenship interview can be quite easy if you know what to do and simply prepare yourself. But remember, try not to miss your first citizenship interview in the first place. However, in life there are surprises, and you may miss the interview. You may even find this out just a day before your citizenship interview. If such an emergency arises (and you are sure you cannot make it to your appointment), immediately call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 to request rescheduling of the citizenship interview. Here is how this works:
• The NCSC will record the information
• They will pass it on to the local office
• The local office will make the final decision whether to reschedule your appointment
What happens if you do not call the National Customer Service Center and reschedule the citizenship interview? Simple: if you miss your scheduled interview without notifying USCIS, your case will be “administratively closed”. If you do not contact USCIS to schedule a new interview within 1 year after your case was closed by the USCIS, your application will be denied.
Beware! You will not be notified in any way if USCIS closes your case! Taking into consideration that you were the one that missed the citizenship interview and did not take the time to reschedule it, this seems fair. So make sure you make it in time for the citizenship interview or, if you cannot, take a few minutes to reschedule it.
