Few interview questions

[bamaguy_77]

So I get to make the 4 hour drive to Atlanta for my wife's test on the 10th. I swear I wish they had closer "local" offices. I hate travelling to big cities, she always wants me to find interesting places to go, and I usually can't come up with anything.

 

I had a question or two about the interview/test:

 

She got the study packet thing, and has totally memorized it front to back. Is everything she needs to know in that? I've seen some of the study guides available for purchase, and they're huge.

 

The swearing in ceremony, will that be held in Atlanta too, and will it be on the same day?

[dnoblett]

Yep wife did the same too.

 

I posted about the various web tools we used.

 

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?/topic/31260-links/page__view__findpost__p__580451

 

That android phone app was useful, saved me from reading the Q,As over and over to her, simply had the phone ask the questions out load.

The website for the English literacy is quite accurate. http://passcitizenshipexam.com/writingTest1/test.html

 

And congrats on your spouse taking this step!

[bamaguy_77]

The night before the test, my wife was studying. She'd kind of messed around studying, but had crammed it all in here and there over the last month. I happened to be looking up stuff do with the time between the interview and the time you get sworn in. I didn't know if it was going to require another trip to Atlanta or not.

 

I ran across a bunch of information relating to name changes and the fact that it would require being sworn in at a much later date. She wanted the space taken out of her first name, and so had applied for a name change.

 

I was NOT looking forward to missing more work, driving in that traffic, etc. We went to her test the following day. She passed it (just like I told her she would) and came back to tell me that the lady (after she looked at my wife's birth certificate and asked if she wanted the name to match the birth certificat) had just scratched through her name and wrote it in like she wanted it on the first part where it asks for FIRST NAME at the top of the form and then scratched through the part in the name change box. The lady asked how far we drove and my wife told her 5 to 6 hours one way.

 

She got handed her paper to go come back at 1:30pm the same day (July 10th) to get sworn in.

 

 

My wife said they had her write one sentence and asked her about 5 questions. It only took 8 years.

 

The thing that kind of irritates me is we spent over $1000 for her greencard ( the application fee and biometrics fees), then paid around $700-800 (forgot exactly) for the citizen ship test. They took her greencard back and didn't even give us a coupon for a burger at McDonalds. They should give credit or a gift card in return, at least a small one. For some reason, the more I think about that part it irritates me, lol.

 

I wasn't sure how many people knew/know, but apparently changing your name on that form can add 10 months or so in some cases between the test and ceremony. I hear it is best to leave the name change alone, then later apply for a name change like one would usually do (not sure of that process).

[dnoblett]

Never heard of name change at citizenship causing delays.

 

As for the swearing in ceremony, yes it has been reported before that some offices will do it in the afternoon same day. However I suspect that they would have not made you drive all that way back to the field office if you elected to go for the full formal citizenship ceremony, in most cases the big formal ones happen in a court house closer to your place of residence, for example my wife did her interview at the field office in down town Buffalo NY, however did the citizenship ceremony in our home city of Rochester NY, they do this so that friends and family can witness this major step in an immigrant's life.

 

As for giving up the green-card, this is standard procedure, and also in a way forces the immigrant to give up their citizenship to the foreign country, for example the next time you travel to China, your spouse will need to apply for a visa and send in the China passport to have it invalidated, if still had a green-card they could in theory maintain Chinese citizenship up to the day the green-card expires, flying too and from China using the green-card to exit China and the US Passport to re-enter the USA.

[dan1984]

Never heard of name change at citizenship causing delays.

 

As for the swearing in ceremony, yes it has been reported before that some offices will do it in the afternoon same day. However I suspect that they would have not made you drive all that way back to the field office if you elected to go for the full formal citizenship ceremony, in most cases the big formal ones happen in a court house closer to your place of residence, for example my wife did her interview at the field office in down town Buffalo NY, however did the citizenship ceremony in our home city of Rochester NY, they do this so that friends and family can witness this major step in an immigrant's life.

 

As for giving up the green-card, this is standard procedure, and also in a way forces the immigrant to give up their citizenship to the foreign country, for example the next time you travel to China, your spouse will need to apply for a visa and send in the China passport to have it invalidated, if still had a green-card they could in theory maintain Chinese citizenship up to the day the green-card expires, flying too and from China using the green-card to exit China and the US Passport to re-enter the USA.

 

Like you said, in theory this can't work because the new US citizen's Chinese passport (and Chinese national ID card?) would be confiscated, but, if they weren't, do you think this would actually work? Using the new US passport to leave China, and Chinese passport to enter China? There'd be no passport stamps in the passport, and I'm guessing the computer systems at customs and the airports themselves could flag this. Hehe, I previously thought about this, but didn't really think it would be feasible, and, obviously, not worth the risk at all.

[dnoblett]

This has been a topic before.

 

Would be able to exit China using US Passport without a China Visa in it, and would not be able to exit with a Chinese passport with no evadence could enter the USA.

 

Other issue is the risk of getting caught with two passports in China.

 

Some have sugested using a third country or HK for connection flying first to connecting country or HK using US passport securing the passport there, and then entering China from there, would need a visa or entry doc to return to HK or third country to then retreive US Passpport, and then return to USA.

 

Not worth the risk to play that game. If and when my wife visits China we will send her Passports th Chinese consulate they will invalidate her China passport and put a visa in her US passport.

 

[Yuanyang]

This has been a topic before.

 

Would be able to exit China using US Passport without a China Visa in it, and would not be able to exit with a Chinese passport with no evadence could enter the USA.

 

Other issue is the risk of getting caught with two passports in China.

 

Some have sugested using a third country or HK for connection flying first to connecting country or HK using US passport securing the passport there, and then entering China from there, would need a visa or entry doc to return to HK or third country to then retreive US Passpport, and then return to USA.

 

Not worth the risk to play that game. If and when my wife visits China we will send her Passports th Chinese consulate they will invalidate her China passport and put a visa in her US passport.

 

I agree. When you exit with the US passport they stamp the exit date/time. You had better have one in there or else you'd be forced to pay a fine (around $600 last I checked) before you can leave.

[warpedbored]

The US recognizes dual citizenship, China does not. The US could care less about the Chinese passport. They want the green card back because the new citizen no longer needs it and there is always risk of it being used by an illegal. If the naturalized citizen travels to another country on the Chinese passport and gets into a jamb the US Consulate would not be able to help them.