Hi,
My father filed his N400 in February, 2016, after 6 years of green card. Physical presence, and all all other requirements were met. He even attended a 8-week long "Citizenship preparation" class at the local library.
A week ago, he had his interview in southern, suburban NJ. Per the "report card" handed to him after the interview,
- He passed Civics / history / geography test (he answered 6 correct out of the first 7 questions; no further questions were asked).
- He passed English reading test on the first try.
- He passed English listening/writing test on the first try.
However, the officer said he needs improvement in "speaking and understanding", and that a second test would be rescheduled for that portion only. The officer was kind enough to talk to me (son of the applicant) after the interview, so based on this, below is what happened.
- For many questions, my father answered in short form. For example to "What is your name?", he answered "Ram Gopal" rather than "My name is Ram Gopal".
- Officer asked "Have you ever voted?" (Not the full "Have you ever voted in the US?"). My father, naively, assumed that since officer said "ever voted" he should say yes, since he has voted before in India in prior elections. Officer agreed he did not ask the question in full, but from the context my father should have understood it meant in US only, or my father should have said "Yes, I have voted in India", or should have clarified the question by saying "Do you mean in the US?"
Officer said a retest of the speaking & understanding portions, will be done within 2 months. My father was disappointed, but he is now preparing for round 2.
At the same time, he won't be ready to take TOEFL/GRE level exams
My father has limited Enlish fluency, but he has never had any issue communicating during the last 6 years he has been in the US.
What are some tips to prepare for the English speaking/understanding during N400 tests? Any books / videos? Should we seek an attorney representation, or would that make the officer think more adversarial, take even tougher stand?
What happens if, per chance, the officer decides that my father did not meet the requirement of English understanding / speaking in test # 2? I understand a new application and fee would need to be submitted, but would my father also need to take civics / history /geography test again?
I would appreciate hearing from others who have gone through similar experience.
My father filed his N400 in February, 2016, after 6 years of green card. Physical presence, and all all other requirements were met. He even attended a 8-week long "Citizenship preparation" class at the local library.
A week ago, he had his interview in southern, suburban NJ. Per the "report card" handed to him after the interview,
- He passed Civics / history / geography test (he answered 6 correct out of the first 7 questions; no further questions were asked).
- He passed English reading test on the first try.
- He passed English listening/writing test on the first try.
However, the officer said he needs improvement in "speaking and understanding", and that a second test would be rescheduled for that portion only. The officer was kind enough to talk to me (son of the applicant) after the interview, so based on this, below is what happened.
- For many questions, my father answered in short form. For example to "What is your name?", he answered "Ram Gopal" rather than "My name is Ram Gopal".
- Officer asked "Have you ever voted?" (Not the full "Have you ever voted in the US?"). My father, naively, assumed that since officer said "ever voted" he should say yes, since he has voted before in India in prior elections. Officer agreed he did not ask the question in full, but from the context my father should have understood it meant in US only, or my father should have said "Yes, I have voted in India", or should have clarified the question by saying "Do you mean in the US?"
Officer said a retest of the speaking & understanding portions, will be done within 2 months. My father was disappointed, but he is now preparing for round 2.
At the same time, he won't be ready to take TOEFL/GRE level exams
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What are some tips to prepare for the English speaking/understanding during N400 tests? Any books / videos? Should we seek an attorney representation, or would that make the officer think more adversarial, take even tougher stand?
What happens if, per chance, the officer decides that my father did not meet the requirement of English understanding / speaking in test # 2? I understand a new application and fee would need to be submitted, but would my father also need to take civics / history /geography test again?
I would appreciate hearing from others who have gone through similar experience.
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