N400 & I751 combo interview Dallas

[ruby103]

Hi everyone,
I’ve just passed my N-400 and I-751 combo interview this Monday 02/10 at Dallas USCIS Field Office. I have been observing many of your previous experience regards the combo interview and they really helped me a lot for mine. Everything went pretty smooth. My interview was scheduled at 2:00pm. My husband and I arrived at 1:30pm, went thru the security check, then checked-in at the reception area where they took a picture of mine and got my finger-prints scanned. Then we went upstairs and waited there until 2:15pm. The IO was a very nice lady. When she called my name, my husband also stood up and came with me. The IO didn’t say a thing about him coming along with me. After we sat down, she quickly explained that she had to adjudicate my I-751 first, then she would move to the N-400 interview later.

I-751 questions:

1. How did you two meet?
2. Did you exchange phone numbers / email addresses?
3. What is your spouse’s b-day?
4. What do you like most about your spouse?
5. What is the least thing you like about your spouse?
6. Where do you work?
7. Where do your spouse work?
8. Where did you live right after getting married? How far is it from Chicago & Iowa?
9. What is your current address?
10. Do you have any children?

During the interview, we had some small talks about the Chicago Bear, about the winter time in the North as I told her I just stayed in IL for one winter and I decided I didn’t like the cold so we both moved to Dallas later on. So it was kind of a conversation which I think has helped us to show the IO about our marriage life. Also she did reviewed all the evidences that we submitted in the I-751 form and asked some questions regards the location of some photos. At the end of the I-751 interview, the IO asked if we have any other evidences that we want to update. Since we only submitted the purchase contract of our new house at the time we filed I-751, in this interview I brought our mortgage papers and the property deed I printed out from my county’s website which showed both my husband and me as the owners of the house. I also gave her our joint tax forms of 2018 & 2019. I asked her if she need to see more of our updated photos but she said no need.
Civic questions:

1. What is the name of the national anthem?
2. We elect a U.S. Representative for how many years?
3. In what month do we vote for President?
4. What is the capital of the United States?
5. The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?
6. What is one right or freedom from the First Amendment?

After completed with the civic questions, the IO then asked a list of yes/no questions as showed in the N-400. I had a speeding ticket after filling the N-400 so I also brought the receipt and the dismissal order from the court to show that I already paid the fines. I didn’t tell my husband about the ticket so when I told the IO that yes I had a speeding ticket, my husband was like “no, you didn’t have any ticket”, and I told him “Yes I did. I was afraid that you would be mad at me”. The IO was like “Ohhhh, so we have a little secret that has just been revealed now. But I am glad that she tells the truth”. She said a lot of people swear to tell the truth but they still hide things. The IO joked with me that I was in bad luck to get pulled over on I-75 as she saw a lot of people usually drive at that speed. She was fine with all the documents I brought in to show that I already paid for the ticket. I think through this conversation, it also showed that we have a normal husband & wife life. So, I guess it is still fine if you have some differences between your answers, as long as the IO can see a bona fide marriage from how you interact with each other in day-to-day life.

At the end, she confirmed with me once again about my name change (I requested a name change when I filed the N-400 form), updated my traffic ticket and that I paid all the fines, and also updated my latest trip back to Vietnam to visit my parents. Everything was showed on a tablet screen and I had to sign to confirm all of the changes were correct. Then she told me that she approved both of my I-751 and N-400 and gave me a paper which she checked on the box “Congratulations …...” and that she already put my name in queue for the Oath ceremony, so I would expect to receive the letter about the Oath in 4-6 weeks as they had to wait for a judge to do the ceremony (I guess because I requested for name change so it would take longer???) She also told me that I shall not receive the 10-year GC as I am going to be soon a US citizen, but I will still see on the USCIS website that my I-751 will be approved.


**** My I-751 & N-400 timeline:
6/30/2018 – I-751 application sent
7/01/2019 – N-400 application sent
7/04/2019– Biometric appointment for I-751 scheduled on 7/17/19
7/05/2018 – Biometric appointment for N-400 scheduled on 7/26/19
7/17/2019 – Combo biometric for I-751 & N-400 (I came in, showed the 2 letters to the guy at the reception and asked if I could do both today since the 2 appointments only 1 week apart. He said yes of course)
8/08/2019 – I-751 was transferred to another USCIS office. That office now has jurisdiction over your case (NBC Lee Summit, MO)
01/06/2020 – N-400 interview was scheduled
02/10/2020 – I-751 & N-400 combo interview
02/11/2020 - Oath ceremony will be scheduled
02/12/2020 - I-751 - Your case was approved

[Jem89]

Wow! Very helpful! Thank you very much for sharing! Congrats!!!!!