What Happens at The Interview?

You present yourself, the alien, either by yourself or in conjunction with an attorney. They go through the exam. They review the application and all the questions that are submitted on the application under penalty of perjury. The officer will ask them all the questions. And if they pass everything, then the officer will approve the application.

If an alien applicant is unable to attend the naturalization interview, it’s extremely important that you timely notify the officer that you’re unable to attend, because failure to attend may result in the denial or the abandonment of the application. Typically, the US Immigration Service will send a notice letter to the applicant and ask them why they missed their application or interview date and give them a second chance to reset the case for 90 days.

The swearing-in date is probably the most festive part of the naturalization application. It’s a very nice event, but usually after administering the oath, then the alien applicant has to relinquish their green card and, in exchange, they will get their naturalization certificate. And, essentially, after having read the oath, that’s when they are officially US citizens.