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I had my citizenship interview on the morning of May 5, 2004.

Short version – I passed.

Long version – I arrived at 10:10 for my 10:30 appointment. After clearing security, I made my way to Room 390, dropped the appointment letter and my green card in the box at “Window 2”, and then took a seat to wait. It was 10:45 when my name was called by an older fellow and I was invited into his office. He asked me to remain standing while he swore me in. It was a bit funny actually, because he said, “Do you swear to tell the truth…” and then he stopped talking! It took me a moment to realize that that was all he was going to say. I was expecting something a bit more so there was a slight hesitation before I answered, “I do.”

I sat down and he placed my green card on the table. He pointed to the bottom line and asked if this was, in fact, my real name. He then started flipping through the pages of my application form making comments here and there and asking various questions. I see you work at Marshall University; I see you’ve been married twice; I see you’ve been back to Canada a few times; I see you have two children – both adults. I indicated they were my stepchildren. He then asked if I ever claimed to be a US citizen? Have I ever voted in a US election? Have I always paid my taxes? Was I ever a member of the communist party? Have I ever associated with Al-Qaeda or other known terrorist organizations? He asked about my 3 speeding citations to confirm that I had only received a ticket and had not been arrested or otherwise detained by the police. He asked if I understood the US oath of allegiance and if I was willing to take that oath – to give up any prior allegiances to Canada, and to serve in the military if that became necessary. I indicated that I understood the oath and that if the military was willing to teach me, I’d be willing to learn! He chuckled at that comment.

He then indicated it was time for the US history test. He pulled out a sheet of paper with 10 questions on it and started to ask them. How many branches are there to the government? Who was President during the Civil War? What is the opening paragraph of the Constitution called? Who is Kentucky’s current Governor? And that was it. He asked me only 4 of the 10 questions. He then asked me to write the sentence, “I bought the blue car today,” and asked me to read the sentence “This is what I said to her last week.”

He looked up, smiled, said that I had done well, and that he was going to approve my application for citizenship. He handed back the appointment letter and another form which indicated that I had been approved. He said the next Oath of Allegiance ceremony for eastern  Kentucky would be in Lexington on June 11^th, but that I would receive an official letter in the mail in a few weeks with confirmation of the date and time and other details about the ceremony. He did not ask to see any of the documents that I brought with me even though they were specifically requested.

He then stood up and pointed me to the exit. That was it! I said that I had expected the interview to last quite a bit longer and he said that when the applicant’s first language is English it can be a very speedy process. I glanced at my watch and it was 10:53. I had been in there for only 8 minutes. I was glad things had gone well but, since I’d been preparing for this interview for two months, it was a bit anticlimactic.

Anyway, it seems as though I’m going to be a US citizen in time for the July 4^th weekend and, even better, I’ll get to vote in the Presidential election in November!