USA Citizenship: Interview Questions and Preparations

The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services authorities generally consider naturalization interview questions from your Naturalization Application. On a few occasions, they might ask questions about the content of your A-File. Remaining questions are from your citizenship exam.

The purpose of this article is to acquaint yourself with the questions that you face by the Citizenship authorities in the citizenship interview.

Frequently Asked Citizenship Questions

Following is a list of the probable naturalization interview questions. The authorities may not ask all of these questions. Answering most of the questions will not be a problem for you because you have already answered more or less similar questions in your citizenship application.

A few questions may not seem important, especially those in the first two categories. However, immigration officers evaluate the responses to all the questions even if these are quite simple and easy.

After the formal greetings with the officer, they will direct you to the questions related to the Oath.

Oath Questions

• Do you promise to speak the truth and nothing except for the truth, so God helps you?
• Do you know the meaning of an Oath?

Basic Personal Details

• Your name?
• Did you use any other name?
• Do you intend to change your name legally?
• What is the date of your birth?
• What is your birthplace?
• Questions about your ethnic background
• Are you Latino or Hispanic?

Physical Characteristics

• What is your height in feet and inches?
• The colour of your eyes
• Your hair colour

Family Background 

Following are the questions related to your family background

• Your mother’s name?
• Your Father’s name
• Are your parents or one of them is a US citizen? If yes, when did they become US national?
• Did they marry before you turned 18 years?
• Do you have children? If so, how many children do you have?
• What is the birthplace of your children and where are they at present?
• Are all of your children your biological children, or do you have any stepchild, or an adopted one and what are their ages/ Dates of Births?

Relationship Details 

• Are you married, single, separated/Divorced or widowed?
• The name of your spouse/partner?
• The date and place of your marriage
• Does your spouse/partner have US citizenship?
• What is the nationality of your spouse or partner?
• The birthday of your spouse?
• The profession of your spouse/partner? Are they currently employed?
• Does your spouse belong to a military background?
• Where did your spouse/partner work at present?
• Your number of marriages?
• When did your last marriage end?
• The number of times your spouse has been married?
• How your spouse’s relationship/marriage ended with their last spouse?

Military Service

• Have you ever worked in the US military?
• Have you ever gone out of the United States to avoid serving in the military?
• Did you apply for an exemption from the military services?
• Have you ever left the military before being discharged?
• Have you lived in the United States or received your green card at any stage between the age of 18 and 26? If so, have you gone through the registration process for the Selective Service? (For males)
• What is the date of your registration with Selective Service? (For males)
• Why have you not registered with Selective Service? (For males)

Immigration Status 

• Originally, what is your nationality? You have to provide the name of your home country.
• When did you get the approval for your permanent residence (Green Card)
• How long did you have your permanent residence card (Green Card)?

Trips to Foreign Countries

• How many times have you travelled to other countries since you received a green card?
• Did you stay outside of the United States for six months or beyond?
• Why you travelled abroad? You will have to supply the reasons for travelling.
• What is the date of your last travelling?
• Which country or countries did you visit?
• What was the date when you returned to the United States?

Residential Details

• What is your current address?
• How long have you lived there?
• What are the other addresses where you lived during the past three or five years?
• When you lived there?

Employment and Education Details

Following are the questions about your employment and education

• What is your current job? You have to provide the name of your current organization and the nature of your job.
• What are the other jobs that you have done during the past three or five years?
• When you worked there?
• Where you last attended school?
• What is the name of your educational institute?
• When you attended that institute?

Income Tax-Related Questions

• Have you always filed your income tax return after receiving the green card? If not, what is the reason behind non-filing?
• Have you ever declared yourself a non-resident in a state, federal or local income tax return after receiving the green card?
• Is any tax payable at your end to the state, local or federal government?

Personal Ethics

• Have you ever claimed a U.S. citizenship?
• Are you a registered voter or have you ever voted in a local or federal election in the United States?
• Do you have any involvement in violent activities? Have you ever discriminated against the other person due to their nationality, ethnic background or religious beliefs?
• Do you believe in the U.S. government and the Constitution?
• Will you abide by-laws, rules and regulations of the United States?
• Are you willing to take the Oath of Allegiance to the U.S.? Do you understand this Oath?
• In the case of War, would you support or defend the United States?
• If required, would you participate in non-combatant civilian services in the United States military or work of national level as a civilian?

Questions About Affiliations

The officers would ask you questions about the membership of nobility in any country other than the United States. They want to know if you will be ready to give up your nobility title after taking the Oath as a citizen of the United States.

Conclusion

Finally, the immigration officers would ask all the questions about your personal history and family background in detail. You have to provide them with all the relevant information with honesty and full confidence.