If you have already submitted Form N-400, then you will probably get a naturalization appointment notice within months. You will be given the time and location of your interview, the interview where a USCIS officer will determine whether or not your citizenship application will be accepted. Here is an outline of how the interview will go, and what you can do to boost your chances of acceptance.

Upon arrival at the specified USCIS office, you will encounter a security checkpoint. Here you will need to present photo ID. Then someone will also take a picture of you and get two fingerprints in order to run biometrics reverification, which means running this information through databases to confirm your identity.

Once inside, you will probably be putting your interview notice into a box, and then you will have to wait for someone to announce your name. Fortunately, this might not actually be a long wait. All the same, be certain to arrive for your appointment early. Give yourself time just in case you cannot find the office or a place to park, or if you run into delays at the security checkpoint. Being late to your appointment could be fatal for your citizenship application.

An officer will call out your name, and you will go into another office where you will come to a desk. The officer will swear you in, that is, you will have to swear that you will tell the truth throughout the appointment. Then an officer will probably start reviewing the answers on your Form N-400, and perhaps other documents too. The officer could go down the list and ask you about each item of information, such as asking what "your current legal name" is and what your marital status is. These questions are to gauge your proficiency in English, and to make sure that all the information on your form is accurate. You can practice for this part of the interview. Get a friend who speaks English to review your Form N-400 with you before the appointment. Have them ask you all of the questions.

It should be noted that one of the first questions an officer might ask you is whether or not any of your information has been altered on your application. This is your opportunity to update information. You should inform the officer if you have another child (have their full name and a birth certificate copy ready). Tell them if you have traveled outside of the U.S.; be ready with an outline of the precise dates of your travels, for example. You want to prove that your trips do not interrupt your continuous U.S. residency. Perhaps you have a different job now. In this case, you will want to provide a business card or letter from your employer that shows the address and name of your current employer.

There are two tricky changes to be aware of, however:

• If you have to let the officer know that you have gotten a divorce from the person who sponsored you, then this could end your citizenship process.
• The same goes if you have since been arrested on certain charges that could disqualify you, charges that would mean you would now have to say "yes" to anything in Part 5 of your Form N-400.

In either case, you might be facing removal too. If you are in either of these situations, it is imperative that you contact an immigration lawyer now.

One of the main components of the interview will be the officer assessing how well you speak English. Part of this will involve how well you can follow directions, such as "please remain standing", taking the oath, etc. An officer will want to see that you can answer questions well. But do not worry if you cannot understand a question. Just politely ask the officer to repeat the question in different words. Part of a USCIS officer's training is to "rephrase questions until the officer is satisfied that the applicant either fully understands the question or does not understand English". If you just pretend to understand, then guessing at a response will probably land you in trouble. Another test of your fluency in English will be writing a sentence in English. The officer will dictate a sentence for you to write down, and this sentence will include some of the words from the vocabulary list you studied.

Then you will have a civics exam. There is a list of 100 possible questions the officer can ask you, and you will get asked up to ten of these. You have to get six answers right. If you do not, all this means is that you will have to schedule an additional appointment to try again.

If your application is accepted, then the officer will let you know this, and he or she might also give you a document that tells you about your swearing-in ceremony. You might get this information in the mail though. No matter the details of the ceremony, it is only a couple of months before you become a U.S. citizen!

If your application is denied, you should be given reasons why. Then you can decide whether you should apply again, or appeal this decision. An attorney can help you choose the best course. If you need further tips for the citizenship process, or if you face removal procedures, then do not hesitate to contact an immigration lawyer today!