Hi!
Hi, I'm Officer Jennifer.
Are you Anna?
No, I'm Elvia.
Oh Elvia
(Checks her name on an imaginary clipboard).
Yes, thank you very much. Please come in.
Thank you.
Follow me to my office
Please raise your right hand.
Do you promise to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth?
Yes I do.
Put down your hand.
What did you just promise?
To tell the truth.
Please have a seat.
Explain to me how you are eligible to become a U.S. citizen.
I am married to to a U.S. citizen.
We've been married for six years.
You've been married for six years?
How long have you been a legal permanent resident in the United States?
I've been a legal permanent resident for ten years.
Ten years? Okay
What is your full name?
My full name is Elvia Pena Velázquez.
Spell your last name.
V e l á z q u e z
okay very good
What is your date of permanent residence?
The date of my permanent residence is . . .
July 1st 2001
What is your date of birth?
March 22, 1994
Are you born here or were you born in Mexico?
I was born in Mexico.
Whereabouts in Mexico?
Jalisco, Mexico
Very good
What is your country of nationality?
Mexico
Was either your mother or father a US citizen before your 18th birthday?
No
Are you a Hispanic or are you Asian?
Hispanic
Let me to ask you about your residence.
What is your current home residence?
It is 650 Elko St, Gonzales, California okay
Have you lived anywhere else in the past five years?
Yes
Where have you lived?
2471 El Camino, Sacramento, California
When did you move from Sacramento's to Gonzales?
Sacramento? The last time I was living there was May, no, August 2018.
And then I moved to Gonzales.
Do you work?
Yes
What is your occupation?
I'm a teacher.
Where do you work?
I work in Gonzales.
What do you teach?
I teach English.
Oh very good, okay.
So what level of English do you teach?
I teach beginners.
Let us continue.
Have you traveled outside the United States in the past five years?
Yes
How many trips have you taken outside the United States?
In the last five years?
it will be . . . one, two?
Between three and five.
Between three and five? We really need to know precisely.
Can you be more (precise)?
It says here on your application you took five trips.
When I ask you about your trips--are all of your trips to Mexico?
Yes
I am going to ask you about your last trip.
When did you leave and when did you return?
Okay. My most recent trip was in December
I went out of the country on the 22nd of December of 2019
and then I came back on December 28
So you went for Christmas?
Yes h
So in the total five years, how many days have you been outside the United States?
Less than three months okay less than three months.
Okay, so it says here that you've been outside for 78 days, so that's that's good.
I'm going to continue on to marital status.
What is your marital status?
Married
You're married? Okay.
And what is the name of your spouse?
Richard Marcus
(wrong question)
What is his date of birth?
His date of birth is December 22, 1986
What is your date of marriage?
Date of marriage?
It is a March 20, 2015.
Let's continue.
How many times have you been married?
Once
And how many times has been married?
Once
Is he an American citizen?
Yes
Was he born here or did he become naturalized?
He was born here.
We're now going on . . . oh, excuse me
Do you have any children?
No
Not yet.
Okay let's continue.
We're going on to Part 12. Are you ready?
Do you have any questions before we begin?
No
Have you ever claimed to be a US citizen?
No
voted in the United States never have you ever been declared legally
Have you ever been declared legally incompetent?
Could you repeat that again?
Have you ever been declared legally incompetent?
Do you make your own decisions or do other people make decisions for you?
Oh, I make them myself.
Okay good.
Have you ever . . .
Have you ever failed to file taxes?
No
Do you pay your taxes every year?
Yes
Do you owe any back taxes?
No
Do you pay them together with your husband?
Not before we were married.
Okay, but what since you've become married?
Yes
You pay to them together, okay.
Do you belong to any groups or organizations?
To my church group.
What is the name of your church group?
It's the Holy Trinity Catholic Church.
Do you belong to any teachers unions or anything like that?
No, actually I don't.
Any professional organizations?
Yes
Which professional organization?
To the Salinas Valley Adult Education Consortium (www.svaec.org).
Very good, okay. They do very very good work.
So let us continue.
Have you ever been a communist?
No
Have you ever been a terrorist?
No
What is a terrorist?
A terrorist is a person who kills people.
Have you ever tried to hurt or kill a person on purpose?
Never
Nave you ever persecuted anyone?
No
Have you ever tried to use weapons to force somebody to do something that they did not want to do?
No Have you ever belonged to a gang?
No
Have you ever had any weapons training?
. . . I don't know what you mean by that.
Have you have you ever been taught how to use a gun or a rifle?
Have you had you do any training in the military?
Did you ever learn how to hunt?
Only for recreation, so going to a gun range. But, no.
Okay, so you did learn how to use a gun safely, is that correct?
Yes
That's excellent.
Gun safety is very important.
Let us continue.
Have you ever been arrested?
No
Have you ever been in jail?
No
Have you ever been on probation?
Never
Have you ever been a habitual drunkard?
No
What is habitual drunkard?
A person who drinks daily?
Yes
Have you ever sold or smuggled illegal drugs?
No
Can you give me an example of some illegal drugs?
Heroin . . . cocaine.
Have you ever gambled illegally?
No
Did you ever serve in the US military?
No
Do you support the Constitution and the laws of the United States?
Yes, I do.
What is the Constitution?
It is the law of the land.
What is our form of government?
A democratic government.
Are you willing to take the full Oath of Allegiance?
Yes
What is the Oath of Allegiance?
That I will be loyal to the country.
If the law requires it, are you willing to bear arms in the US military?
Could you explain "bear arms?"
Yes, "bear arms" are you willing to use a weapon to protect the United States?
Tell me: what is a weapon.
Like a gun.
Very good.
Are you willing to perform noncombatant duties in the United States?
Yes
What are noncombatant duties?
Like be in a volunteer--you could help with like the nurses.
Are you willing to perform work of national importance of your civilian direction?
Yes
Okay very good
I (am going to) ask you to read this sentence.
Please go ahead.
When do we vote for the president?
Please write this
(dictated sentence)
Spell Vote
V O T E
Spell President
P R E S I D E N T
Spell November
N O V E M B E R
Very good. So you passed the Reading of the Writing tests.
Now I'm going to ask you ten questions.
You only need to answer six to to pass.
Are you ready?
What does the Constitution do?
The Constitution sets up the government
very good
Name one branch are part of the government.
Legislative
What are two cabinet-level positions?
Secretary of Education and Secretary of Agriculture
What are two rights of everyone living in the United States
. . .
the right . . .
freedom of speech and freedom of religion
very good
What territory did the United States buy from France in 1807?
Could you repeat that again?
Oh! I said that incorrectly!
What territory did the United States buy from France in 1803?
the Louisiana territory
Name one state that borders Mexico.
Texas
Very good! Congratulations.
I know you will be a great American citizen!
Thank you.
Congratulations!
Learn more at Gonzales Adult School ae.gonzalesusd.net
www.uscitizenpod.com