10/25   I finally got an citizenship interview recently but it resulted in "a
        decision cannot yet be made about you application".  The interviewer
        said everything was fine except they are still waiting for FBI's
        check, which can take a long time (4-5 months).  Is this normal?
        Is he telling me the truth?
        \_ My wife couldn't get to the interview stage until she was cleared
           from the FBI finger print check.
           from the FBI finger print check.  The FBI check did take a long
           time to perform.
           \_ This was my wife's experience as well. Once she got through
              the interview, everything else was smooth and relatively quick.
              Are you working with a lawyer? Do you have any eyebrow-raisers
              in your arrest records? -- ulysses
              \_ My most serious brush with the law were parking tickets (all
                 paid).  What intrigues me is that he did not check the
                 "Congratulations!  Your application has been recommended for
                 approval," the only other choice on the result form.
                 I would expect this means I have to come back for a 2nd
                 interview though that is not what he told me. -op
                 \_ Sounds about right to me. My wife worked with a lawyer and
                    I think it was the lawyer who suggested working out
                    communication with the FBI beforehand and negotiated that
                    communication.  It took most of a year but YMMV. She walked
                    out of the interview with the "congratulations" box
                    checked.
                    \_ How much does the lawyer charge?  I thought I would
                       be fine without one.  -op
                       \_ It's come to about $2.5K and the lawyer himself said
                          she probably could have gotten by without his help.
                          He is also at the high end. Still, everything started
                          going pretty smoothly with the lawyer on the case.
                          She had also had a bad experience with a cheap
                          lawyer. Note the $2.5K was for the entire process
                          from Res. Alien to Citizen.
        \_ I just had my interview a few weeks ago and I got approved. I'm
           getting sworn in in 3 weeks.
           \_ How long did you wait to get the interview and how long did the
              interview last?  Mine only lasted 20 minutes.  Is this good/bad?
                 -op
              \_ For me the interview itself lasted 20 minutes too. For the
                 first part of your question I'm not sure if you're asking
                 how long I had to wait in the INS waiting area on the day of
                 the interview (5 minutes) or how long the whole application
                 process took (8 months, no lawyer).
              \_ For me, it took a little over a year after the initial
                 application to get the interview.  So I had to resubmit my
                 finger prints, since they were only valid for a year.  My
                 interview basically consisted of him noticing that I was
                 a Cal student, and asking me to write down "It is raining
                 outside."  (no kidding)  I was sworn in shortly after that.
                 \_ This is because your fingerprints change every year?
                    \_ Hell if I knew why.  -pp
        \_ My wife had an interview in June but still is waiting to clear
           Homeland Security background check.
           \_ Which box (Congratulations or "cannot yet") got checked?