Picked up my passport yesterday. Got the 52 page book, which is nice. The photo is really red, though, and it is on a tilt haha. But the lady said it was fine. I'm not sure. I might go back on Monday or something and have them fix it. Easy peasy, though. produced in 1.5 hours.
So, the oath ceremony:
I got to the courthouse around 8:20, went through security, left my phone and camera with the guy, and went to the first floor where there was a short queue. They asked to see our GCs and oath letters, and we were directed to follow the directions of the woman inside, who seated us in a very decorated ceremonial courtroom with high ceilings, pictures of past judges or something on the walls, and murals along the rear top. There were around 203 people.
It all felt very clinical and to the point. A nice old man was talking about registering to vote and handing out registration cards. I filled mine out immediately and held on to it, as someone was going to collect them later. The seating went on until 9 or so. While this was happening, someone was talking about what we need to do after we become citizens, like updating our SS status, petitioning for relatives, and addressing children under 18 who would become citizens too. An interesting thing she said about the N600 was that it was needed for a child under 18 residing with you with a GC. The child would then be interviewed in a way, and then take an oath. Is this true? I thought kids could just apply for a passport. Then we were allowed to go to the bathroom. By the way, family members went up to the third floor cafeteria and watched the goings on on TV.
A little later, they started asking us to go up row by row to hand in our GCs and check our naturalisation certificates. I was in the second to last row, so I was falling asleep. Eventually, I went up, handed my oath letter and GC to one lady (apparently you have to sign your FULL NAME and not signature on your oath letter, so I had to fix that. The woman was curt) and checked my certificate, which was fine, though I got the old style with my photo physically attached, instead of the new one with a digitally printed photo, probably because I was a special case. After that, I sat down, and when everyone was done with that, we were handed our name change certificates. I got one.
Finally, we were told the judge would come soon. By this time it was 11:20 or so. The whole process was EXCRUCIATINGLY slow, especially for just 203 people. While we waited for her, the family members were called down and made to sit in the remaining few seats to the right of the judge's panel, and also stand in the corners. The judge came soon after- Roslynn Mauskopf, a small, mousey woman (hence maus kopf, or mouse head, is quite apt). She took her place, and since we had all risen, she asked us to stay standed for the oath, which was to be administered by the clerk. We took the oath, and the staff were looking for people not saying it, haha. Then, the pledge of allegiance, which was uncalled for, really. We were congratulated, and the judge told her story about how her parents had escaped the Holocaust and that she was now a federal judge- the American Dream.
Once she left, we collected our certificates, and we were OUT of there. That's it. No little flag, no book of patriotic songs, no comedian to warm us up at the beginning, no passport applications either. Don't get me wrong. I was glad this was not cheesy, with videos of the president, terrible songs with Americana visuals, etc. But, the staff could have been nicer, though I'm sure having to deal with a tonne of dimwits four days a week tires them. Some of the people there getting naturalised were so thick they could not understand anything (that didn't have to do with language differences). They really slowed the process down. I went to an oath ceremony in Oakland, CA, and there were more than a thousand people there, yet they were able to get done in the same time!
Oh well, I'm done. I have no pictures from the day, but whatever (I was alone). I don't feel any different except for a slight sense of calm, especially with a passport here in front of me now. I'm dreading jury duty, which might come some day. If I keep moving from state to state, maybe I can avoid it, hehe (I don't believe in juries). I hope to feel more as the days go by, but we shall see. I just think I've been an "American," whatever that is, all along.