Well, ladies and gents, I finally became an US Citizen today! Here's my oath ceremony experience. The appointment was at 9 AM at an US District Courthouse downtown and we arrived at 8 AM. Since we were an hour early, the courthouse security guards will not allow us to go to the assigned courtroom so we ended up hanging out at the courthouse cafeteria for 45 minutes. Around 8:45, we went up to the courtroom, but the door wasn't open yet. All the Naturalization candidates along with their family and friends, we all waited in the hallways until the court clerk opened the door at 9 AM sharp.
Once we were in, we were instructed to sit on the lefthand side of the courtroom if you were a Naturalization candidate and sit on the righthand side if you were family members or friends. First thing first, we were instructed on how to apply for an US Passport. We could either go to a Passport office or to the US Post Office (more on this later). Secondly, from 9 to 10 AM, we checked in one by one by rows. So if you were sitting in the front, then you get to check-in first. During checking in, you surrendered your Green Card and turned in your Oath invitation letter. After that, you were instructed to sign your Naturalization Certificate in cursive (but you don't get it at this time, just signing it, not getting it). While waiting for everyone to check in, we took family pictures around the courtroom (ie by the US flag, jury's bench, etc.).
Once everyone had checked in, surprising everyone did by 10 AM, then the acutal ceremony started when the presiding judges walked in. That's right, I had TWO judges presiding at my ceremony (one is the Chief judge of US District Courts and the other is an US Circuit judge). Also during the ceremony there were multiple guest speakers. The actual ceremony lasted about an hour and there were only 55 of us candidates. During the ceremony, the judges actually made us stand up and introduce ourselves by stating our names and what country we were from, this part was fun and interesting to see where everyone came from. We had candidates from:
Phillippines
Canada
Mexico
Greece
Lebanon
Vietnam
China
Taiwan
Nigeria
Ethiopia
India (A ton of India candidates)
Germany
Poland
Romania
During the ceremony we also received an American Flag, informed on how to register to vote, and we recited the Pledge of Allegiance (oh how this reminded me of grade school when I did this everyday). At the end of the ceremony, that's when we received our Certificates.
All said and done, we were finished by 11:15 AM, the I decided to go to the Post Office and apply for my Passport and Passport Card. Here's the break down:
Only cash, personal check, money order, or debit card (no credit cards):
$75 for Passport (non-expedited)
$20 for Passport Card
Can be credit cards:
$25 for Post Office fee
$15 for 2 passport 2X2 pictures
Total: $135
Hint: be sure to complete an online Passport application to avoid spending more time at the Post Office. I saw many candidates a head of me in line at the Post Office that end up behind me because I completed an application online already and they didn't. You can find it here:
https://pptform.state.gov/FraudAbuseNotice.aspx
Complete the PDF form and print and bring to the Post Office with you.
Also, many of you may not know this, but I know I didn't. Did you know that when you apply for your Passport, you are required to submit your ORIGINAL Certificate of Naturalization right there and then?!! I was shocked and a little hesitant to give my $600+ Certificate over to the US Postal Man!! Afterall, I just got it 10 minutes ago!!!
Now that everything is done, I just hope I'll get my Certificate back and passport soon! I have heard horror stories about people not getting their Certificate back after they received their passports!? YICKS!!
Once we were in, we were instructed to sit on the lefthand side of the courtroom if you were a Naturalization candidate and sit on the righthand side if you were family members or friends. First thing first, we were instructed on how to apply for an US Passport. We could either go to a Passport office or to the US Post Office (more on this later). Secondly, from 9 to 10 AM, we checked in one by one by rows. So if you were sitting in the front, then you get to check-in first. During checking in, you surrendered your Green Card and turned in your Oath invitation letter. After that, you were instructed to sign your Naturalization Certificate in cursive (but you don't get it at this time, just signing it, not getting it). While waiting for everyone to check in, we took family pictures around the courtroom (ie by the US flag, jury's bench, etc.).
Once everyone had checked in, surprising everyone did by 10 AM, then the acutal ceremony started when the presiding judges walked in. That's right, I had TWO judges presiding at my ceremony (one is the Chief judge of US District Courts and the other is an US Circuit judge). Also during the ceremony there were multiple guest speakers. The actual ceremony lasted about an hour and there were only 55 of us candidates. During the ceremony, the judges actually made us stand up and introduce ourselves by stating our names and what country we were from, this part was fun and interesting to see where everyone came from. We had candidates from:
Phillippines
Canada
Mexico
Greece
Lebanon
Vietnam
China
Taiwan
Nigeria
Ethiopia
India (A ton of India candidates)
Germany
Poland
Romania
During the ceremony we also received an American Flag, informed on how to register to vote, and we recited the Pledge of Allegiance (oh how this reminded me of grade school when I did this everyday). At the end of the ceremony, that's when we received our Certificates.
All said and done, we were finished by 11:15 AM, the I decided to go to the Post Office and apply for my Passport and Passport Card. Here's the break down:
Only cash, personal check, money order, or debit card (no credit cards):
$75 for Passport (non-expedited)
$20 for Passport Card
Can be credit cards:
$25 for Post Office fee
$15 for 2 passport 2X2 pictures
Total: $135
Hint: be sure to complete an online Passport application to avoid spending more time at the Post Office. I saw many candidates a head of me in line at the Post Office that end up behind me because I completed an application online already and they didn't. You can find it here:
https://pptform.state.gov/FraudAbuseNotice.aspx
Complete the PDF form and print and bring to the Post Office with you.
Also, many of you may not know this, but I know I didn't. Did you know that when you apply for your Passport, you are required to submit your ORIGINAL Certificate of Naturalization right there and then?!! I was shocked and a little hesitant to give my $600+ Certificate over to the US Postal Man!! Afterall, I just got it 10 minutes ago!!!
Now that everything is done, I just hope I'll get my Certificate back and passport soon! I have heard horror stories about people not getting their Certificate back after they received their passports!? YICKS!!
