I am now a US citizen
Here is an update on my timeline:
9/18/2006 - Mailed N-400 application, checks, etc to VSC
9/21/2006 - application delivered (based on USPS tracking)
9/21/2006 - Priority Date
9/21/2006 - Case Status updated
9/29/2006 - Case Status last updated
9/30/2006 - Received I-797C, Notice of Action receipt notice
10/5/2006 - Received Fingerprint notice
10/12/2006 - FP done at Glenmont ASC (appt time 1 pm). Test not available
online status dissappears ???? as of 3/30/2007 case status has not dissappeared and says it was last updated Sept 29th
Received IL 1/22/2007
ID 3/12/2007 1 pm
Oath letter received 3/14/2007
Oath Date 3/30/2007 9 am (approx 9:45 am I became a US citizen)
passport application submitted 3/31/2007
Voter registration mailed 3/31/2007
voterID received ???
passport received ???
Now for the gory details. I took my citizenship oath this morning. The appointmentwasfor 9 am. I arrived at 8:30 am and checked in at the information window in room 101. The lady ther looked at my letterand told me to just have a seat. At 9:05 a USCIS officer came in and announced that all those who were there for the 9 am oath ceremony should form a line and we would go up to the 7th floor.
The room on the 7th floor was rectangular layed out with about 120 chairs with an ise down the middle. The chairs faced the long side with the windows. There was a table at the front and to the left, a lectern in the middle and a large television to the right of the lectern. Also, the room was decorated as one would expect for a July fourth celebration, though a bit more modestly.
The people on each of the two sides of the room took turns lining up to have one officercheck our letter and GC. Then we proceeded to the table on the left where we handed the letter and GC to a lady who searched for our names on a list and told the lady seated next to her the reference number for the certificate. The frst lady then gave us a small welcome packet. We then verified that the info on the Nat certificate was accurate before returning to our seats. By this time it was about 9:35.
We then stood to the singng of the anthem which was played on a tape recorder/cd player. Next we listened to a 1 min speech o the prevlige and responsibilities of a US citize. A member of the US coast guard who was in uniform was specially acknowledged and we all applauded. Next we stood to the pledge of allegiance and then watched a 2 min video from President Bush welcominging us as new citizens. Next we went up to collect our Nat certificate as our names were called. This brought us to about 9:55 am.
We were now free to leave or consult with the USCIS officers who were present on any immigration questions we might have.
As of about 9:45am today when I took the oat of alegiance to the US I became a United States of America citizen. God Bless America.
I have completed my passport application and will be submitting it tomorrow. Also, I have filled out myvoter registration form and will mail it tomorrow. I will continue to post on the board untill I have gotten my passport or voter ID, whichever comes last.
In case anyone is interested, the only documents they were interested in at the oath ceremony were the oath letter and the GC. They simply asked us to complete the questios on the back of the oath letter without checking our passports.
Here is another update to my timeline. I had my interview at 1 pm on Monday (3/12/2007). At the end of the interview I got a paper saying that a decision could not be made at this time but I would be notified by mail of the decision. The interviewer said he just wanted to review it later to make sure everything was in order. In any event, there was no oat ceremony on Monday. Anyway, 2 days later, Wednesday (3/14/2007) I recieved the oath letter in the mail. It was postmarked the previous day. The oath date is Friday 3/30/2007 at 9 am.
Here is an update on my timeline:
9/18/2006 - Mailed N-400 application, checks, etc to VSC
9/21/2006 - application delivered (based on USPS tracking)
9/21/2006 - Priority Date
9/21/2006 - Case Status updated
9/29/2006 - Case Status last updated
9/30/2006 - Received I-797C, Notice of Action receipt notice
10/5/2006 - Received Fingerprint notice
10/12/2006 - FP done at Glenmont ASC (appt time 1 pm). Test not available
online status dissappears ???? as of 3/30/2007 case status has not dissappeared and says it was last updated Sept 29th
Received IL 1/22/2007
ID 3/12/2007 1 pm
Oath letter received 3/14/2007
Oath Date 3/30/2007 9 am
passport application submitted ???
Voter registration mailed ???
voterID received ???
passport received ???