Well I am happy to say that my citizenship journey came to a conclusion today when I took my citizenship oath in Worcester. The ceremony was held at the historic Mechanics Hall in downtown Worcester. My wife, a friend and I drove there first thing in the morning in order to make the 10am check in time. Parking was easy as there are plenty of parking lots/garages in the vicinity of the hall.
At the venue, check in was smooth and efficient and all of us oath takers were directed to seating on the main floor of the hall while all supporting guests went up to the balcony visitor gallery. I brought a book to read to pass time. Along the way, a USCIS officer spoke to us about the importance and responsibilities of citizenship and what to expect for the ceremony. We saw a video on the faces of immigration across the decades. A little after 12.30 pm, the presiding Federal court judge arrived and the proceedings began. We all stood and were lead into the oath by another USCIS officer and we were all citizens at that conclusion of that. The judge first congratulated us all then talked to us about US citizenship and it was a rather dignified speech. We watched this God Bless the USA video and also a video message from President Obama. Then afterwards, a couple of guest children lead us in the pledge of allegiance. After this, we were pretty much done but after a bit of delay, we were lead out in the order we entered our seats to get our Naturalization Certificates. It was incredibly efficient and that was a pleasant surprise because I thought there would be more delays and so it was good to get the certificate so quickly. 722 other people became Americans along with me today. My wife and our friend up in the visitor gallery were taking photos and video of the entire proceedings.
By the time I got out with my certificate, it was almost 2pm and the three of us went straight to a nearby Irish bar for lunch and a drink to celebrate. Good times. After lunch, I went straight to the local Social Security Administration office and got my SS record updated to reflect that I was now a US citizen. We then drove back home to Boston. I plan to apply for my American passport and passport card tomorrow morning.
It has been a long road leading to this point and it sure is a relief. I would like to take a moment to thank everyone on this forum who helped me with understanding the naturalization process and being so helpful. I have to especially mention Bobsmyth, Jackolantern and WBH. Keep on rocking, guys!
JP
