Can I move after the Citizenship Interview?

G

gita22

Registered Users (C)
Hi, I have successfully passed the Citizenship interview and my application is recommended for approval.

Since I am changing my name (correcting a single letter in my name) I am expecting my oath ceremony in Federal Court some time in April ( I/O office mentioned it).

I have to move out of state for a job in 2 weeks. Can I move between the citizenship interview and oath?

Thanks
 
Personally, I think you can move. The oath letter doesn't ask whether you've moved, so as long as you can receive the notice in the post at your current address, you'll be ok. Otherwise, change your address with CIS to another one in the same district (maybe a friend's place?) to be safe. I wouldn't change your address with CIS to your out of state address.
 
gita22 said:
Hi, I have successfully passed the Citizenship interview and my application is recommended for approval.

Since I am changing my name (correcting a single letter in my name) I am expecting my oath ceremony in Federal Court some time in April ( I/O office mentioned it).

I have to move out of state for a job in 2 weeks. Can I move between the citizenship interview and oath?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Yes, you can move, but there will be consequences if you do.

By law, your naturalization oath must take place in the district of your residence at the time of naturalization. If you move to another state before the oath, you are required to notify USCIS of your new address within 10 days of the move. This is not a matter of choice, but a legal requirement.
Once you notify the USCIS, they will have to transfer your application to the DO in the state to which you move. That DO will schedule the oath and handle the name change request (but you will not have to do another interview). In practice this could result in a few months delay.

Also, most pieces of correspondence from USCIS (most likely including the oath letter, although I don't remember for sure) have their envelopes stamped with "Return service requested" stamp. This means that such a piece of mail cannot be forwarded, even if you have a forwarding request on file with USPS. A letter stamped "Return service requested" must be returned to sender if it cannot be delivered to the specified address and the specified adressee for any reason, such a forwarding request, a hold mail request or whatever.
 
Moving before the oath will almost surely cause a delay of months. If you don't want that delay, keep your current address until after the oath.
 
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