Oath ceremony in court at Dearborn
Had my oath. Official letter says to arrive promptly at noon, but this is actually check in time. Oath started at 1 PM. But I strongly suggest to arrive promptly, since seats are assigned on first come-first serve basis, and you want to have the best seats. There were 144 people scheduled, and capacity of the court room is very close to this number. So they had relatives to take jury seats, because only those chairs were available. The best spot to watch and take pictures!
Check in procedure took about an hour, and by 12:50 PM everything and everyone was ready. IO gave us very informative and educational speech about rights and legal standings of our soon-to-be-acquired status. Well, if you read this forum, you already know all of it.
Judge arrived, administered the Oath of Allegiance and to the Flag, gave a speech, and in about 20 min. official part was done. Received certificate, shook hands with an IO, took pictures. Very warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Voter registration forms were distributed in the hallway, and many newly minted citizens filled them out.
The beauty of Chicago downtown is that everything is within the walking distance. SSA office is across the street, and I expected all 144 new citizen to rush right there, but guess what? I was the only one to update my information at that time. Post office is on the same plaza, and I applied for passport without any delays.
Had dinner in the Signature Room at 95 floor. What the heck. Special place to celebrate special occasion. Fine dining, best view of the city and the lake! Highly recommend it; if you're not afraid of heights, of course. Sky is the limit.
Had my oath. Official letter says to arrive promptly at noon, but this is actually check in time. Oath started at 1 PM. But I strongly suggest to arrive promptly, since seats are assigned on first come-first serve basis, and you want to have the best seats. There were 144 people scheduled, and capacity of the court room is very close to this number. So they had relatives to take jury seats, because only those chairs were available. The best spot to watch and take pictures!
Check in procedure took about an hour, and by 12:50 PM everything and everyone was ready. IO gave us very informative and educational speech about rights and legal standings of our soon-to-be-acquired status. Well, if you read this forum, you already know all of it.
Judge arrived, administered the Oath of Allegiance and to the Flag, gave a speech, and in about 20 min. official part was done. Received certificate, shook hands with an IO, took pictures. Very warm and welcoming atmosphere.
Voter registration forms were distributed in the hallway, and many newly minted citizens filled them out.
The beauty of Chicago downtown is that everything is within the walking distance. SSA office is across the street, and I expected all 144 new citizen to rush right there, but guess what? I was the only one to update my information at that time. Post office is on the same plaza, and I applied for passport without any delays.
Had dinner in the Signature Room at 95 floor. What the heck. Special place to celebrate special occasion. Fine dining, best view of the city and the lake! Highly recommend it; if you're not afraid of heights, of course. Sky is the limit.