Feb 2015 - Citizenship tracker

My Oath Ceremony experience:
I went through security and was directed by the lady at the front desk to sit in the waiting room if I was there for the Oath Ceremony and told to have my green card ready. I was about 30 minutes early (my appt was for 1:30). At 1:35 PM a gentleman came out and said that all applicants must line up and take out the form and green card, He also said the top left line should have the city where the Oath was taking place not our home address and the home address should be on the bottom right only. I gave the lady my form and green card,she gave me a white envelope, and directed me to the 2nd floor where the oath ceremony was going to take place. They asked family members to remain downstairs and they joined the applicants after. The applicants sat at the front of the room and the family sat behind. At 2:15 PM an officer stood at the front and reviewed what we should do a citizens (ex. register to vote, update social security, get passports). Another very humorous lady joined and took control of the ceremony. She made us feel very comfortable. They called the names of the countries represented in the room (32 countries and 40 applicants) and asked us to stand when we heard our country. We said the oath, repeating after her, then they asked the family to stand and we said the pledge of allegiance and sang the anthem. They played the song God Bless the USA and told us to feel free to sing along. We listened to the presidents' speech and welcoming and congratulating us as Americans then called our names to get our Naturalization certificates. Some people stayed behind to take pictures but I went downstairs and registered to vote then left. The ceremony was about an hour long but it was so enjoyable.
 
Passport experience was great today! Have to go back tomorrow to pick It up and I'm traveling on Friday morning!!!
 
Congratulations many times, kacy!!
Have a nice trip!
I am preparing for my interview, it has been scheduled in July.
I have one question about your recent interview experience.. Did you bring two additional passport-style photos(2x2) for your interview?
 
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My Oath Ceremony letter is in the mail, as suggested to me by the I/O at my interview I expect the ceremony to be on 29 Jul 2015 in Worcester, MA.

Nicole, I brought 2 passport-style photo's to my interview but they were not requested, he went with the ones that were included in my application. Not to say your experience will be the same, to be safe I would bring a couple just in case.
 
So, you also have the last and the most pleasant step, Pierre:)
Congratulations! I am so glad for all of you gays!
Thank you for advise,Pierre. I will make pictures.
 
Hi and thanks nicole2. To answer your question, I didn't take any passport pictures as they use the ones you send in.
 
Hello All,
I just returned from my trip and it was amazing. I wanted to share that my passport application experience was stress free. I made an appointment and took all of the documents they requested which included the travel itinerary or letter from my employer about my job related travel. I had both but they only used one and I also paid the expedited fee . My appointment was on Wednesday at 1:00 PM. I spent 45 min in total and was asked to return 11:30 AM Thursday to collect it. I collected my US passport on Thursday and left the country on Friday at 8:30 AM and returned last night. I am now going to submit my son's passport application regular processing because he is 17 and became a citizen automatically when I took my Oath. I also thought I had to apply for his naturalization certificate through a N-600 application first but that isn't necessary because he can get a passport without it. I am relieved that I can get his passport first because the N-600 application is another $600 bucks so that will wait. All the best Pierre and I will keep up with the rest of your progress and would love to see you all to the end. All the best guys!!!!
 
kacy2013 said:
Hello All,
I just returned from my trip and it was amazing. I wanted to share that my passport application experience was stress free. I made an appointment and took all of the documents they requested which included the travel itinerary or letter from my employer about my job related travel. I had both but they only used one and I also paid the expedited fee . My appointment was on Wednesday at 1:00 PM. I spent 45 min in total and was asked to return 11:30 AM Thursday to collect it. I collected my US passport on Thursday and left the country on Friday at 8:30 AM and returned last night. I am now going to submit my son's passport application regular processing because he is 17 and became a citizen automatically when I took my Oath. I also thought I had to apply for his naturalization certificate through a N-600 application first but that isn't necessary because he can get a passport without it. I am relieved that I can get his passport first because the N-600 application is another $600 bucks so that will wait. All the best Pierre and I will keep up with the rest of your progress and would love to see you all to the end. All the best guys!!!!
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Thanks Kacy, you're the first to complete the process on our thread and an inspiration to us all.

I'm three weeks away from my Oath Ceremony on the 29th and since I don't have any immediate travel plans I'll go the usual route to get my passport. But will keep everyone informed.

Best Regards,

Pierre,
 
Pierre J Dubord said:
Rokman,

The big day for you and your wife is tomorrow, keep us posted and all the best.

Pierre,
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Thanks Pierre. We are excited about the interview. Congrats to all of you that have passed the interview and went to the Oath Ceremony. Sometimes in Dallas the oath ceremony will be the same day as the interview, it all depends if there is one slated for that day. We will get back to you all after tomorrow. Fingers crossed.
 
Thanks Pierre. I will keep checking back.
Rok8man - You should be done!!!!! Congrats to you and your wife!!
 
Interview went well. She passed everything but the I/O didnt approve pending more documentation on our 2014 tax returns. We hadnt paid it yet and she needs to see proof of it before they can move forward. I guess that needs to go into her file which was several inches thick. I am guessing they have all her paperwork from her initial GC process in there. So I mailed the very same day and they got it the next day. So now we wait for the next step.

The interview process went well. The I/O called her in and got her sworn in and asked to be shown the usual dl/gc/passport. Then she asked her six questions

1. Who is the Governor of Texas?
2. What states border Canada?
3. Who is the first president?
4. What is one national holiday?
5. What war did we fight in the 1900s?
6. When is independence day celebrated?

Then she went through her papers and asked for the tax returns for 2014. I had the transcript for it but didnt have the proof to show we paid it. So now thats what they need. So hopefully we will have the next step soon.
 
rok8man said:
Interview went well. She passed everything but the I/O didnt approve pending more documentation on our 2014 tax returns. We hadnt paid it yet and she needs to see proof of it before they can move forward. I guess that needs to go into her file which was several inches thick. I am guessing they have all her paperwork from her initial GC process in there. So I mailed the very same day and they got it the next day. So now we wait for the next step.

The interview process went well. The I/O called her in and got her sworn in and asked to be shown the usual dl/gc/passport. Then she asked her six questions

1. Who is the Governor of Texas?
2. What states border Canada?
3. Who is the first president?
4. What is one national holiday?
5. What war did we fight in the 1900s?
6. When is independence day celebrated?

Then she went through her papers and asked for the tax returns for 2014. I had the transcript for it but didnt have the proof to show we paid it. So now thats what they need. So hopefully we will have the next step soon.
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Congratulations! Sounds like it went as well as could be expected. I'm no expert but I would imagine that your Oath notification may be a little longer in coming due to the tax info as someone at USCIS will need to review and confirm the information and then approve your case, but it shouldn't take that much longer. Hang in there, I'm sure this will proceed as quickly as possible.

Congratulations again.
 
Hi guys, came back to check in with you'll . Congrats Pierre and Rok8man. I knew we would all be fine. Rok8man you will be fine and should receive your certificate once they receive your docs and complete everything. Keep us updated. All the best to all moving forward.
 
Good news today. We got notice that Oath Ceremony is being scheduled and we will get a letter soon. We were very much relieved.
 
Went through my Oath Ceremony on Wednesday. It was a tremendous event and I'm very proud to now be a US Citizen. There were 727 applicants and numerous family members present at The Mechanics Hall in Worcester, MA. Surprisingly the process of getting us to our seats, starting the Ceremony and handing out the Naturalization Certificates went very smoothly, USCIS has done this a number of times so I guess they have the system figured out pretty well.

The proudest moment of my life has to be singing the Star Spangled Banner after taking the Oath.

I've registered to vote with my local City hall and will be applying for a passport on Saturday. As I understand I need to update the Social Security Department as well.

My best wishes to all of you that have completed the process and those still moving through. It really was worth it filling out all the forms, studying the Civics questions, the waiting and anxiety to become a US Citizen.

Kindest Regards,

Pierre Dubord,
 
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