Hey all,
I am finally finished with everything. Completed my oath ceremony yesterday with 5999 other people at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It was a zoo getting everyone into the place. The line winded all around the convention center to get everyone inside, just when you thought you were at the front part of the line it would go around a corner or swing right back around. My oath letter stated I be there at 3:00 but I arrived at about 2:20 and jumped in at the end of the long line that was already there. Fortunately my girlfriend went with me and just dropped me off in the front when we saw the line. She took care of finding a place to park. The line never stopped moving but even still it wasn't until about 4:10 until I was finally inside.
Once inside it was a bit more orderly. When I first walked in I was instructed to go to any of the about 50 numbered tables that were set up at one side of the convention hall. I got to the table, they asked for my green card and oath letter so I handed it in. Because I did go out of the country on a 4 day vacation I was asked for proof which I did bring with me, no problem at all with that. I was then given my oath letter back with a large number written on it indicating which table I had to go to after the ceremony to pick up my naturalization certificate. Then it was off to find a seat.
The rows were being filled so I ended up on almost the exact opposite side to where the tables were. The ceremony itself did not start till about 4:30 or so when everyone was seated. Someone gave an opening speech, then a judge came up, recited the oath and had everyone repeat it, then said a few words after about her family's experiences as immigrants. After that we watch a video with a message from the president, and a patriotic video. At the end we recited the pledge, and the national anthem was sung. That was the end of the ceremony. I think it was all done by about 5:00.
The last part was getting everyone their certificate. Rows were being dismissed two at a time and at that point people had to go to their assigned table to pick up their certificate. Because I was almost at the extreme opposite of the tables, I did not get my certificate until about 30 minutes later.
Overall the ceremony was very nice. The worst parts were getting in and getting out of the place. But considering 6000 people attended the ceremony, it was probably handled the best way it could have been. Also on site were post office employees who could process the passport application on site. There was even a place there to take passport photos if needed. Voter registration forms were passed out to everyone and then collected at the end if you had completed it. It was like one stop shopping.
I only live about 55 miles away from the LA Convention Center, but because it is LA, that could have easily been a 2.5 hour drive home due to traffic. We had booked a hotel room that was only about 15 miles away, but it still took us about 45 minutes to get there. The main reason we decided to stay out there is because I scheduled a 700am appointment for today at the Los Angeles passport agency to get my passport same day due to a vacation I am going out of the country for starting Sunday. I figured instead of having to wakeup at 330 in the morning to get ready to leave by 400, Im better off getting a room out in that area and spending the night.
Because the passport agency is in Westwood, or West LA, which is the ritzy part of the city, and rooms would be very expensive in the area, we decide to stay about 10 miles away and use rewards points to stay in a fairly nice hotel near Los Angeles International airport. We woke up at 530, got ready and were out by 605 just in case there was traffic. Traffic was ok so we were there by 620. I was going to wait in the car a bit, but then I just decided to go and see where it was. Good thing I did because there was already a line of about 10 people waiting. They did a good job of getting people in, and once in the process was very smooth. Went to one window where all my documents and application was checked. I was then given a number and had to wait for about 15 minutes to be called to another window where the application was processed. I was told that the passport would be ready after 1pm, but because I have to work at 4 today, we drove back home and then my girlfriend went back out to LA to wait for it. Luckily they had a small form that allowed me to authorize her to pick it up for me. At about 130 she called me and told me she had it in her hands.
I wish everyone on here good luck and hope your journeys come to an end soon as well. I found myself checking this forum at least every other day reading peoples stories of oath ceremonies, or interview appointments, and learned alot and even received a bit of hope that my day would come soon as well. I hope my story helps a few of you guys still waiting at least a little bit. If you have any questions at all I would be glad to answer them. Good Luck!
T
I am finally finished with everything. Completed my oath ceremony yesterday with 5999 other people at the Los Angeles Convention Center. It was a zoo getting everyone into the place. The line winded all around the convention center to get everyone inside, just when you thought you were at the front part of the line it would go around a corner or swing right back around. My oath letter stated I be there at 3:00 but I arrived at about 2:20 and jumped in at the end of the long line that was already there. Fortunately my girlfriend went with me and just dropped me off in the front when we saw the line. She took care of finding a place to park. The line never stopped moving but even still it wasn't until about 4:10 until I was finally inside.
Once inside it was a bit more orderly. When I first walked in I was instructed to go to any of the about 50 numbered tables that were set up at one side of the convention hall. I got to the table, they asked for my green card and oath letter so I handed it in. Because I did go out of the country on a 4 day vacation I was asked for proof which I did bring with me, no problem at all with that. I was then given my oath letter back with a large number written on it indicating which table I had to go to after the ceremony to pick up my naturalization certificate. Then it was off to find a seat.
The rows were being filled so I ended up on almost the exact opposite side to where the tables were. The ceremony itself did not start till about 4:30 or so when everyone was seated. Someone gave an opening speech, then a judge came up, recited the oath and had everyone repeat it, then said a few words after about her family's experiences as immigrants. After that we watch a video with a message from the president, and a patriotic video. At the end we recited the pledge, and the national anthem was sung. That was the end of the ceremony. I think it was all done by about 5:00.
The last part was getting everyone their certificate. Rows were being dismissed two at a time and at that point people had to go to their assigned table to pick up their certificate. Because I was almost at the extreme opposite of the tables, I did not get my certificate until about 30 minutes later.
Overall the ceremony was very nice. The worst parts were getting in and getting out of the place. But considering 6000 people attended the ceremony, it was probably handled the best way it could have been. Also on site were post office employees who could process the passport application on site. There was even a place there to take passport photos if needed. Voter registration forms were passed out to everyone and then collected at the end if you had completed it. It was like one stop shopping.
I only live about 55 miles away from the LA Convention Center, but because it is LA, that could have easily been a 2.5 hour drive home due to traffic. We had booked a hotel room that was only about 15 miles away, but it still took us about 45 minutes to get there. The main reason we decided to stay out there is because I scheduled a 700am appointment for today at the Los Angeles passport agency to get my passport same day due to a vacation I am going out of the country for starting Sunday. I figured instead of having to wakeup at 330 in the morning to get ready to leave by 400, Im better off getting a room out in that area and spending the night.
Because the passport agency is in Westwood, or West LA, which is the ritzy part of the city, and rooms would be very expensive in the area, we decide to stay about 10 miles away and use rewards points to stay in a fairly nice hotel near Los Angeles International airport. We woke up at 530, got ready and were out by 605 just in case there was traffic. Traffic was ok so we were there by 620. I was going to wait in the car a bit, but then I just decided to go and see where it was. Good thing I did because there was already a line of about 10 people waiting. They did a good job of getting people in, and once in the process was very smooth. Went to one window where all my documents and application was checked. I was then given a number and had to wait for about 15 minutes to be called to another window where the application was processed. I was told that the passport would be ready after 1pm, but because I have to work at 4 today, we drove back home and then my girlfriend went back out to LA to wait for it. Luckily they had a small form that allowed me to authorize her to pick it up for me. At about 130 she called me and told me she had it in her hands.
I wish everyone on here good luck and hope your journeys come to an end soon as well. I found myself checking this forum at least every other day reading peoples stories of oath ceremonies, or interview appointments, and learned alot and even received a bit of hope that my day would come soon as well. I hope my story helps a few of you guys still waiting at least a little bit. If you have any questions at all I would be glad to answer them. Good Luck!
T
nice to celebrate it with a vacation