dingleberry said:
Luizpalo:
My interview is on the 13th at 8. Apart from the letter, passport, green card and the reentry permit, is there anything else I need to bring? Can you also let us know how your wife's oath went so that we know what to expect the next day.
Thanks.
Well, I took only my green card and oath letter. If by any chance you answered yes to any of the questions in the back of the letter then you will need to take evidence with you. If it is a traffic ticket or anything like that take the payment evidence with you. If something a little more serious like mariage, etc SINCE THE INTERVIEW (they are not interested in what happened before the interview as this should be resolved already then) take whatever documentation you have.
Since you had some reentry permits take them with you. I'm quite sure they won't ask for them but better be safe. Do not volunteer documentation or information that is not asked or requested in the oath letter.
As you get to the Convention center there will be a long line (pending the time you arrive, of course). Do not despair, at the scheduled time they will open the gate and it will flow quickly to inside where normally there will be 3 or four lines in one of the open spaces taking you to another filled with chairs and having the sector printed in your letter identified. You will have to go there and surrender your letter and green card. If you have answered yes to any of the questions in the back of the letter they will send you to another desk with officers that - I'm not sure as I didn't go there - will check and probably ask you some questions. If it makes you get calm all the ones that went there from my sector came back to the oath meaning that they weren't prevented to do the oath and get their certificates.
If you don't have to go to any other place your green card will be stapled to the oath letter and taken to a group of desks where they will match with your certificate.
Attention all: The surrender of the certificate is positional so do not change chairs after surrending your GC and letter otherwise you may have a though time finding your cerificate later.
The ceremony will go from there with some messages, an invited person that will address for a couple of minutes and a call for people of each country represented there. Not necessary to say that here in Miami the Cuban crowd rules and very close by the Colombians... but the happiest group are the Brazilians (yeah !!!...). In the end there is the oath and applause.
The officers will then come with the certificate in hand, chair by chair, and deliver your beloved certificate. CHECK THE DATA... a wrong name or other data not claimed at this time will be a nightmare afterwards.
All ready, go party.... you are now an American Citizen !!! and rush to the Social Security office to update your status as well as to the Passport office to get your blue one.
All this data is based in my oath and may change so get there early - specially if you have to find a parking space. I will update as requested after my wife's oath on the 12th. Just posted this as there are someone going on the 6th.
And to finalize: all INS officers attending the ceremony were great, helping specially the elder and non English speaking persons. I don't know how your experiences be but regarding the naturalization officers all of them from the submission of the N400 to the ceremony date were great, not a hint of a problem with any of them.
Relax, it is easier than you think...the worst is over...
