Postponing Oath ceremony

M

Muks

Registered Users (C)
Folks,
I wanted to know if anyone on this board has postponed their oath ceremony.
I got done with my interview, and got a letter for the oath. I asked them if it can be postponed, and the lady there said I should not, because it can take anywhere from 3 months to a year(another one in the background said 5 years, but I am presuming that was a joke:)) to get me rescheduled. Has anyone here postponed their date, and if yes, what dates did you get? How much time more did it take? I was told by the lady that I go back to the end of the queue. Just wanted to see if anyone else has done it and what the timing was in that case since I wanted to travel soon.

Thanks.
 
Please try not postpone it. I will happy to get a Oath letter. If possible, you should reschedule your travel plans
 
If you value obtaining citizenship don't postpone the oath. If you decide to postpone there has been a lot of success stories, in a way it depends on what you tell them about how long you plan to be out of the country, but it could be from a couple of months to fall in a black hole and you never hear from them :( You could do a search in the forum, it is easier to find older posts than to find an old member still around who postponed the oath. Again, it can be done and most times it's ok, however, we tend to discourage people from doing it, because if it goes bad it is a lot of unnecessary effort to fix things.

My 2 cents.
 
As you can see from my signature, I postponed my 1/8 oath. Got terrific response from San Francisco field office. Got a new letter to 1/24. Since I have made travel plans before, I did not want to upset that and I cna live with couple of weeks delay.

Which field office is yours?
 
San Francisco seems to be a good office. Definitely much better than San Jose. I envy you ;) That's what I meant there are quite a good number of success stories about oath rescheduling. Oath rescheduling is less risky than interview scheduling. However, if it can be avoided it is always better not to reschedule.

My 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the reply PP2007, and thanks to everyone else who responded also.

Mine is in the LA office. I saw another post from someone at an LA law firm discouraging it. Now I am confused:( I dont mind delays for upto a month or two at all. But if I fall into that blackhole, I am dead. Has anyone here had negative experiences in postponing? I searched, but did not find much.
 
Again, I don't want to scare you. Chances are things are going to work well for you if you reschedule your oath. However, you haven't told us if it is possible for you to attend the oath ceremony at all and change your other plans.

PS: Other thing that can turn bad is that if your reschedule request gets misplaced you could end up as if you had abandoned your application which can be a bit of work to turn around. Again, I think it is our obligation to let you know things that can turn bad, it is up to you to calculate the risk and make a decision. Most of the negatives are relatively low risk, but if you hit one of the problems it might require quite a bit of your energy to recover.

My 2 cents.
 
Thanks for the reply.

It is possible for me to change the plans, that is for sure. but as you said, it will either be a breeze and I will get through, or it will be a real problem for me. Others were talking about how the application will be taken off fasttrack, and if I go back to the end of some queue, I will be in trouble.
 
you say it is possible for you to change the plan. my recommendation also is change your plan attend the oath, get the passport and then go ahead with you plan. If I were you, I will do that. Can you tell your circumstances of your visit. Maybe we can look at the sociological aspects of it. Attending mariage? Family get together? Vacation?
 
Hi Muks, I don't want to confuse you any further. :) But, actually I postponed once for my N-400 interview. The first date they gave me was very close to my due day. So I sent a letter in to ask for postpone. Then, one month later, I got my another interview letter. And, that was in San Jose office.

My feeling (only just a feeling :) ), is, it should be okay to postpone it, especially you have passed your interview and got approved for your status. Worst case, I think, if you cannot get a new oath after your travel, go get an infopass and ask for reschedule. I don't see why USCIS makes trouble for you.

Good luck!!
 
I am also in a quandary about postponing my interview date and have spoken to a friend who completed the N400 process last fall and an attorney acquaintance who used to handle N400 cases (but in a different state from where I live). What I have learned is that it is best to deliver your request in person, appearing before an IO at your local DO. Take 2 copies and have them date stamp both copies (one which you should keep). Please note that in order to make this request in person, you must make an Infopass appointment. In the case of my friend--he had to postpone the oath ceremony--he brought his calendar book with him and was able to negotiate an alternate date on the spot with the IO. Hope this helps.
 
IF i were you, i would not posptone until absolutely necessary. I did not postpone my oath but it took 2 and 1/2 years for my citizenship to be approved. Look at my signature. With the surge in applications and the fontlog, please be careful. Don't delay anything that you don[t need to. You never know what can happen. Good luck to you.
 
Basically you just have to decide yourself what is more important at this point, doing the other thing and delaying your oath for unknown amount of time (could be weeks, months and yes there have been several cases I've heard about that has lasted over a year and more), or is it more important to do the oath first and the other thing later?

So that's all that it boils down to. Generally most people worked hard to get their final oath ceremony and really want to put INS behind them as fast as possible. Some though have emergencies that they need to attend (out of the country etc) that they just have to attent (someone on their death bed, dying, other family emergencies etc). Others have booked a trip (though I would never book anything if I knew I was starting the N-400) and change fees can be expensive. Or others might have a court date that day and they have to attend etc.

So yes people have reasons for delaying, you just have to decide which would fit your needs the most. Most likely it won't be delayed for more then a year, but it's always a risk...
 
i missed my oath date. so i sent a letter explaining why i didn't show up. how long does it takes to reschedule another date. i don't live in nyc now, and i have a friend who is checking the mailbox for me. so im afraid he may not open the mailbox in the right time. any one knows if there is a way you could know if they send thew letter before it arrives in the mailbox so u can anticipate its arrival.please i need quick answer. look to my timing down and u understand my anxiety. how many days usually between the date u recieve the oath ceremony letter and the oath date

place nyc garden city
filing date 30 oct 2003
ID 8 feb 2005
first oath letter date jan 10 2008
 
Oath date

longwaiting1972 said:
i missed my oath date. so i sent a letter explaining why i didn't show up. how long does it takes to reschedule another date. i don't live in nyc now, and i have a friend who is checking the mailbox for me. so im afraid he may not open the mailbox in the right time. any one knows if there is a way you could know if they send thew letter before it arrives in the mailbox so u can anticipate its arrival.please i need quick answer. look to my timing down and u understand my anxiety. how many days usually between the date u recieve the oath ceremony letter and the oath date

place nyc garden city
filing date 30 oct 2003
ID 8 feb 2005
first oath letter date jan 10 2008
Click to expand...

longwaiting1972,

I would make an infopass appointment right away and make it a # 1 priority to visit your local USCIS office (I'm sure NY office in your case) and try to reschedule another date with them ASAP. I am sure they should help you.

If for any reason they tell you that you will be notified by mail, in that case keep in touch with customer service at 1-800-375-5283 twice a week. They will tell you over the phone if your oath date has been assigned and if your oath letter has been mailed and is on the way. This way you can have your friend to check your mailbox immediately or keep an eye on it for the next few days.
 
the lady there said I should not, because it can take anywhere from 3 months to a year
Click to expand...

I am afraid to tell you that the Lady was right. Backlog, reschedule and such takes time !

NCS
KC DO
09-25-06 N-400 Sent
09-27-06 N-400 Rec'd
10-20-06 Rec'd N-400 back from USCIS
10-20-06 Re-Sent N-400 to USCIS
10-24-06 N-400 #2 Rec'd by USCIS
10-24-06 Priority Date
10-26-06 Check Cashed
11-03-06 NOA Rec'd
11-06-06 FP Notice Rec'd
11-14-06 FP taken
03-27-07 Infopass - Pending Name Check
08-30-07 Interview Notice
11-01-07 Interview/N-652 Rec'd
11-26-07 2nd FP Notice
12-07-07 2nd FP taken
01-08-07 Inquiry filed by USCIS
01-12-08 Rec'd Response - Case is being reviewed
01-18-08 Called IO. Said I'm in queue for Oath. March/April possible Oath.
 
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