Hi all,
I have only been a “short time lurker” and have posted only once, but have obtained some useful information on this forum. I wanted to share my N400 experience – perhaps, it will be helpful to Floridians or anyone in general.
Preamble
I filed based on marriage to US citizen (married almost 8 years), I am a European living in Tampa Florida.
Dates
Application Sent: very first week of March 2007 (cannot recall the exact date)
Application Received: 03/12/07
Priority Date: 03/12/07
FP Notice Sent: 04/11/2007
FP Date: 5/11/07
Interview Notice: 09/20/7
Interview: 11/26/7
Oath Notice:12/3/7
Oath Taken:12/12/7
Interview
Our N400 was a breeze, especially, compared to I130/I145 process when INS lost our paperwork and we had to re-file. Interview was very quick and uneventful, which is a good thing when dealing with INS. DO asked me 6 questions (13 first states, who advises the President, when constitution was written, who has the power to declare war, what is Constitution, capital of my state). She went over the application very quickly, asked me if I had any travel plans since the next Oath was 12/12/7 and that was it. I had a ton of paperwork with me but DO did not request ANY paperwork at all – she stated everything she needs was already submitted with my application. All in all, it took about 15 minutes.
Oath
12/12/7 Oath was held at the Tampa Theater – it was stunning inside and beautifully decorated for Christmas, which made the Oath even more special. I believe there were 470 applicants from 79 countries; the most represented country was Cuba (no surprises here). Emilio Gonzalez gave a very nice and eloquent speech; the entire ceremony was very relaxed and easygoing.
Applicants and families/friends were seated all together; applicants were later asked to line up in the isles for registration and were then allowed 30-40 minutes to walk around the theater (refreshments were served in the foyer). During registration, each person received a number (written on the oath notice), which was later used to disperse Certificates of Naturalization.
Once everyone gathered back in the auditorium, all countries were called one by one and everyone applauded after each country. We took the Oath, pledged Allegiance, then some song played(sounded very redneck
), followed by video message from the President. We were then advised to line up again in the isles; however, it was based on the number provided earlier so it was not as chaotic. It was still a bit crowded in the isles, but at least people did not rush all at once to get into the line but, instead, proceeded in more or less orderly fashion. The entire ceremony was very touching and pleasant. It was scheduled for 8am and we were back to the car by 10:16.
Passport.
We have previously made plans to go to Iceland and Sweden, to where my family would fly to meet us for New Years trip and celebration. Since everything was already paid and booked, there was absolutely no way for us to cancel (nor would I want to cancel). We are scheduled to leave on 12/29/7 and it would have taken a miracle to get my passport by that date. My husband and I decided to drive to Miami to apply for expedited service and made an appointment for 12/19/7 (1-877-487-2778) at Miami Regional Passport Agency. We have previously lived in Miami Beach when my husband was transferred there for a project, but have discovered a totally different side of Miami on this trip – I truly hope to never have to come back to downtown Miami again
. Anyway, it’s a different story. Our appointment was for 12pm. We went through security and proceeded to the 3d floor. We were given a number and had 40 people in front of us, but were seen at the window within 30 minutes as the line went fast. We wrote a check for $157 and were advised my passport should be ready the following day; however, if we did not want to come back (which we did not!) and were willing to wait a few hours (which we were!), I could pick it up after 2pm that day. We did exactly that and were on our way home a few hours later with my new US Passport. Although the wait time to receive the passport was substantial and we've hit a few snags while there (first name was misspelled and I had to wait for them to correct it; while correcting, agents lost my certificate and other paperwork and had to search for it), it was worth the trip and I must say the whole process was rather efficient. I was very thankful to have my passport done in less than a day!
Truly hope this info is helpful to someone – there was not too much current data on n400 process in Tampa.
I have only been a “short time lurker” and have posted only once, but have obtained some useful information on this forum. I wanted to share my N400 experience – perhaps, it will be helpful to Floridians or anyone in general.
Preamble
I filed based on marriage to US citizen (married almost 8 years), I am a European living in Tampa Florida.
Dates
Application Sent: very first week of March 2007 (cannot recall the exact date)
Application Received: 03/12/07
Priority Date: 03/12/07
FP Notice Sent: 04/11/2007
FP Date: 5/11/07
Interview Notice: 09/20/7
Interview: 11/26/7
Oath Notice:12/3/7
Oath Taken:12/12/7
Interview
Our N400 was a breeze, especially, compared to I130/I145 process when INS lost our paperwork and we had to re-file. Interview was very quick and uneventful, which is a good thing when dealing with INS. DO asked me 6 questions (13 first states, who advises the President, when constitution was written, who has the power to declare war, what is Constitution, capital of my state). She went over the application very quickly, asked me if I had any travel plans since the next Oath was 12/12/7 and that was it. I had a ton of paperwork with me but DO did not request ANY paperwork at all – she stated everything she needs was already submitted with my application. All in all, it took about 15 minutes.
Oath
12/12/7 Oath was held at the Tampa Theater – it was stunning inside and beautifully decorated for Christmas, which made the Oath even more special. I believe there were 470 applicants from 79 countries; the most represented country was Cuba (no surprises here). Emilio Gonzalez gave a very nice and eloquent speech; the entire ceremony was very relaxed and easygoing.
Applicants and families/friends were seated all together; applicants were later asked to line up in the isles for registration and were then allowed 30-40 minutes to walk around the theater (refreshments were served in the foyer). During registration, each person received a number (written on the oath notice), which was later used to disperse Certificates of Naturalization.
Once everyone gathered back in the auditorium, all countries were called one by one and everyone applauded after each country. We took the Oath, pledged Allegiance, then some song played(sounded very redneck
), followed by video message from the President. We were then advised to line up again in the isles; however, it was based on the number provided earlier so it was not as chaotic. It was still a bit crowded in the isles, but at least people did not rush all at once to get into the line but, instead, proceeded in more or less orderly fashion. The entire ceremony was very touching and pleasant. It was scheduled for 8am and we were back to the car by 10:16.Passport.
We have previously made plans to go to Iceland and Sweden, to where my family would fly to meet us for New Years trip and celebration. Since everything was already paid and booked, there was absolutely no way for us to cancel (nor would I want to cancel). We are scheduled to leave on 12/29/7 and it would have taken a miracle to get my passport by that date. My husband and I decided to drive to Miami to apply for expedited service and made an appointment for 12/19/7 (1-877-487-2778) at Miami Regional Passport Agency. We have previously lived in Miami Beach when my husband was transferred there for a project, but have discovered a totally different side of Miami on this trip – I truly hope to never have to come back to downtown Miami again
. Anyway, it’s a different story. Our appointment was for 12pm. We went through security and proceeded to the 3d floor. We were given a number and had 40 people in front of us, but were seen at the window within 30 minutes as the line went fast. We wrote a check for $157 and were advised my passport should be ready the following day; however, if we did not want to come back (which we did not!) and were willing to wait a few hours (which we were!), I could pick it up after 2pm that day. We did exactly that and were on our way home a few hours later with my new US Passport. Although the wait time to receive the passport was substantial and we've hit a few snags while there (first name was misspelled and I had to wait for them to correct it; while correcting, agents lost my certificate and other paperwork and had to search for it), it was worth the trip and I must say the whole process was rather efficient. I was very thankful to have my passport done in less than a day! Truly hope this info is helpful to someone – there was not too much current data on n400 process in Tampa.
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