Of course....going to party hard. But, ONLY after the ceremony.
By the way, TWIN TROUBLE, can you please share what to expect during Tampa Oath Ceremony? How long is it going to take and how many people may be there...and stuff. Appreciate in advance. In addition...if you have already applied/received for passport book/card...can you please share how long did it take you to do so and stuff? Thanks again!!
My Oath ceremony was at 8 am...so, I was there at 7 am. I live in N. Tampa..traffic was smooth that early in the morning..took I275 and exited at 45A(ashley Drive). stay on ashley dr. all the way and it will take you directly to TCC parking. make sure you have your breakfast before or carry it with you. there is only one starbucks that was open.
Totally there were about 520 people from 78 countries. ceremony started on time. like I said before they allowed people from the afternoon ceremony to take oath if they wanted to. In the letter it said "please wear proper attire"..but, I saw some people with shorts/t-shirt, flip flops,...there is no restriction as to how many people you can take with you. after the intro. we were asked to form 3 seperate lines...oath letters were marked A,B or C depending on which line you were standing. we were asked to return to our chairs. after that some boring stuff like your responsibilities as a citizen, President's speech, etc...then the national anthem. after that we took the oath...they played the song by Lee Greenwood "proud to be an American". Then we were asked to go back to the same lines we had been earlier. There they check your passport for any travels outside the US and will ask you if you have comitted any offence since the interview. if you have, you better show a valid reason and documentation. they will not give you more than a FEW SECONDS to convince them. if you don't they will ask you to go to a room across from the hall where they have 2 immigration officers waiting. I believe there they ask you some more questions and make a decision weather or not to let you naturalize. going back to the line, if they find everthing fine they will take you GC...give you the NC..congragulate you and send you on your way.
If you want to apply for passport you can do so at the USPS counter. I think it is a little late for you to register to vote (in Florida you have to register 29 days before the election day).
I applied for PP book + Card on 7/29 and got my PP & NC on 8/6. I recd. the card 2nd week of September.
Important: make sure you carry with you all the documents beginning with a copy of your N400 application, all passports, travel documents, GC, oath letter....anything and everything you can think of.
If taking an oath is against your religion/beliefs, you have to let them know before hand.
Hope i didn't put you to sleep
Good luck!
