Passed the interview today, but still stressed...

[allanchen1990 0]

Hello everyone. I passed the interview on August 1 at Houston filed office and have an upcoming trip to China on Sep 22. I requested to legally change my name when filing the application and confirmed that during the interview. It has been five and half months already since I mailed out my application and I didn’t expect the process would take this long.

The biggest mistake I made is to book the flights with my new name, which is not my name yet. Also, I heard from the USCIS officer that it is possible that they will schedule me for the ceremony in September instead of in August cuz usually they are gonna do a final review and that may take some time (What about those who conduct the same day ceremony? It just doesn’t make sense to me). Anyway, if I’m going to be scheduled for September, most likely it will be after my departure date, and even I request to reschedule the ceremony I still can’t travel with my current passport because the name doesn’t match, which means so matter what, I’ll have to change my flights and all my plans are going to be messed up.

Now I’m just crossing my fingers and hope that I can go to the ceremony on August then everything is gonna be ok. Anyone just took his or her ceremony recently and would like to share how long you have waited to go to the ceremony? Thanks a lot!

[boy15 23]

They all (USCIS Officers) say that. High chance you will be scheduled for Ceremony in August if you have no problem with criminal history.

Good luck

[allanchen1990 0]

They all (USCIS Officers) say that. High chance you will be scheduled for Ceremony in August if you have no problem with criminal history.

Good luck

It's really good to hear, thank you so much :-)

[TBoneTX 43,059]

*** Thread is moved from the US Citizenship main forum to the Case Progress subforum. ***

[JimmyHou 610]

Hello everyone. I passed the interview on August 1 at Houston filed office and have an upcoming trip to China on Sep 22. I requested to legally change my name when filing the application and confirmed that during the interview. It has been five and half months already since I mailed out my application and I didn’t expect the process would take this long.

The biggest mistake I made is to book the flights with my new name, which is not my name yet. Also, I heard from the USCIS officer that it is possible that they will schedule me for the ceremony in September instead of in August cuz usually they are gonna do a final review and that may take some time (What about those who conduct the same day ceremony? It just doesn’t make sense to me). Anyway, if I’m going to be scheduled for September, most likely it will be after my departure date, and even I request to reschedule the ceremony I still can’t travel with my current passport because the name doesn’t match, which means so matter what, I’ll have to change my flights and all my plans are going to be messed up.

Now I’m just crossing my fingers and hope that I can go to the ceremony on August then everything is gonna be ok. Anyone just took his or her ceremony recently and would like to share how long you have waited to go to the ceremony? Thanks a lot!

There's always a chance of a last minute delay, but if all goes week you'll almost certainly take your oath on August 24th.

If you miss that date, the next ceremony is on September 21st. If that happens, you can still make your trip by booking an appointment (up to two weeks in advance) with the passport office in Houston for the afternoon of the 21st, apply for a passport, get it the next morning, and catch your flight. That's for immediate travel cases. That's obviously leaving everything to the last minute, but that'll be your only option other than booking a new flight.

If you take the oath in August, you can apply regularly (up to 6 weeks, but currently taking around 3) or you can apply expedited (up to 3 weeks, but currently taking a little less).

Click on my signature below this reply to see my timeline (make sure you're on the full version of the website).

Edited August 2, 2016 by JimmyHou

[allanchen1990 0]

There's always a chance of a last minute delay, but if all goes week you'll almost certainly take your oath on August 24th.

If you miss that date, the next ceremony is on September 21st. If that happens, you can still make your trip by booking an appointment (up to two weeks in advance) with the passport office in Houston for the afternoon of the 21st, apply for a passport, get it the next morning, and catch your flight. That's for immediate travel cases. That's obviously leaving everything to the last minute, but that'll be your only option other than booking a new flight.

If you take the oath in August, you can apply regularly (up to 6 weeks, but currently taking around 3) or you can apply expedited (up to 3 weeks, but currently taking a little less).

Click on my signature below this reply to see my timeline (make sure you're on the full version of the website).

Thank you so much for the reply and all the useful information. However, I not only need a US passport that matches the name on my flight tickets but also a visa to enter China, so even I go to the passport office and get the passport on Sep 22, I still can't make it. But wow, you got scheduled for the oath only three days after your interview? You're so lucky! I also saw some ppl say that they waited several months for their oath ceremony letter, not sure which is more common, but it seems like there is still high chance that I can attend the ceremony in August.

[JimmyHou 610]

I not only need a US passport that matches the name on my flight tickets but also a visa to enter China

Ah, yes, of course, you're right... China doesn't allow dual citizenship.

I also saw some ppl say that they waited several months for their oath ceremony letter, not sure which is more common

That would be very unusual in Houston. In almost all cases, supervisor review is completed within a few days to a week and the ceremony is scheduled soon after. In fact, Houston often (used to be in the majority of cases) asks applicants to wait after the interview for their oath letters. That's been happening less often recently. Probably because of the increase in applications; they don't want people waiting 3 or 4 hours for an oath letter when they can get one in the mail a week later.

[boy15 23]

My aunt pass the Interview today morning and she had been told to wait the Oath letter will come in the mail. Also on this afternoon, she got a notice that the Oath letter was mail out. Keep us update!

[allanchen1990 0]

That would be very unusual in Houston.

My aunt pass the Interview today morning and she had been told to wait the Oath letter will come in the mail. Also on this afternoon, she got a notice that the Oath letter was mail out. Keep us update!

Hi guys, it shows that I'm scheduled for the ceremony and they sent the letter on Thursday, but I still have not found it yet in my mail box. Hopefully it will arrive on this Monday.

[witamar 4]

It takes, on average, 4 days for you to get the letter.

Hi guys, it shows that I'm scheduled for the ceremony and they sent the letter on Thursday, but I still have not found it yet in my mail box. Hopefully it will arrive on this Monday.