Dongbei

They put my last name on her naturalization certificate and said it wasn't a name change since we are married. She did a same-day oath ceremony since we live more than 150 miles from the office. It was super easy and the interviewing officer was friendly and helpful.

Had the interview today, super simple and all done via tablet. Wife got scheduled for a same-day oath (we live over 150 miles away). Oath ceremony took about 30 mins and she received the naturalization certificate on the spot! Yay! Officially done with our journey.

The question for us is of it will unnecessarily delay the oath ceremony. We’re filing at the Dallas field office.

So if my wife put the name change on the N-400 but just wants to change her last name to be the same as mine, should she say she doesn’t actually want to change at the interview?

Submitted on 6/18/22, reused biometrics. We filed online and assumed it would be processed in Dallas. We got the notification that my wife is scheduled for her interview on 11/18 at the Irving, TX office! Hoping for a smooth process. We have a flight to visit my family on December 7. What happens if the oath is after that? Is there any way to reschedule?

Should I just have my wife ask the officer then? She'll want the certificate to have our last name on it so it'll make getting a passport easier. It seems like both the courts and USCIS are kinda clueless on this though. They both say it is the other party that handles it.

What about using a foreign marriage certificate? That's my major concern.

So I just talked to a lady at the USCIS Application Support Center and she's saying it's actually super simple. We're just changing my wife's last name to be the same as mine. She said they'll just write it on the naturalization certificate info form and then it'll be official once she swears the oath. All of them are done before a federal judge in our area and they do them 2-4 times a month. She said we don't even really need to change it legally since we have a marriage certificate, but I'm concerned that would be a hassle for DL, Passport, etc. etc.

Can you just ask at the interview and then decide if there’s a big backlog? Our marriage certificate is in Chinese (though translated in an official notarized copy from the government in China) and I see it being a huge hassle to get agencies to change her name based on that.

Curious about this from other Dallas filers. I believe we already selected the "name change" option on the N-400. I thought all of the oath ceremonies are judicial ceremonies since they're done by a judge (we'd be doing the Dallas, Forth Worth, and Lubbock option here: https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/naturalization-ceremony-schedule ). Does that change anything?

Why would you recommend waiting until after citizenship?

Got our interview scheduled for Nov 18. We filed June 18, 2022. Pretty fast! They just asked to bring: You MUST BRING the following with you to the interview: • This letter. • Your Alien Registration Card ("green card"). • Any evidence of Selective Service Registration. • Your passport and/or any other documents you used in connection with any entries into the United States. • Those items noted below which are applicable to you: If applying for NATURALIZATION AS THE SPOUSE of a United States Citizen; • Your marriage certificate. • Proof of death or divorce for each prior marriage of yourself or spouse. • Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship. If applying for NATURALIZATION as a member of the United States Armed Forces; • Your discharge certificate, or form DD214. If copies of a document were submitted as evidence with your N400 application, the originals of those documents should be brought to the interview. Does that mean I have to print out all of the digital documents we submitted? also, has anyone done the name change process?

Maybe so, but you realize the 2nd company in that 2nd article (Oracle) is based out of Texas, right? Regardless, this is detailing the topic at this point.

I'm sorry you seem unfamiliar with this. Here's what a quick Google search would have turned up for you: https://www.glassdoor.com/blog/cool-companies-offering-unlimited-vacation/ https://money.usnews.com/careers/slideshows/companies-that-offer-unlimited-vacation-days Here's a list with dozens of companies: https://buildremote.co/companies/unlimited-pto/

Ask for the day off and explain why. They will happily grant it, especially if it really is a "Top 10 Best Place to Work." Those companies usually have unlimited PTO.