Markip1

Received the certificate of naturalization back via USPS on 5/15. Envelope was unbent but the certificate inside was still less than pristine. Let's just say that they don't exactly treat it carefully!

Once you are a US citizen you will need to use a US passport to leave and enter the United States. I believe you can request a super-expedited passport if you have travel plans booked and confirmed in the very near future, but I don't know how long that takes or what the costs involved are. More information available here: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/get-fast.html I applied recently for the normal expedited passport, and that process looked like this: Passport application received 3/28/23 - passport approved and shipped 4/12/2023. 15 days. I believe that is very much the outlier though as I was told it would be 7 weeks plus.

Passport was actually held at the local post office for me to collect. I picked it up on Friday, all present and correct. Just waiting for the return of my naturalization certificate now. Immigration complete!

I know, can't believe it! The tracker has gone back to 'In process' again now though, despite the USPS website showing that the passport is in fact currently out for delivery in Brooklyn 🤣 Not sure the Dept. of State IT systems are up to much!

Tracking number sorted itself out overnight. Passport is scheduled for delivery today. Passport application received 3/28/23 - passport approved and shipped 4/12/2023. 15 days, not the seven to nine weeks expedited timeline advised.

Received an update today that my passport had shipped on 4/12/2023 (application date was 3/28/2023). The strange thing is 1) this is much faster than I expected and 2) the tracking number they provided links to a package which was delivered to an address in California (I'm in New York) on 19th March 2022... Guess I'll check the status later and see if anything changes...

3/28- Check cashed and status changed to “In Process”. Locator number is 35 (not sure where that is). Status update says expedited passports now take 7-9 weeks.

3/22 - Applied for expedited passport at Brooklyn Public Library Passport Acceptance Facility (USPS passport appointments in the city appeared to be fully booked for weeks out). 3/27 - As of today check is uncashed and application status not available (as expected!)

So, I'm a citizen! I attended my ceremony yesterday at Federal Plaza (Brooklyn office - Floor 8 ). It was a 10am start and we were out of the building by around 11:30am. Big shout out to the security staff at the front of the building, who were as ever sparkling in their insolent effrontery and rudeness. I assume it must be in their training that if someone doesn't speak English too well, screaming what you are trying to say to them louder and louder directly in their face will help them to understand what you mean. Never having to deal with these goons again was a large motivation for applying for citizenship to be honest, and I am glad to see the back of them. The ceremony experience was all very straightforward, and somewhat anti-climactic to be honest. The ceremony was basically conducted in a waiting room. If you've been to the USCIS office at Federal Plaza before and waited in a hall with a ticket in your hand watching the TV screens to announce your number, then it's basically that room. There were no videos to watch, no speeches were given, no anthem was played, there wasn't even a US flag in sight. I felt overdressed in trousers, shirt and tie, as most people were dressed very casually. There were probably between 50 and 75 other people there, and interestingly it appeared that they were doing same day interview/oath ceremonies for some people in attendance, although they were taken to another room for their oath and were not involved in our ceremony beyond having their documents checked in the main room. The process went something like this: Everyone had line up to have their form checked, confirm a few questions about anything that had occurred since their interview, and hand in their Green Card (they also took my EAD/AP card but they didn't seem to bothered about those). They then had you check your naturalization certificate for any errors. If there was an error they would correct it on the spot at no cost for you, but if you left without requesting the change then you were on the hook for the full cost of a replacement at a later date. They took the certificate back once I had confirmed all the details, and they handed me two envelopes - one was a welcome letter from the President, the other contained information about what to do next as a US Citizen, a passport application form, and a copy of the constitution. They also gave me a small American flag. After you had been up to the window to do the above you were told to sit back down again. It took a while to check everyone in, but we were allowed to use phones or read a book so the time passed pretty quickly. Once everyone was checked in, an officer stood at the front, read the oath for us to recite, then told us to sit back down again. Officer said she had information available if we wanted it about applying for jobs at USCIS now that we were citizens, which got a few wry laughs from the crowd. She then called us up one by one to the window to collect our certificates and we were free to go. If anyone has any questions about the day feel free to ask. Before the event, I was mainly curious about what people would wear, and if they would allow family in to see the ceremony, and the answers to those questions were 1) wear pretty much whatever you like and 2) yes, my wife was allowed in no questions asked at all. I was also interested in the actual process of the ceremony, but now I realize there was very little to wonder about. It was all very straightforward and easy to navigate, but it had all the excitement and romance of the easiest trip to the DMV you've ever had. I'm over the moon to be at the end of this process, and can now fully embrace life in the US, but it would have been nice to have experienced a little bit of pageantry and occasion while taking the final step. That might just be the British person in me talking though. We love a drawn out ceremony. The rest of the day was lovely though, my wife and I had lunch, and then wandered around Manhattan in the sleet and snow. Our wedding day was beset by awful weather so it felt like completing the circle for the naturalization day to bring more of the same. I think it'll take a few days to sink in that we are done with all the admin and fees and intrusion, but already it feels great to know that life here will now be much more straightforward, and that I can now become fully involved in all the rights and responsibilities that come with being a citizen. Thanks to anyone who has offered help and guidance over the years, it's genuinely appreciated. Good luck all.

So, I'm a citizen! I attended my ceremony yesterday at Federal Plaza (Brooklyn office - Floor 8 ). It was a 10am start and we were out of the building by around 11:30am. Big shout out to the security staff at the front of the building, who were as ever sparkling in their insolent effrontery and rudeness. I assume it must be in their training that if someone doesn't speak English too well, screaming what you are trying to say to them louder and louder directly in their face will help them to understand what you mean. Never having to deal with these goons again was a large motivation for applying for citizenship to be honest, and I am glad to see the back of them. The ceremony experience was all very straightforward, and somewhat anti-climactic to be honest. The ceremony was basically conducted in a waiting room. If you've been to the USCIS office at Federal Plaza before and waited in a hall with a ticket in your hand watching the TV screens to announce your number, then it's basically that room. There were no videos to watch, no speeches were given, no anthem was played, there wasn't even a US flag in sight. I felt overdressed in trousers, shirt and tie, as most people were dressed very casually. There were probably between 50 and 75 other people there, and interestingly it appeared that they were doing same day interview/oath ceremonies for some people in attendance, although they were taken to another room for their oath and were not involved in our ceremony beyond having their documents checked in the main room. The process went something like this: Everyone had line up to have their form checked, confirm a few questions about anything that had occurred since their interview, and hand in their Green Card (they also took my EAD/AP card but they didn't seem to bothered about those). They then had you check your naturalization certificate for any errors. If there was an error they would correct it on the spot at no cost for you, but if you left without requesting the change then you were on the hook for the full cost of a replacement at a later date. They took the certificate back once I had confirmed all the details, and they handed me two envelopes - one was a welcome letter from the President, the other contained information about what to do next as a US Citizen, a passport application form, and a copy of the constitution. They also gave me a small American flag. After you had been up to the window to do the above you were told to sit back down again. It took a while to check everyone in, but we were allowed to use phones or read a book so the time passed pretty quickly. Once everyone was checked in, an officer stood at the front, read the oath for us to recite, then told us to sit back down again. Officer said she had information available if we wanted it about applying for jobs at USCIS now that we were citizens, which got a few wry laughs from the crowd. She then called us up one by one to the window to collect our certificates and we were free to go. If anyone has any questions about the day feel free to ask. Before the event, I was mainly curious about what people would wear, and if they would allow family in to see the ceremony, and the answers to those questions were 1) wear pretty much whatever you like and 2) yes, my wife was allowed in no questions asked at all. I was also interested in the actual process of the ceremony, but now I realize there was very little to wonder about. It was all very straightforward and easy to navigate, but it had all the excitement and romance of the easiest trip to the DMV you've ever had. I'm over the moon to be at the end of this process, and can now fully embrace life in the US, but it would have been nice to have experienced a little bit of pageantry and occasion while taking the final step. That might just be the British person in me talking though. We love a drawn out ceremony. The rest of the day was lovely though, my wife and I had lunch, and then wandered around Manhattan in the sleet and snow. Our wedding day was beset by awful weather so it felt like completing the circle for the naturalization day to bring more of the same. I think it'll take a few days to sink in that we are done with all the admin and fees and intrusion, but already it feels great to know that life here will now be much more straightforward, and that I can now become fully involved in all the rights and responsibilities that come with being a citizen. Thanks to anyone who has offered help and guidance over the years, it's genuinely appreciated. Good luck all.

I would try to not get too worried just yet. For comparison, I also applied through the Brooklyn office, application was submitted on 9/6/2022, and received notification on 12/15/2022 that my interview was scheduled for 1/25/2023. - making it a little over three months to receive the notification and four months for the actual interview. My oath ceremony is next Tuesday, so that came nearly seven weeks after the interview. So, for the whole thing it was six months-ish from application to ceremony. Not bad considering my ROC was in limbo and only got approved after my N-400 interview. Obviously each case is unique, but if your case is on a similar pace to mine then your interview notification would come in later this month, and your interview would be April/May with an oath ceremony June/July.

Just had my oath ceremony notification for Brooklyn - Tuesday March 14th.

Just had my oath ceremony notification for Brooklyn - Tuesday March 14th.

That's certainly my case. Status updated to "Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled" on February 1st, but no movement since. I'd be interested to know if anyone from January has had their oath ceremony scheduled yet.

Status updated to "Oath Ceremony Will Be Scheduled" this afternoon.