What to expect at the oath ceremony

[fabulous02 1]

Hi all,

I have my oath ceremony on 2/18 and had a few questions:

1. The letter asks me to bring all immigration related documents. What other immigration related document do I need to bring other than my GC? I came here on an H1B work visa, met my husband, got married and applied for GC based on my marriage to a USC.

2. How long does the entire oath ceremony take?

3. Anything else I need to keep in mind or be prepared for?

Thank you!!

[BigDaddy28 228]

Take your green card, your oath letter and maybe your passport.

Expect your oath to be between 2 hours to 4 hours.

Dress up nice for your oath, go with a big smile because you are going to enter as an immigrant and then you will get out as an American. Magic happens in that room lol, I'm just joking.

[aleful 1,905]

hi

the amount of time depends on how many are taking the oath and where it is

Mine was in Miami and it only was for 45 minutes

enjoy the experiencie

[Udella&Wiz 325]

1. If you have them (I personally had no idea what I'd done with 2 yr GC) you are supposed to bring your current GC of course

2. Depends how many people are being sworn in - mine was about 50 minutes

3. Prior to the ceremony everyone waits to be called up and they take your old immigration documents as well as your current GC, They may have you pre-sign your citiznship certificate. I can't remember what else I signed but it took about 5 minutes for each person. Its a strange feeling to know you don't have a GC anymore....in fact for about a 1/2 hour I had no immigration documents at all! After that we had to wait until everyone was processed and then they asked the new citizens to line up and they took us to the room where the ceremony was. Family members were usher up to the room as well and seated.

In some cases ther have huge ceremonies at high school gyms and others take place at the immigration office depending on the location.

Enjoy!

1. The letter asks me to bring all immigration related documents. What other immigration related document do I need to bring other than my GC? I came here on an H1B work visa, met my husband, got married and applied for GC based on my marriage to a USC.

2. How long does the entire oath ceremony take?

3. Anything else I need to keep in mind or be prepared for?

Thank you!!

Edited February 1, 2014 by Udella&Wiz

[NickD 202]

Depending on how many people attending, can expect long lines for security, was separated from my wife at this time. Had no idea what they meant by bringing all of your immigration papers, so tossed in a brief case full of that stuff, all they wanted was my wife's ten year card.

Could pre-fill the back of oath letter while waiting in line, we did bring pens with us, but borrowed a magazine, for a backing, not easy to fill that back in without a back up, could do this on the floor. But they wanted the signature to be written in in front of an officer. Ironically, did not want us to sign the certificate in front of the officer, just gave it to us and said to leave. Many did not fill in the back that made that line much longer.

All depends on the speakers they select, pray you don't get a congressman running for office. Rest of it was lip syncing. You already read and signed the oath at your interview.

When you get back in your car, realize that you no longer are free to travel so have to lay out more money for a US passport, update your SS status, inform your employer, maybe the DMV depending on your state, voters registration, school. I think this is it. Make darn sure you have a pen with you.

[fabulous02 1]

Thanks guys for all the replies. So it sounds like all I need is my 10 year GC. The examiner took my 2 year GC during the interview, so I can't think of any other "immigration" documents that I need to bring.

Looking forward to the last step!!

[lasko12 9]

Mine was in San Jose. It took exactly 1 hour only. They just required the oath letter and green card. That's it.

[unknownstatus 0]

I cannot remember what I had to bring since I did this back in 2006, but my ceremony took about 5 hours. I did this while I was in the military so apparently it was a big deal. Our ceremony was on USS RONALD REAGAN (aircraft carrier) and about 100 active military members attended among high ranking officials. By the way they also ask you if you wish to change your name.