Travel between Interview & potential oath-taking ceremony

[lierre 224]

Hello all,

 

It's been a while since I've been here. And now I'm filing for naturalization! I've been eligible to file for almost half a year now, but I've only decided to do so this summer due to certain personal reasons.

 

I just wanna figure out a good timeline for when I can send my application. Was hoping you guys could help!

 

I'm hoping I could travel outside the US for 2 weeks after I do the interview. Assuming it gets approved and I'm schedule for a ceremony without being in the country... Will my travel abroad be an issue?

 

For scheduling the ceremony, is it within my control or do they schedule it and I can re-schedule directly with the court if needed?

 

Thanks y'all!

[canadian_wife 1,791]

Congrats on starting the naturalization process.  You can see in my timeline that the time between my interview and oath ceremony was lengthy.  I traveled a few times internationally during that time and when it came to the oath ceremony, I disclosed it and it was not an issue.  

 

If I remember correctly USCIS schedules your ceremony for you, some places offer same day interview and oath ceremony.  However, if you cannot make the date assigned, you notify them and they schedule you for another date.

 

Good luck

[kpeck 22]

9 hours ago, ivyanddan said:

Hello all,

 

It's been a while since I've been here. And now I'm filing for naturalization! I've been eligible to file for almost half a year now, but I've only decided to do so this summer due to certain personal reasons.

 

I just wanna figure out a good timeline for when I can send my application. Was hoping you guys could help!

 

I'm hoping I could travel outside the US for 2 weeks after I do the interview. Assuming it gets approved and I'm schedule for a ceremony without being in the country... Will my travel abroad be an issue?

 

For scheduling the ceremony, is it within my control or do they schedule it and I can re-schedule directly with the court if needed?

 

Thanks y'all!

You can definitely travel abroad with no issues - when you get your Oath Ceremony letter, there's a questionnaire on the back and it asks if you've traveled outside the US since your interview. You just need to provide the dates - no issues at all. 

 

My time between my husband's Interview and Oath Ceremony was relatively short - he had his interview on May 31st and his Oath Ceremony today (!!) on June 19th, so a little over 3 weeks. He go this letter on June 9th stating when his ceremony was scheduled. I think every office has different timelines. 

 

In Chicago (where my husband did his ceremony), it was not within his control to pick the date - it was scheduled for him. You can ask for rescheduling, but I'm not sure how much flexibility they can give you with choosing a specific date. You can always schedule an InfoPass appointment to see if they can assist. 

[lierre 224]

9 hours ago, canadian_wife said:

Congrats on starting the naturalization process.  You can see in my timeline that the time between my interview and oath ceremony was lengthy.  I traveled a few times internationally during that time and when it came to the oath ceremony, I disclosed it and it was not an issue.  

 

If I remember correctly USCIS schedules your ceremony for you, some places offer same day interview and oath ceremony.  However, if you cannot make the date assigned, you notify them and they schedule you for another date.

 

Good luck

 

If you don't mind me asking, what was the reason for the lengthy time between interview and ceremony? Was it paperwork?

 

Did you come upon a problem of not being able to make it for their scheduled date? Is the something that can be pre-emptively said to them before you're scheduled for the ceremony (i.e., tell them right away that I won't be around for this and this date)?

 

Truly appreciate your help!

 

1 hour ago, kpeck said:

You can definitely travel abroad with no issues - when you get your Oath Ceremony letter, there's a questionnaire on the back and it asks if you've traveled outside the US since your interview. You just need to provide the dates - no issues at all. 

 

My time between my husband's Interview and Oath Ceremony was relatively short - he had his interview on May 31st and his Oath Ceremony today (!!) on June 19th, so a little over 3 weeks. He go this letter on June 9th stating when his ceremony was scheduled. I think every office has different timelines. 

 

In Chicago (where my husband did his ceremony), it was not within his control to pick the date - it was scheduled for him. You can ask for rescheduling, but I'm not sure how much flexibility they can give you with choosing a specific date. You can always schedule an InfoPass appointment to see if they can assist. 

 

Thank you for this! Are the oath ceremonies always with the court or is it with the USCIS office?

 

[kpeck 22]

48 minutes ago, ivyanddan said:

 

If you don't mind me asking, what was the reason for the lengthy time between interview and ceremony? Was it paperwork?

 

Did you come upon a problem of not being able to make it for their scheduled date? Is the something that can be pre-emptively said to them before you're scheduled for the ceremony (i.e., tell them right away that I won't be around for this and this date)?

 

Truly appreciate your help!

 

 

Thank you for this! Are the oath ceremonies always with the court or is it with the USCIS office?

 

I believe it depends on if you're doing a name change or not - probably other VJ'ers can chime in on this. 

 

My husband was not changing his name, so it was an "administrative ceremony" and a USCIS director (or some other title - I can't remember what she said) administered the oath and conducted the ceremony. It was at the same place where my husband did his interview - just across the hall in an auditorium. 

[lierre 224]

1 minute ago, kpeck said:

I believe it depends on if you're doing a name change or not - probably other VJ'ers can chime in on this. 

 

My husband was not changing his name, so it was an "administrative ceremony" and a USCIS director (or some other title - I can't remember what she said) administered the oath and conducted the ceremony. It was at the same place where my husband did his interview - just across the hall in an auditorium. 

 

Thank you!!! I've already changed my name with USCIS and my current passport. 

Edited June 19, 2017 by ivyanddan

[texaspanpan 0]

my question is if your interview gets approved, they will take back your green card. Then how do you travel outside the U.S without green card???

[sd2017 18]

48 minutes ago, texaspanpan said:

my question is if your interview gets approved, they will take back your green card. Then how do you travel outside the U.S without green card???

They only take away the green card at the oath ceremony. At mine, they checked my documents, and stapled the green card (cancelled with a hole punched) to the oath notification letter, and returned it to me. After the oath, we went back to the counter with the documents, and they exchanged it for the naturalization certificate. At that time, you are a US citizen and will need to leave and enter the US using a US passport.

[texaspanpan 0]

Let us say if you need to take a trip after  the ceremony and before getting the passport, would u be ok to use the certificate? 

[canadian_wife 1,791]

They specifically told me to get the passport done immediately as the naturalization certificate is not valid or travel. 

 

Good luck 

[sd2017 18]

19 hours ago, texaspanpan said:

Let us say if you need to take a trip after  the ceremony and before getting the passport, would u be ok to use the certificate? 

No, once you have the ceremony, you are a US citizen, and must leave and enter the US on a US passport.

 

You can apply for a passport at a passport agency, but you have to make an appointment,

 

https://www.passportappointment.us/

 

and must have international travel within the next 14 days. Thankfully for you, you're in Los Angeles, so there is a passport agency there. They can even issue a passport in time for same day travel, assuming your flight is in the evening.