Recent oath ceremony experiences?

[SacredBruce 9]

Morning all.

 

Got my oath ceremony scheduled for June 23rd in Plano, TX.

 

Despite extensive searching online, I can't find any definitive information on whether or not guests are allowed to attend the ceremony. Was wondering if anyone has been to one recently, or if anyone in the Dallas field office has attended one at the Plano conference center recently, and if so, did you have or see any other guests attend?

[Crazy Cat 39,617]

Have you tried emailing the Northern District?

[Lil bear 3,842]

25 minutes ago, SacredBruce said:

Morning all.

 

Got my oath ceremony scheduled for June 23rd in Plano, TX.

 

Despite extensive searching online, I can't find any definitive information on whether or not guests are allowed to attend the ceremony. Was wondering if anyone has been to one recently, or if anyone in the Dallas field office has attended one at the Plano conference center recently, and if so, did you have or see any other guests attend?

Information should be on the letter ..  but a quick google gave me this .. https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/naturalization-ceremony-schedule

 

Guest seating severely restricted .. so dont  count on it.. also a very brief ceremony .. like 10 minutes .. so very little to observe. I did mine in Kansas City and it was live streamed on YouTube .. maybe yours will be also 

Edited May 29, 2022 by Lil bear

[SacredBruce 9]

2 hours ago, Lil bear said:

Information should be on the letter ..  but a quick google gave me this .. https://www.txnd.uscourts.gov/naturalization-ceremony-schedule

 

Guest seating severely restricted .. so dont  count on it.. also a very brief ceremony .. like 10 minutes .. so very little to observe. I did mine in Kansas City and it was live streamed on YouTube .. maybe yours will be also 

Yeah it's odd. I did find that site but the date of mine isn't listed, and it's at a conference center instead of the one they have at the USCIS office, which is already pretty large.

 

Letter says nothing about guests, only if you need assistance or an interpreter.

Edited May 29, 2022 by SacredBruce

[Bob in Boston 630]

6 hours ago, SacredBruce said:

Letter says nothing about guests, only if you need assistance or an interpreter.

In Boston 2 weeks ago at the court house we could go but ceremony was conducted in one room while we sat in another. Could hear some of it but couldnt see it. it was about 15 Minutes. Said Appt was at 12:00 but dont come earlier than 30 Mins early. We got there at 11:30, Checked in and gave up the green card and just stood around till 1:00 or so then all oath takers went into the other room untill Judge showed up at 1:10. Then 15 Mins later it was done.

Edited May 30, 2022 by Bob in Boston

[SarahTheScientist 1]

@SacredBruce how was the ceremony? My fiancé's was just scheduled next month at the Plano Event Center. I've talked with them and they told me there is limited seating in an adjacent room that will have audio of the ceremony. Was this your experience? Just wanting to know before we go!

[SacredBruce 9]

3 hours ago, SarahTheScientist said:

@SacredBruce how was the ceremony? My fiancé's was just scheduled next month at the Plano Event Center. I've talked with them and they told me there is limited seating in an adjacent room that will have audio of the ceremony. Was this your experience? Just wanting to know before we go!

Prepare to spend the best part of 3 hours there 😁

 

We got there at 7, was already a line of 3-400 people, around 7:45 they began letting people in. In the hallways there are multiple rooms for family where you can sit and listen to the ceremony over speakers.

 

Ceremony itself - I counted 22 rows of 45 people for mine, they wait for it to be full and then the ceremony begins.

 

Oh, be prepared to applaud for every country represented, we had to clap 86 times.

 

After that, there's a large outdoors area you can use for photos that's just outside where family and friends can sit.

[SarahTheScientist 1]

29 minutes ago, SacredBruce said:

Prepare to spend the best part of 3 hours there 😁

 

We got there at 7, was already a line of 3-400 people, around 7:45 they began letting people in. In the hallways there are multiple rooms for family where you can sit and listen to the ceremony over speakers.

 

Ceremony itself - I counted 22 rows of 45 people for mine, they wait for it to be full and then the ceremony begins.

 

Oh, be prepared to applaud for every country represented, we had to clap 86 times.

 

After that, there's a large outdoors area you can use for photos that's just outside where family and friends can sit.

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! WOW, 3 hours! We got the 7:30 time slot too. They told me to be 15-30 minutes early to make sure I’d have a spot in a room.

 

I just don’t understand why it’s being done this way. Is it so there’s more room for those naturalizing? Makes me sick that I can’t witness his ceremony 😞

 

Did you seriously have to clap 86 times? 😂 everyone’s hands must have been raw!

[SacredBruce 9]

47 minutes ago, SarahTheScientist said:

Thank you so much for taking the time to reply! WOW, 3 hours! We got the 7:30 time slot too. They told me to be 15-30 minutes early to make sure I’d have a spot in a room.

 

I just don’t understand why it’s being done this way. Is it so there’s more room for those naturalizing? Makes me sick that I can’t witness his ceremony 😞

 

Did you seriously have to clap 86 times? 😂 everyone’s hands must have been raw!

Lol, 100% serious - 86 different countries, had to clap 86 times.

 

The room where the ceremony takes place is big, but if all the family and friends were to attend, it'd be packed. I can see why they don't allow it - as you'll find out, it's a logistical nightmare organizing everyone to different tables to check in etc.

[MASH 172]

On 5/29/2022 at 11:24 AM, SacredBruce said:

Morning all.

 

Got my oath ceremony scheduled for June 23rd in Plano, TX.

 

Despite extensive searching online, I can't find any definitive information on whether or not guests are allowed to attend the ceremony. Was wondering if anyone has been to one recently, or if anyone in the Dallas field office has attended one at the Plano conference center recently, and if so, did you have or see any other guests attend?

My ceremony is tomorrow and I was wondering can we apply for passports over there so we didn’t have to mail out the certificate?

[SarahTheScientist 1]

10 minutes ago, MASH said:

My ceremony is tomorrow and I was wondering can we apply for passports over there so we didn’t have to mail out the certificate?

Hi there! In my experience, there was not a place to apply for a passport. Where you apply depends on how urgently you need your passport. Here is the link to figure out where you can apply: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/where-to-apply.html

[MASH 172]

2 minutes ago, SarahTheScientist said:

Hi there! In my experience, there was not a place to apply for a passport. Where you apply depends on how urgently you need your passport. Here is the link to figure out where you can apply: https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/where-to-apply.html

Thank you so much for the quick reply ❤️

[Mobius1 175]

Congrats! You must have gone to Dallas field office. How was your experience of the interview process?