leave the country between the interview and the oath ceremony

[nyoleg 7]

Has anyone had experience leaving the country between the citizenship interview and the oath ceremony? I took the citizenship exam on May 15th and am still waiting for the oath ceremony. I need to fly home for two weeks to visit my dad; he was diagnosed with cancer, and I want to see him.

[OldUser 10,458]

37 minutes ago, nyoleg said:

Has anyone had experience leaving the country between the citizenship interview and the oath ceremony? I took the citizenship exam on May 15th and am still waiting for the oath ceremony. I need to fly home for two weeks to visit my dad; he was diagnosed with cancer, and I want to see him.

I'm really sorry about your dad.

Didn't have such experience, but it's possible to travel before oath. You'd have to disclose all the new travel before oath.

The difficult points are:

1) What if oath is scheduled while you're away?

2) What if you get stuck in country you're going to?

 

There was a thread about person who missed a number of oath ceremonies and got stuck in infinite loop hoping to naturalize.

 

Also make sure your trip won't break your continuous residence and physical presence.

 

But of course, family comes first and immigration second.

 

Good luck!

Edited Thursday at 10:50 PM by OldUser

[steeeeve 22]

i have no idea but May 15th is a long time ago. did you ask USCIS why it was taking so long, i thought it was typically a couple of months?

 

Edited yesterday at 06:47 PM by steve-phuket

[nyoleg 7]

23 hours ago, steve-phuket said:

i have no idea but May 15th is a long time ago. did you ask USCIS why it was taking so long, i thought it was typically a couple of months?

 

I submitted a request to USCIS and they gave me a reply that my case would be reviewed for up to 6 months, and I also contacted the congressman and have been waiting for an answer for a month.

[OldUser 10,458]

21 minutes ago, nyoleg said:

I submitted a request to USCIS and they gave me a reply that my case would be reviewed for up to 6 months, and I also contacted the congressman and have been waiting for an answer for a month.

Are you still waitin for decision on N-400 or it was really approved and you're waiting for ceremony?

 

If you're waiting for decision, USCIS has 120 days to make it after interview. 

It's been 128 days since interview as of today.

 

You can legally sue USCIS for decision on your case (Writ of Mandamus)

[steeeeve 22]

my wife's green card interview took over a year to come through and so i filed a complaint with the immigration ombudsman and then she got an interview appointment in a couple of weeks, so try that.

 

also on your question, i was thinking, if you've passed the interview already, what's stopping you from traveling? you still have the GC and you don't have to worry about interview questions about been out of the country any more. 

Edited 4 hours ago by steve-phuket

[OldUser 10,458]

25 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

you still have the GC and you don't have to worry about interview questions about been out of the country any more. 

Missing oath ceremony is not ideal

[steeeeve 22]

1 minute ago, OldUser said:

Missing oath ceremony is not ideal

i wasn't saying miss it, its not like they will tell you the ceremony will be tomorrow. 

[OldUser 10,458]

12 minutes ago, steve-phuket said:

i wasn't saying miss it, its not like they will tell you the ceremony will be tomorrow. 

That's true, but sometimes letters take 2-3 weeks to arrive to recepient, 7-10 days before ceremony is scheduled. If OP is travelling to see ill father, depending on stage and nature of cancer, things can turn wrong fast and OP will have to stay outside the US longer. If OP is travelling to Ukraine, there are additional risks associated with war going on and trains, buses etc getting stuck 

Edited 3 hours ago by OldUser