Hedi

We took our camera to my husband's oath ceremony and it was no problem at all. I took pictures with my phone and my actual camera.

My husband's naturalization ceremony was in San Diego and he wore a nice dress shirt, pants and a tie. I was his "guest" and wore a pair of Capri pants and a blouse. Nobody wore shorts or flip flops. In fact, some men had suits on. The guests were all dressed nicely; nobody looked like they were going to a fancy party, but everyone took the occasion seriously enough to look nice.

We had to be there at 7:45 and we got there at 7:15. There was a line already and we began going in around 8:15. Getting there early/on time means you get good parking and a good seat for the guests. It is true that the ceremony begins around 9:30, but I just got myself a good seat, and waited. Everyone did the same thing.

The ceremony was over by 11:00.

It is a special day and somewhat emotional (I think I cried more than my husband ), and will hopefully become a wonderful experience.

Best wishes.

I wrote down the date on several calendars, but we did get a reminder letter as well.

i wasn't able to accompany my husband to his interview as I couldn't take the time off from my work. I would have liked to go for support, but it wasn't possible. My husband told me that had I gone, I would have just waited outside. My husband was the only person being interviewed and my presence was not a requirement. The IO didn't even ask if I was there or not. My husband had all of his documents and his interview took all of 20 minutes, from start to finish. Good luck to you.

My husband had two traffic tickets, each under $500 and both cleared through traffic school. Again, because of my OCD, I had him get a letter from the courthouse stating that both tickets had been cleared and he took those letters along with his traffic school paperwork and payment receipts to his interview. The IO asked if my husband had any DUI arrests and my husband replied "no", and that was that.

My husband took a binder with all the documents you mentioned as well as bank statements, bills, pictures, insurance papers etc. This was mainly because I am OCD and I put together this binder. The IO only looked at my husband's green card, license and passport.

Good luck to you!!

I am not as knowledgeable as the other members on VS; however, I do remember that my husband got his Social Security card way before his citizenship- he obviously did not have a US birth certificate, given that he is an Australian. In fact, he got the SS card when he got his 2 year conditional green card. After getting his citizenship last year, he went to the SS office and updated his status to citizen. My husband was working with his 2 year green card, and didn't have to wait for his citizenship to go through.

He did apply for a US passport by submitting his certificate of naturalization.

He did tell me that his interview took only 15-20 minutes and the questions were easy (he answered the first 6 correctly), but I think he found it easy, because he studied hard and was well prepared.

I wish you the best. Hope everything works out.

My husband went to his interview alone, as I couldn't take the day off to accompany him. There was no issue in regards to my absence, and after a 15 minute interview, my husband was approved for citizenship. However, his oath ceremony was 9 days after his interview, and I did manage to take that day off.

Congratulations!

After my husband got his citizenship, he applied for his US passport (he is from Australia, and he can have dual citizenship). After getting his passport, he went to the Social Security offices and changed his status on their records. He also registered to vote right after the oath ceremony. There were booths and representatives at his oath ceremony who had all the brochures, applications and information in regards to "what to do after the ceremony".

Congratulations to you and your husband, and good luck.

If I remember correctly, my husband signed that form the night before his oath ceremony.

I wasn't able to accompany my husband on the day of his interview, as I am a teacher and that day, we were administering state wide testing and there was no way I could get a substitute. So, he went to his interview on his own. While I would have liked to be there with him for moral support, he told me that had I gone, I would've waited outside. His interview took all of 20 minutes-from start to finish- and the IO didn't even ask whether I was there or not.

I think if your spouse can be there for support, it's wonderful, but the spouse's presence is not mandatory.

I have to add that I took the day off for my husband's oath ceremony and that was a great day.

Good luck to you!

What you wear (or anyone wears for that matter) to the oath ceremony is a personal choice. We live in San Diego and my husband's oath ceremony was last May (so it was kind of warm already). He did get somewhat dressed up-in a nice dress shirt, pants and a tie. I wore a nice blouse and a pair of capri pants, because like you say, it was a special day for my husband, and I wanted to look nice. There were some people there who were very casual and some others who were in suits and all dressed up.

As for the country of origin, it's really something to acknowledge all the different nationalities represented at the ceremony, so if your wife wants to stand up for Ecuador or any other country, that's her choice. Nobody checks.

Wishing you and your wife the very best. Enjoy the oath ceremony.

My husband surrendered both of his green cards at the oath ceremony. He took his oath notice along with the two cards, and that's all he needed.

My husband had two traffic tickets, each under $500 and each cleared through traffic school. Regardless, we decided to disclose both tickets on his N-400. He had payment receipts for each ticket, traffic school documentation and he also got a letter from the courthouse, stating that both tickets had been cleared (he took all these documents to his interview). The IO asked if the traffic violations were a DUI incident and my husband responded with a "no". He was not asked to show any proof for either ticket.

You have a lot of good evidence. We didn't send half as much for my husband's citizenship application. We only sent the basic required documents and then my husband took a big binder with more documentation and evidence to his interview. They didn't look at a single piece of paper except his passport, license and green card. And of course, they just went over his N-400 application.

For our original N-400 package we sent:

-Check with Application and Biometrics fee

-Form N-400 & G-1145

-2 Passport Pictures

-Copy of green card

-My birth certificate (I am the US citizen)

-Copy of our marriage certificate

-Tax transcripts (for 3 years)

As you see, we had far less in our original package. But like I said, my husband took a binder with utility bills, bank statements, tax returns (including the most recent one we had filed after sending in our package), car insurance statements, life insurance paperwork, tickets from our travels, pictures, etc.

Good luck to you and to your wife!

I did not accompany my husband to his citizenship interview. The IO didn't even ask about me or whether I was there in the waiting room or not. My husband had all the necessary documentation spanning our marriage and years together, and the interview was over in 20 minutes (from start to finish). I did go to the citizenship ceremony, which was a week after the actual interview.

Good luck to you.

We didn't have to go in for an interview during the ROC process; we just submitted the package and my husband got his 10 year green card about 5 months after our sending in the paperwork.

We printed out photos on printer paper (for a total of 18 photos), and wrote a one line caption for each picture. Example: "09/03/2011 my husband and I; Times Square, New York City"

For the bank accounts, we made copies of the statements where they showed the account activity, and submitted several statements from the opening of the account up to the time of the ROC.

Good luck!

Does your husband have a US birth certificate? If so, you can send that as proof and then just renew the passport. For my husband's citizenship application, we submitted a copy of my birth certificate (me being the USC), and it was fine.

They only asked for my husband's green card, DL and passport at his interview. He took a binder with a lot of documentation, but he wasn't asked for a single one of them. As mentioned above, do take any originals of anything you have submitted (birth certificates, marriage certificate etc.) and if they specifically ask you for something, obviously take that as well.

My husband's oath ceremony was on a Wednesday and he got his letter on the Monday. However, he was told at his interview what his oath date would be, so we already knew that information. But the actual letter arrived 2 days before the ceremony. I am sure every office functions differently (we live in San Diego) and I know of people who had an interview and got their oath ceremonies scheduled three months later.

Good luck to you.

My husband kept his old green card till the day he became a citizen. He gave his two green cards to the IO at his citizenship ceremony (the green card has to be turned in at the oath ceremony.).

Congratulations to you.

Congratulations to all the fellow February filers who have recently received their oath dates or have gone through their oath ceremonies. Best wishes to all of you, and good luck to those who are still waiting for their ceremony.

My husband's experience was very similar to Vanessa's. He was only asked to show his green card, his passport and driver's license at his interview. He took a binder of documentation to the interview, but he was not asked for anything, except what I just mentioned. I wasn't even able to go with him that day, due to my work. My husband said the interview took all of 15 minutes, from start to finish. He waited longer for his turn and for getting his oath letter.