cupcake123

Just received my oath notice today.  I'm schedule to take the oath ceremony on Tuesday!!  Not much notice but will be very happy to go through this process very soon.  
@Yuliya Lipina ... do you know how many guests are allowed?  And does it have to be all family or can it be friends?  The notice was silent as far as I could tell on this.
 
Thanks!!
 

@Steelers1020....   At my ceremony, they told us that we should wait 10 days before going to the social security office and notifying citizenship to update our record.  I have it on my list of things to do in the next week or so.  
 
Regarding the passport, I have a quick international trip coming up in 1.5  weeks so I made an appointment at the Chicago Passport agency (same building as USCIS on 101 W. Congress Pkway) for this past Friday. I didn't make the appointment until Wednesday (the day after my ceremony), but it was pretty easy to get in (lots of appointment options). I had the application filled out along with my photos, state ID, and naturalization certificate.  They indicated I should receive the passport by Wednesday next week (I opted for airmail instead of in person pickup).  I think they determine the timing based on how soon your trip is.  Note that my understanding is that in person appt option is only available if you have an international trip coming up in the next 2 weeks (or have a trip in which you're in need of a visa within 4 weeks).  I had to show proof of this (i.e. airline ticket/confirmation #).  Also, you have to leave your naturalization certificate with the office so they have the original to process the passport.  Given this, I wanted to make a copy.   This was actually one of the reasons that I waited a day or so before tackling the passport issue and applying.  It felt really uncomfortable parting with my naturalization certificate on Friday (even if only for a few days).  
 
Hope this helps!  And also hoping for your interview to be scheduled very soon!
 
 
 
 

Ceremony was inspiring and almost exactly as described as @Yuliya Lipina.   I was so proud to become a citizen.  Hoping for a speedy process for you @ChicagoN400

@cupcake123 hope you had a great time  

Congratulations, @cupcake123 And @ChicagoN400! Knowing that you are progressing makes my wait easier to tolerate! 

Congratulations @cupcake123 . Can't wait to hear how your oath ceremony goes! 
Great news @ChicagoN400 . Hope your interview will go great which I'm sure it will. 

Just received my oath notice today.  I'm schedule to take the oath ceremony on Tuesday!!  Not much notice but will be very happy to go through this process very soon.  
@Yuliya Lipina ... do you know how many guests are allowed?  And does it have to be all family or can it be friends?  The notice was silent as far as I could tell on this.
 
Thanks!!
 

That's fantastic!!! So happy for you!  Good luck on the interview and keep us all posted on how it goes.

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@Yuliya Lipina ... Thanks so much!!  Very helpful information.  I can't wait for the ceremony!

Congratulations @cupcake123 - you are almost there!

Quick turn around from Interview to Oath, I wouldn't mind that  

I got notice today, my interview is scheduled for 15th February.

Just received my oath notice today.  I'm schedule to take the oath ceremony on Tuesday!!  Not much notice but will be very happy to go through this process very soon.  
@Yuliya Lipina ... do you know how many guests are allowed?  And does it have to be all family or can it be friends?  The notice was silent as far as I could tell on this.
 
Thanks!!
 

The notice said that the ceremony would begin at 12PM. It actually started at 1.15PM and we were told that the notices stated an hour earlier time on purpose. So during that hour USCIS officer told us what we need to do when we are US citizens etc. The whole process took probably 30-35 min. So waiting was the longest part. But they will give you a welcome packet so if you are too bored you can read some booklets in the packet to kill some time .

Congratulations! You can bring as many as you want, but everything depends upon the capacity of the courtroom or a hall where you are going to be sworn in. At my ceremony we had around 300 people and everybody got a seat. My ceremony was in the Federal Building on Dearborn. The majority of the people at my ceremony were changing their names so we had to be sworn in by the judge. And court rooms usually have pretty high capacity. Where is your ceremony?

Just received my oath notice today.  I'm schedule to take the oath ceremony on Tuesday!!  Not much notice but will be very happy to go through this process very soon.  
@Yuliya Lipina ... do you know how many guests are allowed?  And does it have to be all family or can it be friends?  The notice was silent as far as I could tell on this.
 
Thanks!!
 

This is fantastic news.  I think things maybe speeding up finally.  
 
My status actually just changed to say "Oath Ceremony Notice Was Mailed" only 3 days after my interview so I'm very hopeful for those slightly behind me.

Congratulations to you both! @cupcake123 nearly there! Great to see you finish your journey. 
@Yuliya Lipina that was a great update! Enjoy basking in reaching the end. 

Thank you and congratulations!

What a fantastic update!!  So very happy for you!!!  Sounds like it was a very moving ceremony.  And thank you for the info on pictures.  I want to be able to capture as much of the day as possible.  I just received notice today that my oath ceremony notice has been mailed:)

I am officially a United States citizen! Woot woot!
Here is how it went. The ceremony was scheduled for 12 PM at Chicago Federal Building. The check-in started at 11.30 AM. A nice USCIS officer asked us to form two lines in the hall in front of the courtroom door: people, who are taking an oath and guests. At the entrance to the room one USCIS employee checked the letters, and then once people entered another person collected green cards and notices. It took us all about  30 min to get checked in. There were 110 people from 31 countries taking an oath plus guests. Guests were let in after all the people taking oath got situated and checked in. Needless to say the courtroom was full. Each of us had a welcome packet on a seat that included the Constitution and the Declaration of Independence, Information about voting and registration, passport application, and naturalization certificate holder.  There was no welcome letter from the current President ( not disappointed).
 
The ceremony itself didn't start until 1:10 or 1:15 PM. Almost all the time before that  a USCIS officers was telling us what to do after the naturalization and how us getting naturalized is going to affect our minor children if we have any. It was very nice and the officer was very pleasant. When the judge came in she gave a wonderful speech the main message of which was that we are all welcome no matter our ethnic, religious or racial background, that we should be building bridges and not walls. At certain parts of her speech I felt my eyes well up with tears. The speech was really heartfelt and strong. We took the oath and then one by one received the certificates. Judge allowed us to take pictures (it is prohibited in the federal building unless a judge grants a special permission). She also shook everyone's hand and took pictures with us. 
 
I enjoyed the ceremony very very much!

Alright, some news from my end...I just got an update email, mentioning my interview was scheduled on January 11th.
 
Will update y'all once I get the mail
 

Thanks for the well wishes.   I had a positive experience with my interview.  It was this afternoon and I was in and out in a half hour. The IO was very nice.  After taking the oath and showing ID, I was given the test.  My questions were very straight forward:
What Ocean is to the West of the US? What is the name of the national anthem? Why are there 13 stripes on the flag? How old do you need to be to vote? What happened on Sept 11, 2001? What is the rule of law? The IO went through my application to confirm my responses, and after updating some more recent international travel, he indicated he was recommending me for approval.  Hoping everything goes through and my status turns to "in line for oath ceremony" soon!  
 

Thanks for the well wishes.   I had a positive experience with my interview.  It was this afternoon and I was in and out in a half hour. The IO was very nice.  After taking the oath and showing ID, I was given the test.  My questions were very straight forward:
What Ocean is to the West of the US? What is the name of the national anthem? Why are there 13 stripes on the flag? How old do you need to be to vote? What happened on Sept 11, 2001? What is the rule of law? The IO went through my application to confirm my responses, and after updating some more recent international travel, he indicated he was recommending me for approval.  Hoping everything goes through and my status turns to "in line for oath ceremony" soon!  
 

That's great news, congratulations!!
 
Glad to know all went okay! Hopefully, I will also get my interview scheduled soon!

Thanks for the well wishes.   I had a positive experience with my interview.  It was this afternoon and I was in and out in a half hour. The IO was very nice.  After taking the oath and showing ID, I was given the test.  My questions were very straight forward:
What Ocean is to the West of the US? What is the name of the national anthem? Why are there 13 stripes on the flag? How old do you need to be to vote? What happened on Sept 11, 2001? What is the rule of law? The IO went through my application to confirm my responses, and after updating some more recent international travel, he indicated he was recommending me for approval.  Hoping everything goes through and my status turns to "in line for oath ceremony" soon!  
 

@Yulia Lipina This is fantastic!  So very happy for you!!  And what nice start to the new year that you'll be taking your Oath ceremony so soon.