From_CAN_2_US

I posted this on another thread about urgent passport, but may be helpful for some here: "So I had my naturalization ceremony yesterday, and I managed to get my passport issued the same day! My ceremony appointment was at 10:45am, and passport appointment was 12:30 (their latest appointment) and I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it. But we were all done at the ceremony at 11:15, and drove arrived at the passport office around 12:05. They let me in even though we were early. I was in there for 10 minutes, and then got my passport book and card by 2:10. They initially asked me to come on Monday to pick up my passport when when they realised I had a visa to apply, they said they can give it to me today. Really appreciated, like so much! I must say the service is exceptional, and I am very impressed. They sent me several reminders by sms and email in the days prior. The day before they called me in the morning and left a voicemail with detail instructions of what to bring. Then said they would try to reach me in the afternoon. I managed to pick that call, and a very nice agent, Kyle, spent about 20 minutes on the phone with me answering my questions. I asked what would happen if I was late, and Kyle said, since I was the last appointment, it would be difficult to accommodate much later than the appointment time but they would probably be able to take me in if I arrived by 1pm, which was honestly more than fair. Thanks everyone here for your advise and guidance. Also thanks @Rhema1 for encouraging me to not cancel my appointment in another thread and letting me know that some offices still entertain you if you are a little late."

Yes, I did get the big book. Thank you for the reminders for both that and passport card, or I may have missed applying for it. I am applying for OCI (Overseas Citizen of India). It is a more like a permanent residency of India, but you don't need to reside there (although you can should you choose to).

So I had my naturalization ceremony yesterday, and I managed to get my passport issued the same day! My ceremony appointment was at 10:45am, and passport appointment was 12:30 (their latest appointment) and I was worried I wouldn't be able to make it. But we were all done at the ceremony at 11:15, and drove arrived at the passport office around 12:05. They let me in even though we were early. I was in there for 10 minutes, and then got my passport book and card by 2:10. They initially asked me to come on Monday to pick up my passport when when they realised I had a visa to apply, they said they can give it to me today. Really appreciated, like so much! I must say the service is exceptional, and I am very impressed. They sent me several reminders by sms and email in the days prior. The day before they called me in the morning and left a voicemail with detail instructions of what to bring. Then said they would try to reach me in the afternoon. I managed to pick that call, and a very nice agent, Kyle, spent about 20 minutes on the phone with me answering my questions. I asked what would happen if I was late, and Kyle said, since I was the last appointment, it would be difficult to accommodate much later than the appointment time but they would probably be able to take me in if I arrived by 1pm, which was honestly more than fair. Thanks everyone here for your advise and guidance. Also thanks @Rhema1 for encouraging me to not cancel my appointment in another thread and letting me know that some offices still entertain you if you are a little late.

Oh and I managed to get my passport done the same day as well. I managed to make my appointment at the passport office at 12:30. The application took about 10 minutes. Got my passport book and card in hand by 2:10pm. Very relieved as I am racing against time to apply for my visa for India for my upcoming travel there.

I had my naturalization ceremony yesterday, and it's kind of surreal that I am now an American citizen. My appointment was at 10:45. I arrive around 10am at the Manchester USCIS office (in Bedford), went through security, got checked in. I was asked the 6-7 question about whether things had changed since my interview. I informed them about my international travel and provided a document with details including copies of air tickets. It was funny because they asked me which country I had travelled to and I replied - Malaysia, Singapore, Japan and Hong Kong, and the lady laughed and said "look at you!" They seated us in order of our arrival. There were 18 applicants in total being sworn in. Friends and Family were allowed, and one applicant had around 9-10 people as guests. Guests had to sit along the perimeter. Ceremony started around 11, because one person was a little late. The office announced they would wait for them, which was a very nice gesture, I thought. Ceremony was straightforward and to-the-point. The officer officiating gave us practical information about registering to vote, applying for passport, updating Social Security, taking care of your certificates etc. She then read out the countries of origin of the applicants and asked us to stand as we heard ours being called out. There was Australia, New Zealand, Netherlands, Morocco, Indonesia, Republic of Congo, Dominican Republic, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and Canada. Maybe a couple more countries... We then recited the oath, and they then came to our seats and handed us our certificates. We were then informed we were FREE (wink wink) to leave. We were encouraged to take photos, and assisted us with them as well. There was a lady from NH state there who provided us with information on how to register to vote. We were all done by 11:15. Everyone was exceptionally nice at the office, as always. I am always struck by that every visit. As business like as the ceremony was, it was delivered with warmth and friendliness, that made it a touching experience. I really appreciated being welcomed by Americans in that way as a fellow citizen. It meant a lot, especially in today's climate.

Oh yes, I meant to ask if you can get passport card when you go for urgent passport. The form says the offices doing urgent passport cannot issue passport card, so does it come later in the mail?

Thanks, that helps.

Oh I didn’t know that. Thank you.

Ugh! That sounds like a frustrating experience. I have heard from many posts here that appointments are hard to come by, but I don’t know, slots are wide open at the office near me. I could get an appointment in the next hour if I wanted. Not sure if it is my office being in a region with low population (Portsmouth NH), or if things have generally improved for all offices recently.

Thanks for your input. Yeah you are right, I would rather do it the next day. However the next day is a Saturday and we had plans to travel to NY to MIL's house for Thanksgiving on Sunday, so there is a time crunch. Worse comes to worst, I will cancel the appointment, and then rebook for one on Monday, postponing our travel to NY.

Question for @Babu Frik and others who have had oath at USCIS office (not in court). How long is the process? My oath letter says 10:45 appointment. The latest appointment at the passport office that day is 12:30pm, and I am wondering if I can make it.

AAA is American Automobile Association. Many people (maybe most) who own cars in the US have this membership for road side assistance. They provide free or discounted photo services for members, but regular paid service to others. I don’t think it is expensive either way, $15 I think. And they have a reputation of providing photos that generally don’t get rejected by passport office unlike other places.

I may be wrong but I understand the passport office for urgent passport (same-day) do not have the ability to take your photo. Photo services are only available when submitting at USPS. @Rhema1 my advice is to take the photo ahead of time. AAA is known to be good for taking quality photos with low rejection rate. Congratulations on getting oath scheduled!

Thanks, that helps. I know, I too am just glad to be approaching the end of the process. Must be such a relief to receive your passport. Enjoy!

May I ask, was this at the courthouse in Concord or at the USCIS office in Bedford?

Good to know. Did you apply for your passport yet? Also, were you able to have any guests at your ceremony?

How does one know if guests are allowed at an oath ceremony. The letter I received is silent about it. My oath location is at a USCIS office.

No unfortunately it is domestic travel to NY. I do have some international travel planned for December/ January, so hopefully can apply for same day service passport on account of that. I am too nervous to apply by mail.

I have been travelling, so haven’t been able to update. After I put in my reschedule request on Oct 16, I got a notification on Oct 24 that my oath has been now scheduled for Nov 21. Very relieved it hasn’t been pushed out too far. This new date also happens to clash with my Thanksgiving travel plans, but I learnt my lesson, and going to change my travel and make sure I attend the oath. 😁

Have a great ceremony @Babu Frik. Congratulations in advance!

Life has been a little crazy and I haven’t had a chance to update all of you. Thursday (Oct 16) morning I got notification that my oath is scheduled for Nov 7. Unfortunately, I will be overseas on that date and will be back on Nov 8. So I called the USCIS number and requested a reschedule. I then talked to Jim Hacking who told me that was a really dumb thing to do, and I should have cancelled my trip or come back earlier. But it was too late since I already placed reschedule request. So, just to make sure the request is in the right hands, husband and I drove to the field office first thing Friday morning, and handed them a letter requesting reschedule. Guard was super nice and accommodating and after speaking to officer told me the officer said it wasn’t a problem, and I would be rescheduled Later that day I got notification that my oath was cancelled and I am back in queue. Little gutted for having not done more to attend the oath as scheduled, but atleast I feel better that the case is in the right hands and not in the black hole. I hope they will reschedule me for later in November, but that may be optimistic. Will keep you all updated. edit - on Friday when I went to the office, there was an oath ceremony scheduled to take place that morning. I was thinking, please please, can’t you just let me take the oath today. Ofcourse it is never that easy. 😁

I think things may have changed recently and they have become more easily available. It’s the same where I live. Practically all slots available every day.

Congratulations! Yes, many officers appear to interpret that 3 year living with spouse requirement leniently. Also great turn around time for the interview. I think I messed up there with my interview. Trends show that people in my office get they oath invite the same day as interview, but I am yet to receive mine. I think it is because I told the officer I was travelling at the end of the month. The officer wrote a note and said that they would make sure I was scheduled for November then (not October). I did say I wouldn’t mind an earlier date and confident about getting the passport on time, but she didn’t sound convinced. I was hoping to get the oath before my travel so I had the proof of travel to enable me to apply for same-day passport and not have to send naturalisation certificate. But I opened my big mouth and ruined it all lol. Anyhoo congratulations, and let us know how your oath goes.

Maybe she should read the civics text book instead of the questions. That way she would be learning the events rather than memorising?

Congratulations!