Oath Ceremony, Oklahoma City

[annatenna 0]

I've reached the end of the immigration road at last! I'd like to take this opportbity to thank everyone here, especially the July/august 2007 filers for their moral support over past months, and wish everyone a very happy future in the USA.

I've adapted my blog post for today to post here, in case others in future might be interested to read how things proceed.

This Oath Ceremony was held at the Federal Courthouse in Oklahoma City. I'm sure in other venues some details will vary - but this was how things unfolded for me:~~~~~~~~~

On Friday, 25 July 2008, the Naturalization Ceremony proceeded as planned, though with much unexpected waiting time. The appointment was for 9.30 am.

After staying just south of the city center overnight Thursday, we set off downtown around 8am, Friday and found a carpark close to our venue. We listened to the car radio until 9, then wandered up to the Courthouse. A few people had already arrived and were going through the usual "take off your shoes and walk through the archway, empty your pockets, take off your belt, and put your bags here to go through the scanner" routine. We joined them, duly passed through, having been proved pure and without sin.

The Ceremonial Courtroom is on the 3rd floor. Already in the corridor a group of people had gathered and were being informed by an official of proceedings to come. She said that the actual ceremony would not start until 12 noon, there would be a large number of applicants. Paperwork must first be processed. Meanwhile family and friends could wait in an adjoining courtroom, or visit a snack bar on the ground floor.

After a while I moved into the designated courtroom to await arrival of INS officials, my husband waited in the courtroom nextdoor. The paperwork, I eventually found out, entailed waiting to be called up to INS officials at a bank of desks, hand in our greencards, check and sign our Naturalization Certificates, and be handed a form to make the change in our Social Security status. We were also given a seat number for the ceremony. A separate bank of seats for the 140 applicants was arranged to the right of the judges' bench. Paperwork processing seemed interminable, it was well over an hour before my own name was called.

At 11.30 applicants were told to take their seats, according to the number they'd been given (mine was 69 - no sly grins please!) By this time my husband had managed to slide into a seat towards the back of the Ceremonial Courtroom, now filling rapidly with families and friends of applicants. The overflow, and there was a large one, was accommodated in another court equipped with a large screen for viewing the ceremony.

At exactly noon, five judges filed in. Everyone rose as the judges took their places on the bench. The chief judge, a female, welcomed us, said a few words then handed over to a designated INS official to "present" the 140 applicants who came, we were told, from 42 different countries. The official spoke briefly then named, in alphapbetical order, the native countries of all the applicants, asking each to stand when their country was called. I was the only one of the 140 from the UK. Every continent was represented. This, of course, was just one of many similar ceremonies, held monthly in three areas of Oklahoma, and regularly in every one of the other 49 states. I find this a mind-boggling proposition!

Next, we, the applicants, were asked to stand, raise our right hands, and repeat after the Clerk of the Court the words of the Oath of Allegiance. Each of the five judges then spoke briefly, after which the Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all present. The judges then left and a video of President G.W. Bush, welcoming us as new citizens, was shown, followed by another video of scenes of American life, a patriotic song playing in the background.

I hadn't expected to feel as emotional as I did. I joked later that it was the sight of G.W. Bush that made my cry, but I lied. I had an overwhelming sense of the nobility of the original vision for the United States, as I sat there in the midst of 140 people, born in so many different countries. Many of my companions had experienced a far greater struggle than I'd had to reach this point. There have been broken dreams and wrong turnings, but beneath it all, I'm confident that vision remains intact.

Applicants were then asked to file out in seat number order to officially receive their Certificates of Naturalization, and some other paperwork, along with a small US flag.

Reunited with my husband, I was happy to see that his son, daughter-in-law and grandson had also been present in the adjoining room watching the ceremony. We all went off to enjoy a celebration lunch, by-passing a huge and very slow-moving line of folks waiting to process their Social Security amendments at a desk out in the corridor. We decided to deal with this little matter at our local office early next week, rather than wait for what could be a further hour or two at the court.

A remark of one of the judges has stayed with me. His words: "The United States of America is no longer just your home, now it is your country."

My timeline

Marriage Visa obtained 31 August 2004 (DCF London)

Entered USA 25 October 2004

Conditions removed August 2006

N400 to TSC - 26 July 2007

PO confirmed signed for - 30 July 2007

Cheque cashed - 19 November 2007

NOA -Rec'd 26 Nov 2007 (Notice date 20 Nov)

PD - 27July 2007

FP -Notice received 6 December

FP Appt. 17 Dec. 2007

FP re-do appointment 22 January 2008

IL received 25 February 2008

Interview date 11 April 2008 1.05PM OKC

Interview postponed on day of attendance

New interview date 19 June 2008

Oath Ceremony 25 July 2008

[churipu 4]

Congrats! It is finally over! And to think exactly a year ago the end of our journey began...I sure don't miss USCIS

[Okiebollweevil 0]

Thanks for the info! Have printed and taking to my wife who will be doing the same in OKC on the 20th of August.

[NickD 203]

If I may say so, sounds more like an ordeal than a ceremony. Assume you had a long drive to require that motel stay at night and picked the edge of town as the downtown rates are astronomical, but you didn't mention that long drive back. We have to do this for Chicago, with traffic can take as long as ten hours for the return trip, just too much to have to handle it in one day.

Was your voice louder than all the others so it would stand out when repeating the oath? And did they really take your green card before they gave you your certificate? Ha, would like to make that exchange evenly especially after that lone exercise and expense in getting that green card initially.

So far no inspections at our county seat court house and at our last visit to the field office, let me keep my belt and shoes on. Ha, wonder at times if George uses a double to make all those videos, speaking is more clear and concise. Did they serve refreshments afterwards?

We are anxiously awaiting our oath invite, mainly to learn what our ordeal will be.

But big congratulations are in order to you, first for surviving the ordeal, and second for receiving your citizenship and the ordeal you went through to get that. Now you can rest and live a normal life.

[annatenna 0]

If I may say so, sounds more like an ordeal than a ceremony. Assume you had a long drive to require that motel stay at night and picked the edge of town as the downtown rates are astronomical, but you didn't mention that long drive back. We have to do this for Chicago, with traffic can take as long as ten hours for the return trip, just too much to have to handle it in one day.

Was your voice louder than all the others so it would stand out when repeating the oath? And did they really take your green card before they gave you your certificate? Ha, would like to make that exchange evenly especially after that lone exercise and expense in getting that green card initially.

So far no inspections at our county seat court house and at our last visit to the field office, let me keep my belt and shoes on. Ha, wonder at times if George uses a double to make all those videos, speaking is more clear and concise. Did they serve refreshments afterwards?

We are anxiously awaiting our oath invite, mainly to learn what our ordeal will be.

But big congratulations are in order to you, first for surviving the ordeal, and second for receiving your citizenship and the ordeal you went through to get that. Now you can rest and live a normal life.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Nick

We decided to stay in the city overnight because of morning traffic and getting a parking place. Our drive isn't too bad - between 90 and 120 minutes depending on traffic, but my appointment was 9-30, so we were a bit worried about being late ! We investigated city center hotels but well over $200 per night, sometimes even plus parking fee, was a bit rich for us - we decided to go for a cheapo, but decent motel further out.

Yes we handed in our greencards before the ceremony started, had to check and sign the certificate, but didn't have it in our hot sticky hands until the ceremony was over - handed to us on the way out.

No refreshments - just hoardes of people milling around in the corridors, so we made a quick getaway.

Thanks for your good wishes, which are returned with the wish that your ceremony goes smoothly and enjoyably.

It's something nice to look back on - a milestone. But you're right, it was something of an ordeal - more so than I'd expected it to be.

[annatenna 0]

Thanks Churipu - we and many others, braved the long wait together, and finished a little bit apart ! It was good to have someone to whinge with along the way. ;-)

Hi jsouihwick - good luck for your wife's ceremony - hope it all goes smoothly. :-)