Oath Ceremony Today in NYC (Brooklyn)

[l.j./1999 1]

This morning my husband finally became a U.S. citizen! Woohoo! VisaJourney was a huge help to us every step of the way, so I'm happy to share the details of this final stage in our immigration journey.

We arrived at the courthouse around 15 minutes before the appointment, which was scheduled for 8:30. We really benefited from VJ member Tini27's account of getting lost on her way to the courthouse, and made sure to check the court's address on their website. Note to others dealing with the Brooklyn Court House: the oath letter says it's at "225 Cadman Plaza" but there are two Cadman Plazas - East and West. After checking online, we knew to go to Cadman Plaza East for the courthouse, and had no trouble finding our way.

Once we arrived, we saved some time by leaving our cellphones at home and not bringing a camera. Cameras and cellphones are not allowed in the courthouse and have to be turned in to security. By not bringing these items, we avoided a long line at the end of the ceremony, when everyone was waiting to claim their electronic gadgets from the security staff.

After entering the courthouse, hubby headed to the oath room, and I was told to go to the cafeteria on the 3rd floor. The cafeteria had a little TV where we could watch everything going on in the oath ceremony room. One row at a time, people would be called up to turn in their Green Cards, EADs, APs and other immigration documents, and to sign their new Naturalization Certificates. Officials also distributed and collected Voter Registration Forms and provided information about free health insurance options for NY State residents.

My husband pointed out to the immigration official that his name was missing a hyphen on the Certificate, and the woman told him that's normal, they can't print hyphens. When he showed her that his Green Card had the hyphen, she told him to step aside and speak to another person. This second guy said they couldn't change the name without seeing hubby's Birth Certificate as proof of his legal name (which of course hubby didn't bring with him, and his BC is almost illegible anyway). He said they also couldn't remove the extra space that they put in place of the hyphen, because that would constitute a name change. So hubby just decided to accept the spelling on the certificate.

At around 10:00, my husband came up to the cafeteria where I was sitting, he was getting a short break and had to be back downstairs at 10:30 for the oath. We ended up going back down to the oath room together, because there were extra seats available and we saw a few other family members going down (although nobody officially told us we could go into the oath room, I guess we kind of "snuck in" to join our oath-taking relatives). We all waited in boredom as the judge was delayed until 11:00. One of the immigration officials fielded questions while we waited.

Finally, shortly after 11:00, Judge Roslynn Mauskopf arrived for the swearing in. All the oath-takers stood up and recited the Oath of Allegiance and the Pledge of Allegiance, making them officially American citizens. The judge gave a moving speech, describing her own parents' immigration to the U.S. from Czechoslovakia after surviving the Holocaust. Her personal connection to the immigrant experience was evident; she didn't just seem to be going throught the motions, but seemed to genuinely enjoy her involvement in the naturalization process. She emphasized the privileges of U.S. citizenship, but also encouraged new citizens to maintain their traditions and contribute to the multicultural legacy of America.

After the judge's speech, the staff started calling out everyone's names to pick up their Naturalizaton Certificates (in no apparent order), and as soon as we got hubby's certificate we headed out. As I mentioned, we avoided the long line to pick up cellphones/cameras since we left ours at home, and headed to a nearby restaurant to splurge on a celebratory lunch.

After lunch we headed to the nearby Social Security office to report hubby's citizenship status.. had to deal with an extremely long line which was a bit exhausting, but we were happy to be done with that step. Tomorrow he'll photocopy the certificate and then apply for his passport the following day.

Can't believe we've made it to the end of this journey.. THANK YOU SO MUCH VISAJOURNEY!!!

[John9981 9]

Thanks for detailed oath ceremony descriptions. Congrats on completing the journey!!!!!!!!!!!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Congratulations - and great review! There really does seem to be a lot of differences in ceremonies based on where they are held so I am sure others who are going through the same Court House will really benefit from your experience.

[FormerBrit 0]

Congrats!

[Tini27 0]

So happy for you guys!! Enjoy your citzenship. By the way, I hyphenated my name also by adding my husband's name and the naturalization certificate was printed without the hyphen too. There was a space where the hyphen was suposed to be. I got a ittle worried but in fact you were well informed, they do not print hyphens on the certificate (can't think of why???). My passport was however correctly spelled and I was relieved to receive it WITH the hyphen so don't worry!!! Your spouse does not need to do any kind of name change, he's fine:) Congrats again fellow American

[l.j./1999 1]

Thanks guys!!!

Tini, thanks for the additional info about hyphens, I really wasn't sure if my husband's experience was normal or not. He has the hyphen in his first name and without it people tend to think part of his first name is his middle name.. it looks odd without the hyphen. Hopefully his experience with the passport will be the same as yours, with his name spelled exactly as he wants!

[Mountain Climber 186]

Congrats!!!!! :dance:

[wil 0]

Congratulations l.j./1999!

Thanks for your details on the oath ceremony. My wife just received her Oat Letter this past Saturday. She will have her Oath ceremony at the same place (Brooklyn) on Sep 18.

We read through yours and that is very helpful. Can you tell us what kind of documents your husband took for the ceremony? Only greencard and the letter? Any other?

[l.j./1999 1]

Congratulations l.j./1999!

Thanks for your details on the oath ceremony. My wife just received her Oat Letter this past Saturday. She will have her Oath ceremony at the same place (Brooklyn) on Sep 18.

We read through yours and that is very helpful. Can you tell us what kind of documents your husband took for the ceremony? Only greencard and the letter? Any other?

wil,

Congrats on your wife's upcoming swearing-in!

For documents to bring, the Oath Letter and Green Card are the most important ones (since they won't let you in the oath ceremony room without those). My husband also brought his first conditional green card, and his EADs from before he became a permanent resident, which were collected by USCIS.

If you have any other immigration documents (Advance Parole or Re-entry Permit) you should bring those too to turn in to the USCIS officials.

Another thing, after the oath letter is reviewed by them, make sure to hold on to it till the end of the ceremony -- everyone had turn in the Oath Letter at the very end to get their Naturalization Certificates.

[wil 0]

Thank you l.j./1999.

I will tell my wife to bring 2-year green card and her EAD as well. As to other immigration documents, I don't think we have any.

We will hold on the oath letter until the end. So we will get the original certificate at the ceremony. I thought they will mail us the certificate...

Congratulations l.j./1999!

Thanks for your details on the oath ceremony. My wife just received her Oat Letter this past Saturday. She will have her Oath ceremony at the same place (Brooklyn) on Sep 18.

We read through yours and that is very helpful. Can you tell us what kind of documents your husband took for the ceremony? Only greencard and the letter? Any other?

wil,

Congrats on your wife's upcoming swearing-in!

For documents to bring, the Oath Letter and Green Card are the most important ones (since they won't let you in the oath ceremony room without those). My husband also brought his first conditional green card, and his EADs from before he became a permanent resident, which were collected by USCIS.

If you have any other immigration documents (Advance Parole or Re-entry Permit) you should bring those too to turn in to the USCIS officials.

Another thing, after the oath letter is reviewed by them, make sure to hold on to it till the end of the ceremony -- everyone had turn in the Oath Letter at the very end to get their Naturalization Certificates.