Is there a way to request what day of the week to have the oath ceremony?

[venusfire503 54]

You are in Penn, so let's say they have 6 Oath Ceremonies per year within the reach of the USCIS Filed Office that's adjudicating your N-400. So if you want yours to be on a certain day of the week, you may have to wait a few years.

That said, watching an Oat Ceremony ranks on the excitement scale second only to watching the Pharaonic circumcision of a little girl in Africa. You couldn't pay me enough to attend one as a spectator. Little hint: Los Angeles has 12,000 applicants in one day. Strong binoculars needed! Think Texas Cattle Drive with lots of waiting involved and without the whips. It's torture and if children have to watch it I call it a case of child abuse.

Seriously.

Trust me, my life would be easier not taking the kids. However, THEY want to go, and I know it's important to them (especially the 11 year old).

The lady said yesterday they have from 4 up to as many as 9 ceremonies per week, so that's not the issue. She also said they're fairly accommodating of requests. We can try, and if it's going to be a big problem, we'll just have to figure out a way to let the kids down easily - emphasize how boring it would be for them, and how much more fun it will be to celebrate afterwards. I just know my son would love to be there to witness the moment his stepfather becomes a citizen. He's sentimental like that (like his mom).

I just find it infuriating that their father would make them miss out on something out of pettiness and spite (like he did in the past when they wanted to come over for a few hours when my family was visiting from out of town). That's the real issue. The children want something (reasonable), and their father won't let them go (and it would be no skin off his back - I'd pick them up and drop them off - it wouldn't cost him anything) just because he knows it will bother me if they miss it. And it would only bother me because I know it would upset them. Any adult with half a sense of decency would put the wishes of the children first (as long as it makes sense - not giving them anything they want, no matter how unrealistic or unreasonable).

He also told them in the past that they weren't allowed to use any words of my husband's native language in his house. He's got issues (especially when it comes to people who are 'different').

venusfire

[venusfire503 54]

How is your relationship with your ex husband? If it's cordial, you might want to ask nicely if he will bend his day with the kids so you can take them to the ceremony. Remember it's not your oath but rather (as far as he's concerned) some other man's oath. You mentioned you could take him to court but I'm afraid you'll lose the case since the courts gave him that day to be with the kids. I say try playing nice and lets hope he goes along with it. It will be nice to have your family there. Good luck

He's a jerk (did you read what I wrote earlier in this thread?). I know it's not my oath. My husband wouldn't care if they went either. It's the wish of the children. If my ex would look at it that way, and had a decent bone in his body, he'd let them go. But he didn't let them see their own grandmother a few summers ago, and it was the only time she could come that whole year (she lives far away, and can't afford more than one trip here per year). I won't bother with court, since I doubt we'd be able to go in time and I can't afford it anyway. The 'nicer' I would be, the more he'd know it was important to me, and the more I can guarantee he'd say no. And again, the ONLY reason it's important to me is that I know that my kids will be really upset if they have to miss it.

If I wanted to be petty and self centered about it, I could say I hope they CAN'T go, because they'd know if was their father's fault, and they'd get mad at him. Plus, then I wouldn't have to deal with taking them and keeping them quiet and happy the whole time. It would be a special time just for the two of us. The problem is, I'm not wired that way. This is a one time thing, and I wouldn't want my children to miss out on it, even if it would make me "the good guy" and their father "the bad guy" - and without any wrongdoing on my part.

venusfire

[venusfire503 54]

INFOpass scheduled for this week - I'll keep everyone updated.

venusfire

Well, we went to the INFOpass appointment. The lady was really nice. She said she doesn't know why my husband had to re-do the fingerprints, since they were in the system (she even knew when he went for them in 2009 for his ROC) and she said they're good for 15 months - which would be until October 2011. She also told us that the guy who did the interview approved the file, and it's now waiting for his supervisor to sign off on it. Once that happens, he'll get his oath letter.

I'm so happy we went. Not only did we find out that the officer definitely approved him (always good to hear it twice), but I think that going for an appointment somehow moves things along. It seemed to help for getting the interview rescheduled. It seems unlikely that there will be any problems. Now it's just continuing to wait.

venusfire

[venusfire503 54]

Just a quick update, in case anyone is interested....

It turns out that my husband's oath ceremony was scheduled yesterday, and that was one of my custody days. We were able to take the children with us, and they were really happy they got to go. We didn't tell ANYONE about it until yesterday, so we didn't have to worry about anyone (ie - the ex) interfering in things. I ended up dropping them off late (for the first time) afterwards, because the ceremony took longer than we thought, there was traffic, etc. But they got to go, and we are all very excited about it. I know it's a bit boring for young people, but they liked the slide shows and stuff, and were old enough (at least the 11 year old) to understand the significance and importance of the ceremony. I had them take things to read, and the little one drew pictures too while we were waiting. I also let them take pictures of things before and during the ceremony - they got a little silly, which was fine (they were quiet) and made for some laughs when we were downloading the files to the computer.

I know my son would've been very disappointed if he hadn't been able to be there to watch his favorite person (his stepfather) become a citizen. He was very proud.

The whole thing was wonderful, and I found myself in tears at times.

I'm so happy it all worked out for all of us.

venusfire

[NickD 202]

Sometimes you get the feeling someone above is looking after you. Not for winning the lottery, but for keeping your family together.

[venusfire503 54]

Sometimes you get the feeling someone above is looking after you. Not for winning the lottery, but for keeping your family together.

NickD,

Yes I do. Always.

venusfire

[Kathryn41 3,205]

How wonderful for all of you. I am so glad that it worked out the way you wanted it to and that your children all got to participate in the event. Congratulations to your husband as well.

[venusfire503 54]

How wonderful for all of you. I am so glad that it worked out the way you wanted it to and that your children all got to participate in the event. Congratulations to your husband as well.

Kathryn41,

Thank you so much! I guess it was to 'make up' for having us wait so long

It's hard to believe that we're done.

venusfire