can i bring reading/writing materials to oath ceremony

[arvinb 17]

My oath ceremony ever just happened to be scheduled in the middle of the worst work-week of my life, so I was wondering if it was possible to at least bring some paper/a notebook and pens with me in addition to the other oath ceremony required items so I can do SOME of that work while waiting, which I heard is a lot of the time I'll be there.

[huniebee 0]

Yes, I really dont see why not. I had newspapers & magazines with me.

[karin_brenig 18]

sure, you can - but really? - I mean, this is a very important, life changing event. Almost like being born again. You've waited a long time and worked very hard for this one day to happen - and then you're going to sit there hacking away on your laptop? Seriously?

[NickD 203]

No electronic devices were mentioned, could be a threat to national security, ha, done bring a notebook with one of those spiral metal bands on it, can be used as an effective weapon. A pen can be a very effective weapon, but you need that to fill out the back of your oath letter, extremely difficult to find a pen in any government office, they disappear like crazy, and they do let you bring that in.

As far as being the most important day of your life, you already passed your interview, you read and signed the oath in front of an officer. Oath ceremony is just for show, has long lines, nobody except your spouse is excited because that spouse also becomes free of the USCIS on that day. You watch impersonal videos, can lip sync the oath and the Pledge of Allegiance, get your certificate and leave. As far as your fellow new citizens are concerned, just another person making the line that much longer. Just make darn sure no typos on your certificate or will be in for another long wait and 400 bucks.

Then when you get your certificate, realize you can't travel anymore, have the DOS, DMV, SS, voters registration, and your employer to deal with, more forms and more cash out of your pocket. Then its finally over. What you can do right away, is apply for a non-existent government job. Really helps if your brother-in-law is the governor of your state. If you are competent and the best in the world, that doesn't make a least bit of difference to them.

[arvinb 17]

Haha I actually meant a for real paper notebook... Okay I won't bring that... but from what I've heard it's a lot of sitting and waiting.

[karin_brenig 18]

No electronic devices were mentioned, could be a threat to national security, ha, done bring a notebook with one of those spiral metal bands on it, can be used as an effective weapon. A pen can be a very effective weapon, but you need that to fill out the back of your oath letter, extremely difficult to find a pen in any government office, they disappear like crazy, and they do let you bring that in.

As far as being the most important day of your life, you already passed your interview, you read and signed the oath in front of an officer. Oath ceremony is just for show, has long lines, nobody except your spouse is excited because that spouse also becomes free of the USCIS on that day. You watch impersonal videos, can lip sync the oath and the Pledge of Allegiance, get your certificate and leave. As far as your fellow new citizens are concerned, just another person making the line that much longer. Just make darn sure no typos on your certificate or will be in for another long wait and 400 bucks.

Then when you get your certificate, realize you can't travel anymore, have the DOS, DMV, SS, voters registration, and your employer to deal with, more forms and more cash out of your pocket. Then its finally over. What you can do right away, is apply for a non-existent government job. Really helps if your brother-in-law is the governor of your state. If you are competent and the best in the world, that doesn't make a least bit of difference to them.

do I sense a little sarcastic negativity there?

But really, I'm sorry that you didn't "feel" your Oath Ceremenoy the way I did mine.

Maybe every location does theirs a bit differently?

At my ceremony in South Bend, IN, there were 50 candidates.

We had to wait for one hour before being let into the court room.

Everybody had at least one family member attending with them - in the same courtroom, but different rows behind the candidates.

We didn't have to watch any videos - our judge brought his own, very well thought out, speech.

We didn't lip synch anything - the oath formula was read to us and we had to say "yes, I do" after that.

We said the Pledge of Allegiance together - they handed us the text on a piece of paper, just in case.

The only thing that I would have wished to be done differently was the national anthem, which they played as an instrumental-only recording from a scratchy tape.

Nobody sang along with that.

[Jupiter07 12]

I brought a magazine to read as I hate sitting and staring or doing nothing. But I hadn't read even half a page when the ceremony began. I had my handbag and carried it everywhere in the bldg. It was scanned at the entrance too. But my bag usually has a pen, a nailfile in case my nail broke :-) etc. It wasn't a problem.

[karin_brenig 18]

we had to wait for an hour - 50 people from around the world - before they started calling us to hand over paper and greencard.

When I'm in a room full of people for an hour I don't need entertainment (reading, writing,...) I just talk to the people there

Very interesting life stories, and we all come together at this one point.

No time for boredom, no time for staring at a wall and doing nothing.

[NickD 203]

do I sense a little sarcastic negativity there?

Okay, for a big tough guy, a tear almost came to my eye when my wife received her certificate. But first thing my wife said when we got in the car, if anything happens to my mother, I can't travel! If you have kids under 18, the madness really starts. She had to get off early from work at 1:00 AM, got cleaned up and dressed for that long drive over, had to be there before 8:00

AM, never know about the traffic, accidents, road construction, etc., started the car at 2:00 AM. We were separated, she had one line, I had another, just went outside to get some fresh air, talked to a nice woman that worked in the filing department, always a mad rush for these get together oath ceremonies. Have to dig out all those big heavy files again.

If we can vote for a same day oath ceremony, would get a yea from me. With an assumption she would receive her certificate, already had that SS and passport forms already filled out.

Bottom, still a ceremony, just to get that piece of paper, I couldn't hear her voice during the oath, but assume she did repeat those very short sentences, but she already read and signed that oath. Videos were shown on an old 27" TV set, lasted about a half an hour, that was boring.

[Jupiter07 12]

I guess we are all different. I don't just talk to random people, that's just who I am unless am at a conference or some gathering where I have to talk to pple!

60 people from 29 countries, waited for about 15 mins only b4 we had to line up to a different room and the whole thing began.

Edited March 23, 2012 by Jupiter07

[karin_brenig 18]

I guess we are all different. I don't just talk to random people, that's just who I am unless am at a conference or some gathering where I have to talk to pple!

60 people from 29 countries, waited for about 15 mins only b4 we had to line up to a different room and the whole thing began.

I'm curious what would you do if one of the other 60 random people was extrovert like me?

Would you tell me to shut up and mind my own business if I attempted to start some friendly small-talk conversion with you?

In the waiting room at my oath ceremony everybody seemed happy that somebody (me!) dared to break the ice and talk.

By the end of the hour we were laughing and chatting happily away - the IOs trying to get somebody's attention to procede with their paperwork looked puzzled.

They had probably never seen something like that happen before

[arvinb 17]

I'm curious what would you do if one of the other 60 random people was extrovert like me?

Would you tell me to shut up and mind my own business if I attempted to start some friendly small-talk conversion with you?

In the waiting room at my oath ceremony everybody seemed happy that somebody (me!) dared to break the ice and talk.

By the end of the hour we were laughing and chatting happily away - the IOs trying to get somebody's attention to procede with their paperwork looked puzzled.

They had probably never seen something like that happen before

The wait was about an hour at my ceremony and I had a LOT of work I needed to do, so yes I brought some paper from work and I did them while waiting.

I wouldn't tell you to shut up and mind your own business, but if you came up to me and I looked like I didn't really want to participate in your little impromptu talk show, would you shame me into opening up in front of the others? If the answer is no then that's cool, you guys powwow about anything except how I'm being a sourpuss and I won't have an issue; but if you're like some people I know that can't stand not being the center of attention, then we might have a problem

[karin_brenig 18]

The wait was about an hour at my ceremony and I had a LOT of work I needed to do, so yes I brought some paper from work and I did them while waiting.

I wouldn't tell you to shut up and mind your own business, but if you came up to me and I looked like I didn't really want to participate in your little impromptu talk show, would you shame me into opening up in front of the others? If the answer is no then that's cool, you guys powwow about anything except how I'm being a sourpuss and I won't have an issue; but if you're like some people I know that can't stand not being the center of attention, then we might have a problem

we're cool then - I can surely tell when somebody isn't "in the mood".

I don't mind being the center of attention - unlike other people I know, who would prefer to be invisible.

[Jupiter07 12]

I'm curious what would you do if one of the other 60 random people was extrovert like me?

Would you tell me to shut up and mind my own business if I attempted to start some friendly small-talk conversion with you?

In the waiting room at my oath ceremony everybody seemed happy that somebody (me!) dared to break the ice and talk.

By the end of the hour we were laughing and chatting happily away - the IOs trying to get somebody's attention to procede with their paperwork looked puzzled.

They had probably never seen something like that happen before

What you do is none of my business. I am telling you what I do and that I am an introvert. If you are an extrovert and want to chitchat, am sure that are other extroverts like you. I simply carried my magazine because I don't want to just talk, heck! And there were people like me who were not talking and I guess worse than me cos I had to initiate a conversation to some. Being an introvert doesn't mean I don't talk. I am a university professor so yes, I can talk for 4hours non-stop, but I will not just talk randomly. And in my oath ceremony, 60 out of 60 people were not extroverts. 30% couldn't even speak or understand English, so there weren't even many talkers. And the ceremony started just after like 15mins. And, those who talked missed on the instructions and were they ones who were raising their hands to get stuff repeated to them.

[Udella&Wiz 325]

sure, you can - but really? - I mean, this is a very important, life changing event. Almost like being born again. You've waited a long time and worked very hard for this one day to happen - and then you're going to sit there hacking away on your laptop? Seriously?

It's really no different then any other USCIS process - plenty of waiting, a 10 minute interview and then plenty of waiting if you're doing the OATH same day.

To the OP - sure, bring a book, ponder the meaning of life, check email on your smart phone or stare into space - whatever works for you.

When I naturalized last summer I just wanted it over with, the last bit of waiting killed me so I played games on my phone.