Oath Ceremony - Need clarification

[Kraj.d 1]

Hi folks,

My Oath ceremony has been scheduled for tomorrow and I want to clarify few things..

1. How long the ceremony will be
2. Should I need to take any additional documents
3. Will I be able to apply for US Passport immediately
4. Should I need to update the status with SSN office immediately

Raj

[Shub 78]

Hi folks,

My Oath ceremony has been scheduled for tomorrow and I want to clarify few things..

• How long the ceremony will be
• Should I need to take any additional documents
• Will I be able to apply for US Passport immediately
• Should I need to update the status with SSN office immediately

Raj

1. I think that depends entirely on your office. I was scheduled at 11, it took until noon to process all the applicants into the room where the ceremony was to be held, and the ceremony itself took about another hour (there were 42 applicants). Other offices do it completely differently.

2. Only what they tell you to bring in the oath appointment letter. I took all the same stuff I took with me to the interview, just in case, but didn't need any of it.

3. Yes, immediately in the sense that you may do so as soon as you have your certificate of citizenship in hand (don't forget to sign it!). Your citizenship packet should include a blank application form for a US passport, and then you have to appear in person at a passport application acceptance facility, most of which only accept applicants on appointment, so you should look up such facilities in your area first, and if you want, set up an appointment in advance, but that may prove problematic in light of the fact that you don't know how long your oath formalities will take. You should go to the website of the Department of State and read everything you need to know about applying for a passport. It's much more straightforward than all the hoops you've had to go through with USCIS up to this point, but you should read up on it regardless

4. I think I read somewhere that you should wait 10 business days from your oath ceremony before doing anything with the SSA just for your updated status to propagate throughout whatever system. On the whole I don't believe there is any urgency. I haven't done it yet and I was sworn in on Feb 10th.

[Shub 78]

Should I need to take any additional documents

Quick addition on that note, make sure to do what they say on the oath letter itself -- the back of it has a short series of questions and they tell you not to answer them before the day of your oath. As unlikely as any of your answers are to change between now and the day of your interview, you never know, so fill it out after you get to the building while you're waiting!

[Anvi 5]

Hi folks,

My Oath ceremony has been scheduled for tomorrow and I want to clarify few things..

1. How long the ceremony will be
2. Should I need to take any additional documents
3. Will I be able to apply for US Passport immediately
4. Should I need to update the status with SSN office immediately

Raj

1) Should be between 30 to 50 minutes.

2) Only oath appointment letter and passport

3)Yes

4)Only if you want to.

[Kraj.d 1]

Thanks people for the clarification. Appreciate it

[aussie_jason 195]

In Houston my wife's ceremony was several hours, it was in a high school stadium and I believe there were several thousand applicants so it varies greatly.

[beadedbiker 0]

One more thing. If you fill out the oath letter before you go, be sure you put the place it was signed at as the place where the oath ceremony takes place. If you are not sure, wait and fill it out at the ceremony location when they tell you what to put.

[keiky 1]

Remember to bring your green card, they'll collect those at the oath ceremony. The needed documents are described in the invite

[Tom_Jim 40]

1) Should be between 30 to 50 minutes.

2) Only oath appointment letter and passport

3)Yes

4)Only if you want to.

Ensure you bring ALL your passports, not just your current one. My interviewer asked me for all old passports. The instructions also instruct you to bring them.