Questions about Oath

[aimar10 7]

Hello all,

I had a few silly questions about Oath Ceremony.

I'm scheduled for an Oath ceremony in Oakland w/ reporting time of 9:15. Since I also plan on applying for Passport the very day, I was wondering if showing up earlier will increase my chances of getting in line to file for Passport sooner. Should I apply for passport there, what forms of payment do they take?

The other question is, if I were to apply for a passport at my local city office, I was thinking about stopping by at a local SS office on my way home to update my change of status. Normally, it's advised to wait for 10 days. Would it be way too early or would I be fine by visiting SS office that very day.

And lastly, the silliest of 'em all, are there 'covers' that people buy for their certificates? Can we laminate them? Also, will taking a colored photocopy be of any use/benefits?

Thanks.

[DC85 113]

I am not sure about the first part.

But you can't laminate them. You will need the original certificate to update ssa

Edited November 26, 2014 by DC85

[minions2 24]

Hello all,

I had a few silly questions about Oath Ceremony.

I'm scheduled for an Oath ceremony in Oakland w/ reporting time of 9:15. Since I also plan on applying for Passport the very day, I was wondering if showing up earlier will increase my chances of getting in line to file for Passport sooner. Should I apply for passport there, what forms of payment do they take?

The other question is, if I were to apply for a passport at my local city office, I was thinking about stopping by at a local SS office on my way home to update my change of status. Normally, it's advised to wait for 10 days. Would it be way too early or would I be fine by visiting SS office that very day.

And lastly, the silliest of 'em all, are there 'covers' that people buy for their certificates? Can we laminate them? Also, will taking a colored photocopy be of any use/benefits?

Thanks.

it doesn't matter if you're earlier because you can't apply for a passport without the certificate. it won't be given until the last part. i don't know in your city but in ours you gotta wait for 2 hrs or more to see someone who can take care of your passport at post office so i decided to do it after the oath

you need your certificate to be able to update SS and when you want to apply for the passport on that day as well, they will take your cert from you. the officer at the court house told us to wait 10 days or more to update SS.

you can't laminate it

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

When you arrive will have no difference on when you get your certificate. They usually hand them out by alphabet groups. Maybe is your last name is Aardvark you will get it quickly. Do not laminate the certificate, people want to be able to validate the seal and the paper, if you feel need to protect it buy a clear sleeve to store it in ( My husband wanted to laminate everything when he first got here )

[aimar10 7]

When you arrive will have no difference on when you get your certificate. They usually hand them out by alphabet groups. Maybe is your last name is Aardvark you will get it quickly. Do not laminate the certificate, people want to be able to validate the seal and the paper, if you feel need to protect it buy a clear sleeve to store it in ( My husband wanted to laminate everything when he first got here )

My last name starts with T. So I'm guessing I'll get mine towards the end. And that essentially means, I'll be towards the end of the queue to apply for my passport, too. I guess this leaves me with no other choice than to apply for it at my local city office.

But should I apply for the passport during Oath ceremony itself, would they accept CC or only check/money order?

[Turbota 11]

But should I apply for the passport during Oath ceremony itself, would they accept CC or only check/money order?

Good question .... I have heard that the passport reps are not available at oath ceremonies anymore, and that you will need to apply for a US passport at a date later than your oath ceremony.

If anyone here knows otherwise, please let us know.

[aimar10 7]

Good question .... I have heard that the passport reps are not available at oath ceremonies anymore, and that you will need to apply for a US passport at a date later than your oath ceremony.

If anyone here knows otherwise, please let us know.

That actually depends on your Oath ceremony location, just like where you get interviewed. There are so many places that allow you to take Oath the day you get interviewed. Similarly, at Paramount Theater in Oakland along with a ton of other places, there are reps that are there to collect passport applications. Someone did tell me about a long queue. So I was wondering about that. That's all.

[aimar10 7]

Just found out that Oakland, California does have people collecting Passport applications on the day of the ceremony.

[Buckyball 22]

Don't laminate it! That makes it invalid and you can spend $345 for a replacement. You get a paper folder with it and that is all you need. It can't hurt to make a copy of it.

And lastly, the silliest of 'em all, are there 'covers' that people buy for their certificates? Can we laminate them? Also, will taking a colored photocopy be of any use/benefits?

Thanks.

[kcoyclay1 98]

My last name starts with T. So I'm guessing I'll get mine towards the end. And that essentially means, I'll be towards the end of the queue to apply for my passport, too. I guess this leaves me with no other choice than to apply for it at my local city office.

But should I apply for the passport during Oath ceremony itself, would they accept CC or only check/money order?

In my oath ceremony, the certificates were not handed out alphabetically. They did it by rows and had about 3 persons handing them out. There were 151 of us naturalizing. Different locations may allow different things. For example, at my location - the Federal Building - they had different areas set up so that we could take pictures.

Also, I applied for my passport on November 14th and it is already at my local post office; it will be delivered tomorrow. If you have EAD or AP documents they should be submitted along with your GC. Follow all instructions. There was one individual who was not allowed to naturalize at my ceremony. Don't know why but they called him to the window and was talking with him for a while. They made it a point of duty to tell us to hand over all immigration documents because they are properties of the US and as citizens we won't be needing them anymore. All the best at your oath ceremony.

Edited November 28, 2014 by kcoyclay1