What to Expect at the Naturalization Oath Ceremony

[JimmyHou 611]

How long does it usually take? 1 hour? 2 hours?

It depends on your city.

In Houston they tell you to show up at 7:00, but the ceremony starts at around 11 and finishes at 12 (or 11:30 and 12:30). So you'll be there for several hours.

In other cities you'll be there for only one or two hours. The ceremonies are the same, so it usually takes between 30 minutes and 1 hour once everything gets started. The big difference is that some ceremonies have 25 people attending and others have 4000. What takes the most time is check-in and picking up the naturalization certificates.

[JimmyHou 611]

How long does it usually take? 1 hour? 2 hours?

Here's an experience posted today in Oakland, CA:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/534383-n-400-february-2015-filers/?p=7691026

[traveler17 5]

This was my experience today in Houston:

As mentioned in earlier posts, everybody is asked to be there at 7am. Knowing that arriving at 7am is not critical, I left home with enough time to make it just in time but not much earlier like I did for my interview. Sure enough, there were traffic issues around the area and I got there around 10 minutes after 7am. There was a very long line outside. I stood in line for about 1/2hr before I got to my station. People need to make sure they line up in the correct side of the building. It is clearly shown in the instructions they send with from N445. The line was so long outside that you could not see which station you were lining up for. Stations 0-4 are on the East side and 5-9 are on the West side.

A USCIS rep with a clipboard was going over forms in the lines once you were inside the buidling (he could not get to everybody but he sped up the process).I answered yes to one of the questions (I traveled out of the country for 3 days). He asked me where I went and how long I was out of the US. I answered. He wrote the information on my form and gave it back to me. When I got to the table, since the officer had reviewed the form, the lady at the table just took it, made sure it was signed and asked for my green card. She then told me to go over my certificate with another lady who was sitting next to her.They were both very nice. She found the certificate and showed it to me. I said everything looked good and she congratulated me and sent me to the auditorium with a purple piece of paper. On the way there, there is a table with people handing out information packages including voter registration, passport applications and a nice folder for the certificate. I headed to the auditorium and sat down. By this time it was almost 8am. I came alone so I brought a book and sat down to read while we waited. The announcer said we had 2600+ people taking the oath. The auditorium was packed.

Just before 10am, they closed the doors, the judge was announced and court was in session. It was then announced that 2495 people would become citizens in Houston today (I guess over 100 people missed the ceremony). The USCIS reps presented us and asked the judge to grant us citizenship. He asked the reps if all the candidates had been approved following procedure and a few more questions. After affirmative answers, he granted the motion for the citizenship. The judge then recited the oath with the applicants raising their hands and responding "I will" when he was done.

There were speeches by two prominent Houston ladies (the president of the BAR association and a Texas congresswoman) and then the judge gave a speech. All of them made very strong arguments for everybody to regiter to vote there and then.

After singing the National Anthem, the ceremony was over. Everybody had been handed a piece of paper with different colors. Five different groups had gone back by the time purple came up. I went back to my table and picked up my certificate. Some people stayed and waited in a very long line to take a picture with the judge. He was very nice and said he would stay as long as people were there. I left by 11:10am.

The only downside was the long line to enter. I talked to somebody who suggested it is better just to come in later. However, this is a very risky proposition. Despite having a large audience, they went through the line quckly. If they close the doors, you will be left out of the session and will have to re-schedule your oath with some explaining to do. Bring family, bring something to read if you're alone and the time will go by quick.

I hope this helps the people who take the oath in Houston. For those waiting for the oath to be scheduled, be patient. The letter will come.

[JimmyHou 611]

Recent Las Vegas ceremony. A VJ member who was there posted a link to a video of the ceremony.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/534383-n-400-february-2015-filers/?p=7698771

[DTLVbrit 3]

Recent Las Vegas ceremony. A VJ member who was there posted a link to a video of the ceremony.

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/534383-n-400-february-2015-filers/?p=7698771

Thanks for sharing my post JimmyHou!

[jeevcy 2]

This was my experience today in Houston:

..

I hope this helps the people who take the oath in Houston. For those waiting for the oath to be scheduled, be patient. The letter will come.

Traveler, I see you had judicial ceremony.I am assuming you had a name change. Do they call out old names or new names?

[BigBubble 1]

It depends on your city.

In Houston they tell you to show up at 7:00, but the ceremony starts at around 11 and finishes at 12 (or 11:30 and 12:30). So you'll be there for several hours.

In other cities you'll be there for only one or two hours. The ceremonies are the same, so it usually takes between 30 minutes and 1 hour once everything gets started. The big difference is that some ceremonies have 25 people attending and others have 4000. What takes the most time is check-in and picking up the naturalization certificates.

WHAT??? So what do you do from 7 to 11?????

[JimmyHou 611]

WHAT??? So what do you do from 7 to 11?????

Most of that time is for check in, plus an allowance for people who show up late. Pretty much like getting on a plane.

1500-2000 people line up, check their certificates, hand in their green cards and their oath letters, and then they and their guests find their seats.

It takes about 20 minutes to load 200 people onto a 737.

[Penny Pincher 11]

Following... Thanks for this guide

We have 1.5 months to prepare before we reach the 90th day for filing

[BebaJP80 1]

I agree with JimmyHou.

My oath ceremony was in Houston (April 2012), and the auditorium was packed. The earlier you get, the better; because at the end of the ceremony they started to call the people (according to the color they get) to pick up their paperwork.

I even saw television cameras (some news station was covering part of the ceremony).

Loved it, but it is exhausting to wait too long for a 20-30 minute ceremony

[JimmyHou 611]

I started this thread 1.5 years ago and I'm thrilled to see that people have added to it and have found it useful! I guess I should update it by sharing my naturalization ceremony experience now that I'm an American citizen.

Good luck to all who are still waiting.

22-Jun-2016 (day 189 of the application process)
A guest and I arrived at the M. O. Campbell Educational Center in north Houston at 7:15, a little later than indicated on the oath letter. It was raining heavily when we got there and some people were soaked by the time they made it across the large parking lot to the entrance; luckily I had two umbrellas. At the entrance guests were ushered inside so they could wait in the auditorium while applicants waited outside in a covered area. Our oath letters had numbers on them (from 0 to 9) and these corresponded to the check-in table that you were supposed to go to. After about 20 minutes I was inside the building and 10 minutes after that I was at the front of the line for my table. I turned in my oath letter and green card and was given my certificate to check. I was then given a purple piece of paper and told that we would be dismissed by color (colors corresponded to order of arrival, so those who get there earlier get to leave earlier). I met my guest and we sat together on the second tier of the auditorium (the lower tier was already mostly full). This was at around 8:00 am. As I walked in, I was given a packet containing an American flag, a welcome letter from President Obama, and a copy of the Constitution and Declaration of Independence. There were a few announcements made about the colored pieces of paper, but mostly people just took photos and talked and waited. Around 9:00 am the doors were closed and ceremony began with a brief speech by the USCIS director. At this point she asked any applicants who had requested a modified oath to see her and shortly after that, she introduced the judge. The U.S. And Texas flags were brought in and a young lady sang the national anthem. The judge opened the formal court session and made some very kind remarks urging people to relax, take as many photos as they wanted, and not worry about their kids making noise; he said that it was a formal court session, it was a day to celebrate. He also said that he'd stick around afterwards and pose for photos with anyone who was interested. The USCIS director indicated that of the 2089 people scheduled for the oath, 2020 were present and asked the judge to "continue the applications" of those not present, whatever that means. The judge then introduced several members of the armed forces who were being naturalized and asked them to stand and be recognized. He then asked all applicants to stand and he read the entire oath of citizenship at once, after which he said, "If that is your oath, please say, 'I will'" and everyone said "I will." The judge then congratulated us as "his fellow Americans". Before we sat down, we recited the pledge of allegiance. The judge said a few more words about the importance of voting, but kept it brief. That was it; simple, but very enjoyable. There were no additional songs and no video from the president as I've read about at other ceremonies. The judge closed the session and dismissed us shortly before 10:00 am. USCIS officials called out the first color to be dismissed and I heard them call green, orange, pink, yellow, and red before they called purple about 30 minutes after the ceremony ended. When I left, the judge was still posing for photos with over 100 people still in line, so he was going to be there for a while. I went back to table 9 and gave them my purple paper (which they'd written my A-number on). They gave me my certificate and congratulated me. Attached to my certificate was a name change order signed by the judge. Also, unlike almost all the other applicants, the photo on my certificate was the one I had submitted with my application and not the one taken at biometrics. Based on what I've read this is common for those who change their names. The photo was glued on and embossed, not scanned and printed. We left the building at roughly 10:45 and walked out into a hot, humid, sunny Houston morning.

My full application experience can be found here:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/600163-example-naturalization-timeline-my-n-400-process-from-application-to-oath/?p=8196454

[sk88888 0]

I will be having an Oath Ceremony in Oakland, CA. My cousin is planning to join me but they might be late due to Doctor appointment. Can they just walk in ? How does it work? Do they have to sign in? Do I have to be there to let them in

[JimmyHou 611]

I will be having an Oath Ceremony in Oakland, CA. My cousin is planning to join me but they might be late due to Doctor appointment. Can they just walk in ? How does it work? Do they have to sign in? Do I have to be there to let them in

Hopefully someone from Oakland can answer... some ceremonies are very laid back and some are more formal.

In many (if not most) ceremonies, the doors are closed at some point for the formal proceedings. So it depends on how late your guest is going to be.

Whether you have to accompany your guests or not also depends on the venue.

At my ceremony in Houston, guests could arrive late, but the doors were eventually closed before the ceremony began. Guests were did not have to sign in or walk in with the applicants.

[Vilya 5]

My husband is attending his oath ceremony in two weeks. It is here in Houston. Many thanks for the detailed reports about what to expect. We will get there early and be sure to be on the correct side of the building. And now we know we will have a long wait. Do they allow electronic usage in the building? I'm guessing not?

We are trying to find out how many guests can come with him. I'll be coming with him, but my mother would like to come as well. He's worried that he can only bring one guest, and there's nothing in the oath letter that addresses this. JimmyHou, traveler17 or anyone with experience at the Houston ceremony, did you see larger groups there? Or did it seem that people were allowed only one guest? Any insight is appreciated!

[JimmyHou 611]

My husband is attending his oath ceremony in two weeks. It is here in Houston. Many thanks for the detailed reports about what to expect. We will get there early and be sure to be on the correct side of the building. And now we know we will have a long wait. Do they allow electronic usage in the building? I'm guessing not?

We are trying to find out how many guests can come with him. I'll be coming with him, but my mother would like to come as well. He's worried that he can only bring one guest, and there's nothing in the oath letter that addresses this. JimmyHou, traveler17 or anyone with experience at the Houston ceremony, did you see larger groups there? Or did it seem that people were allowed only one guest? Any insight is appreciated!

You can bring as many guests as you want in Houston and you can take phones, iPads, etc into the ceremony. He should arrive around 7:00 to register... a little lateness won't hurt but the sooner you get there the sooner you leave... guests were allowed to enter until 9. Just a tip; bring umbrellas for everyone... it's a big parking lot and a long walk to the entrance and there might be a long wait outside. This is assuming it's for the 7am appointment at the Mo Cambell Educational Center.

Click on the link in my signature for details on the Houston oath ceremony.