Oath Ceremony

[Smiley-one 13]

I applied for Citizenship back on July 28,2015. Did my biometrics. My interview and testing was November 5th in Norfolk, VA. November 10, 2015 my status on the USCIS website changed to We have place you in line for your Oath Ceremony. It is now February 11, 2016 and I have received nothing or heard nothing regarding my Oath Ceremony. How long should it take from being placed in line for Oath Ceremony to actually have Oath Ceremony scheduled? Virginia is having its primary vote on March 1st, 2016 so I know I will not be able to vote then but I was sure hoping to be a US citizen by November to be able to vote for a new US President. Just trying to understand how long I should be expected to wait for an Oath Ceremony since this is my final step in my long immigration journey. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks

Corky39

[TBoneTX 45,841]

*** Thread moved from US Citizenship main forum to the Case Progress subforum. ***

[JimmyHou 611]

I applied for Citizenship back on July 28,2015. Did my biometrics. My interview and testing was November 5th in Norfolk, VA. November 10, 2015 my status on the USCIS website changed to We have place you in line for your Oath Ceremony. It is now February 11, 2016 and I have received nothing or heard nothing regarding my Oath Ceremony. How long should it take from being placed in line for Oath Ceremony to actually have Oath Ceremony scheduled? Virginia is having its primary vote on March 1st, 2016 so I know I will not be able to vote then but I was sure hoping to be a US citizen by November to be able to vote for a new US President. Just trying to understand how long I should be expected to wait for an Oath Ceremony since this is my final step in my long immigration journey. Any assistance would be appreciated.

Thanks

Corky39

You should be scheduled for a ceremony as soon as one is available. In most cities that takes under a month. It's quite rare to have to wait more than 2 or 3 months.

If you asked for a name change then that might be the issue because you would need a judicial ceremony and those are usually held less frequently. If your office doesn't hold many judicial ceremonies (some only hold one of these a year) then you'll have to wait until the next one.

If you didn't ask for a name change then I would guess that something is wrong and you should probably schedule an Infopass appointment to ask USCIS what the delay is.

Edit: I checked Norfolk for you and they hold two administrative ceremonies each month and one judicial ceremony each month. So it's time to make an appointment and see why you haven't been scheduled for any of the ceremonies since November. They may be small ceremonies and you may be on the waiting list but if I were you I would check with USCIS. https://www.uscis.gov/about-us/find-uscis-office/field-offices/virginia-norfolk-field-office

Still, you shouldn't panic, you're taking longer than average but this is by no means the longest wait. It may just take a few more weeks without you having to do anything.

Edited February 12, 2016 by JimmyHou

[Smiley-one 13]

Thanks for the reply. I did not change my name and I have called and spoke to tier 2 representatives twice first time a service request was submitted and I received a preformed letter in response. Second call the guy hung up on me. I even called my congressman's office and they told me there was nothing they can do. Unfortunately it's a 5 hour drive to my local USCIS office and I recently had knee surgery. The letter I received from USCIS was not even signed by anyone. I'm going to try calling again today to see what happens. I keep getting 90 days and 120 days thrown at me but when they say bye they congratulate me on passing and on becoming a US citizen.

Edit: I will have my Oath Ceremony in Roanoke, Virginia as per the Norfolk USCIS office

Edited February 12, 2016 by Smiley-one