Can I bring my toddler to the oath ceremony?

[Giordan+Hailey 70]

I know it will depend on the office and the ceremony but I need your experience and some thoughts. 
 

I will have my oath ceremony on 27th this month in Charleston, South Carolina. My husband is on deployment so he can’t come with me. I’m asking around my friends if they can come with me to babysit my boy (20months old) while I’m in the ceremony. But in case nobody is available, I need to make sure if I can bring my child. 
 

For your information, the ceremony will be held in outdoor venue, and my notice letter doesn’t mention anything about guests except interpreters or attorneys. Also, when I had my interview back in January, I asked my officer if I can bring my child and she said yes. 
 

Anybody had similar experience? 

[mniceguy16 186]

52 minutes ago, Giordan+Hailey said:

I know it will depend on the office and the ceremony but I need your experience and some thoughts. 
 

I will have my oath ceremony on 27th this month in Charleston, South Carolina. My husband is on deployment so he can’t come with me. I’m asking around my friends if they can come with me to babysit my boy (20months old) while I’m in the ceremony. But in case nobody is available, I need to make sure if I can bring my child. 
 

For your information, the ceremony will be held in outdoor venue, and my notice letter doesn’t mention anything about guests except interpreters or attorneys. Also, when I had my interview back in January, I asked my officer if I can bring my child and she said yes. 
 

Anybody had similar experience? 

Covid regulations have been relaxed in nearly all 50 states, there is no problem bringing your toddler to your oath ceremony, I saw a lot of babies during mine few months ago and we were in an auditorium, matter of fact, a friend of mine whom we naturalized on the same day came with her two kids, a 3yo and a 4mo, some kids were crying out loud and it didn’t bother anyone. congratulations on your citizenship.

[Giordan+Hailey 70]

1 minute ago, mniceguy16 said:

Covid regulations have been relaxed in nearly all 50 states, there is no problem bringing your toddler to your oath ceremony, I saw a lot of babies during mine few months ago and we were in an auditorium, matter of fact, a friend of mine whom we naturalized on the same day came with her two kids, a 3yo and a 4mo, some kids were crying out loud and it didn’t bother anyone. congratulations on your citizenship.

Thank you for your response and you gave me such a relief! Since the letter didn’t mention anything about it, I can’t be sure wether I can bring my baby or not. 
 

[JeanneAdil 6,497]

https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/courts4civics/connect/naturalization-ceremonies

 

yes, Federal courts conduct citizenship ceremonies, which are open to the public and may be attended by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. 

[mniceguy16 186]

3 hours ago, Giordan+Hailey said:

Thank you for your response and you gave me such a relief! Since the letter didn’t mention anything about it, I can’t be sure wether I can bring my baby or not. 
 

It’s a ceremony full of excitement, speeches, advice on how to handle your certificate, relax you are fine, you are gonna see a lot of babies there too 😊

[kiwibean 47]

My only comment is that the ceremonies can be LONG.  Maybe they've shortened them post-covid, but all the ones I've been to took a long time to get done.  Once you get through all the speeches and such, then you have to wait to get the actual certificate.  It could be stressful for you if your toddler likes to be on the move.  It's not like you can just get up and leave if your toddler wants to move around.

[M+K IL 102]

If you know where the ceremony will be held, they might have a website - I haven't gone to my interview yet, but I checked and the courthouse likely to be used has a FAQ page that says guests are allowed.

 

Good luck! Our concern will be the same as @kiwibean- that the ceremony might be long, so preferably we'll keep our toddler in his daycare but we might need to rethink depending on the schedule

[JeanneAdil 6,497]

if your child (baby)  is there and in the photo with u and the judge after  the oath,  it may be very important in his/her later life to brag about

kids may be restless but they can handle more than adults can

Kids are quite resilient 

[Giordan+Hailey 70]

On 6/11/2023 at 5:09 PM, JeanneAdil said:

https://www.ca4.uscourts.gov/courts4civics/connect/naturalization-ceremonies

 

yes, Federal courts conduct citizenship ceremonies, which are open to the public and may be attended by hundreds and sometimes thousands of people. 

Thank you for the clarification! I needed this

[Giordan+Hailey 70]

On 6/12/2023 at 9:59 AM, kiwibean said:

My only comment is that the ceremonies can be LONG.  Maybe they've shortened them post-covid, but all the ones I've been to took a long time to get done.  Once you get through all the speeches and such, then you have to wait to get the actual certificate.  It could be stressful for you if your toddler likes to be on the move.  It's not like you can just get up and leave if your toddler wants to move around.

Yeah. I already got the schedule for the ceremony and I have to be there 2 hour prior to the actual ceremony on top of 1.5 hour long event. 
That’s why. I’m bringing my friend in case my toddler acting up.  

[Giordan+Hailey 70]

On 6/12/2023 at 10:15 AM, M+K IL said:

If you know where the ceremony will be held, they might have a website - I haven't gone to my interview yet, but I checked and the courthouse likely to be used has a FAQ page that says guests are allowed.

 

Good luck! Our concern will be the same as @kiwibean- that the ceremony might be long, so preferably we'll keep our toddler in his daycare but we might need to rethink depending on the schedule

Thank you! I’ve already checked the website of the venue and luckily it’s an outdoor, kids friendly place. 
It would be convenient if you can have your toddler in the daycare but like @JeanneAdil said, it would be memorable moment for your son later.  

[Giordan+Hailey 70]

On 6/12/2023 at 1:58 PM, JeanneAdil said:

if your child (baby)  is there and in the photo with u and the judge after  the oath,  it may be very important in his/her later life to brag about

kids may be restless but they can handle more than adults can

Kids are quite resilient 

That would be unforgettable for my son and myself! This is exactly what my husband is missing and he’s really sad about it.