Houston N-400 Filers

[springguy 33]

Oath ceremony scheduled. It's on Sat 05/27 at Gears Rd office (proving  my earlier theory wrong once again). 

Fort the benefit of future visitors leaving my timeline here.

02/21/2023 - Application by postal mail

02/24/2023 - NOA date   

03/24/203 - Biometric (notice received on 03/04)

03/28/2023 - Interview notice received 

05/02/2023 - Interview 

05/03/2023 - Approved next day

05/27/2023 - Oath Ceremony (notified on             05/05)

Total time - 95 days!

[Alan&Alex 173]

I have the oath ceremony scheduled at MO Campbell Education Center this Wednesday, May 10th at 7am! For anyone who did the same recently at the same place, what was it like? Did they allow spouses to attend? How long were you there for?  

[mam521 2,058]

On 5/6/2023 at 6:13 PM, Alan&Alex said:

I have the oath ceremony scheduled at MO Campbell Education Center this Wednesday, May 10th at 7am! For anyone who did the same recently at the same place, what was it like? Did they allow spouses to attend? How long were you there for?  

No spouses.  Hubs did his there and no spouses.  I did mine at Gears - no spouses. 

 

His advice is get there EARLY because people line up way early despite being told to be there at a certain time.  He also advises to sit close to an exit door if at all possible because you complete the oath and then have to rescind your greencard and exchange for your naturalization certificate.  The closer you are to the front of the line, the shorter the wait for the great exchange at the end.  I think he was there for 4 hours or something crazy.  Campbell are definitely larger and longer.  

[springguy 33]

2 hours ago, mam521 said:

No spouses.  Hubs did his there and no spouses.  I did mine at Gears - no spouses. 

 

His advice is get there EARLY because people line up way early despite being told to be there at a certain time.  He also advises to sit close to an exit door if at all possible because you complete the oath and then have to rescind your greencard and exchange for your naturalization certificate.  The closer you are to the front of the line, the shorter the wait for the great exchange at the end.  I think he was there for 4 hours or something crazy.  Campbell are definitely larger and longer.  

Thanks for the heads-up, appreciate it! Any idea if children are allowed in Gears rd oath ceremony ? (Tweenagers). Also, how long is the overall process in Gears rd?

 

[Alekezam 161]

Can anyone that has been through the oath ceremony at the Campbell center shed some light on whether or not you can apply for a passport on site immediately after the ceremony? 

 

I didn't think much about it until just now and my wife's ceremony is on Wednesday. I just checked USPS to schedule an appointment and there is absolutely nothing available at every location in town for the next 2 months! 

 

We have a trip that we've already rescheduled twice and have moved it to September but now I'm starting to sweat it again because if we can't do it on the spot then who knows when we'll be able to get an appointment which may push us out months before even being able to apply for a passport......

 

Appreciate any feedback....

[springguy 33]

7 hours ago, Alekezam said:

Can anyone that has been through the oath ceremony at the Campbell center shed some light on whether or not you can apply for a passport on site immediately after the ceremony? 

 

I didn't think much about it until just now and my wife's ceremony is on Wednesday. I just checked USPS to schedule an appointment and there is absolutely nothing available at every location in town for the next 2 months! 

 

We have a trip that we've already rescheduled twice and have moved it to September but now I'm starting to sweat it again because if we can't do it on the spot then who knows when we'll be able to get an appointment which may push us out months before even being able to apply for a passport......

 

Appreciate any feedback....

If you are trying to book a passport appointment through USPS (or even Harris county public library accepts passport applications) do it immediately after midnight when the slot opens or definitely before 6 am (Monday to Friday) .

USPS opens slot only four weeks in advance. Harris county public library opens only two weeks in advance - so, as I type, I can see many  appointments available for May 23 at Barbara Bush and Aldine public library 

Site - https://hcpl.net/passports/

 

 

 

[Alekezam 161]

21 minutes ago, springguy said:

If you are trying to book a passport appointment through USPS (or even Harris county public library accepts passport applications) do it immediately after midnight when the slot opens or definitely before 6 am (Monday to Friday) .

USPS opens slot only four weeks in advance. Harris county public library opens only two weeks in advance - so, as I type, I can see many  appointments available for May 23 at Barbara Bush and Aldine public library 

Site - https://hcpl.net/passports/

 

 

 

Thanks, but I found a slot at a USPS location in Texas City for Monday May 15th last night. 

 

So for any recent oath takers at the Campbell Center, do they not have a passport application option on site immediately after the ceremony? The search function on Visa Journey is garbage so hence the question as I don't feeling like sifting through thousands of pages trying to find an answer. No one has mentioned anything about it as of late (I think the most recent reference to it was on a google review of the M.O. Campbell Center from 3 years ago). 

 

 

[mam521 2,058]

On 5/8/2023 at 3:19 PM, springguy said:

Thanks for the heads-up, appreciate it! Any idea if children are allowed in Gears rd oath ceremony ? (Tweenagers). Also, how long is the overall process in Gears rd?

 

No one but the person taking the oath. There just isn’t enough room. All told, it was about an hour from entering the building to leaving. The majority of the time was paperwork. 
 

16 hours ago, Alekezam said:

Thanks, but I found a slot at a USPS location in Texas City for Monday May 15th last night. 

 

So for any recent oath takers at the Campbell Center, do they not have a passport application option on site immediately after the ceremony? The search function on Visa Journey is garbage so hence the question as I don't feeling like sifting through thousands of pages trying to find an answer. No one has mentioned anything about it as of late (I think the most recent reference to it was on a google review of the M.O. Campbell Center from 3 years ago). 

 

 

Your first passport appointment requires you to be in person. Passports are handled by Department of State while Citizenship is handled by USCIS. They are different government entities. You will receive a passport application, but the appointment is up to you to do separately. 

[Alekezam 161]

43 minutes ago, mam521 said:

No one but the person taking the oath. There just isn’t enough room. All told, it was about an hour from entering the building to leaving. The majority of the time was paperwork. 
 

Your first passport appointment requires you to be in person. Passports are handled by Department of State while Citizenship is handled by USCIS. They are different government entities. You will receive a passport application, but the appointment is up to you to do separately. 

Appreciate the feedback but you did not really tell me anything I did not already know. My question was not asking for clarification on what each entity handles. My question was whether or not there is a setup at the Oath Ceremony that allows for on site passport applications. Years ago USPS in some oath locations would be setup to administer passport applications on site. Based on the lack of response to my question I just assume that this no longer happens. 

[mam521 2,058]

9 hours ago, Alekezam said:

Appreciate the feedback but you did not really tell me anything I did not already know. My question was not asking for clarification on what each entity handles. My question was whether or not there is a setup at the Oath Ceremony that allows for on site passport applications. Years ago USPS in some oath locations would be setup to administer passport applications on site. Based on the lack of response to my question I just assume that this no longer happens. 

No, there is not. 

 

As I stated, the DoS is not on site and there is a huge backlog for passports as you've discovered.  They do not have the resources to service regular requests, let alone sit on site with USCIS at an oath ceremony. 

[Alekezam 161]

6 minutes ago, mam521 said:

No, there is not. 

 

As I stated, the DoS is not on site and there is a huge backlog for passports as you've discovered.  They do not have the resources to service regular requests, let alone sit on site with USCIS at an oath ceremony. 

I'm not here to argue with you on the resource bandwidth of government agencies. I was simply asking if the passport service is available at the Houston Oath Ceremony or not....period. You answered that and I thank you for that.

 

Just so you know, there are locations where they do have representatives available to process passport submittals on site. The issue is they don't clarify which ones do and which ones don't, hence, the question...geez

 

 

[mam521 2,058]

6 minutes ago, Alekezam said:

I'm not here to argue with you on the resource bandwidth of government agencies. I was simply asking if the passport service is available at the Houston Oath Ceremony or not....period. You answered that and I thank you for that.

 

Just so you know, there are locations where they do have representatives available to process passport submittals on site. The issue is they don't clarify which ones do and which ones don't, hence, the question...geez

 

 

That thread is from 2017 in San Diego and the last update in 2019 states that it wasn't happening any longer.  I understand what you're eluding to, but the system was becoming more and more resource strapped prior to covid and covid just exacerbated the situation further.  People are waiting 3 months or longer in some cases for passports, on top of the wait for an appointment.  It's all gotten out of hand, especially for a document that all citizens are entitled to as long as they meet and follow the requirements.  It's like a vortex that sucks you in. 

 

I just dealt with a 5 month passport delay with Canada for one of my kids and now I get to do it all over in the US.  Bill Murray's Groundhog Day definitely applies!

[jchen32 6]

There is currently a huge delay in passport application processing. That is given that you can find an appointment as USPs or a local library.

many years ago they used to take forms and take your picture for passport processing after your oath at the campbell stadium I believe in Houston, that is when my sister become a US citizen. 

ps

Even last year, it took me awhile to find an appointment at UsPS to get my passport. 
good luck 

 

Edited May 10, 2023 by jchen32

[Alan&Alex 173]

My husband had his oath ceremony today at Campbell.
 

Apparently they are allowing family and sat them in the seats across the floor (unfortunately too late for me to make it as it was an hour drive).
 

He got there at 7am. They took him to a table to turn in his green and work permit cards and was given a folder of info and a small flag. Then he had to wait till 9:30 for the judge to come (they didn’t know what time the judge would be there but just that they’d start once the judge arrived). The judge gave her speech, had them pledge their allegiance, and left. Then they were given a paper with two numbers, one to get in a specific line and a second number to go to a specific table. He got his certificate and left. 
 

There were around 1700 who were naturalized today. 

Edited May 11, 2023 by Alan&Alex

[stufromtexas 2]

This is my first post, but seeing as I've benefitted so much from everyone's stories,  I figured I'd share mine:
Timeline for context:

2021-07-27 - Lifting conditions filed while living in Louisiana.

2021-07-29 - Biometrics reuse and NOA date.

2022-10-03 - N-400 filed online -  filed while living in Louisiana.

02-05-2023 - AR-11 to inform USCIS I had moved to Houston.

2023-06-13 -  Interview appointment date. Something about moving seemed to light I fire - I got this appointment date *days* after I moved.
2023-06-15 - Status changed to approved on the I-751, and N400 change to oath ceremony mailed.

 

Also, much to mine and my lawyer's surprise, this was a combo interview for the I-751 (but I didn't show up with my spouse, much to the officer's dismay). This was despite the letter being fairly explicit about just me being allowed in, this is for the N400, wait for other letters about other cases, etc... While this merited further grilling, in the end, the officer must have been satisfied, and everything was approved. 

 

Hunches:

The n400 filling, in Houston specifically, seems to have sped things up. YMMV.

If you're in a similar boat to me (pending I-751 and n400 interview): Bring your spouse. Even if security doesn't let them in, have them be close. I offered to go and grab my wife from nearby, but he was quite a taciturn man, and didn't reply. I read a story the other day though of an officer who insisted on it, and the applicant had to go back outside to get them.

Things are moving quick in Houston, I can't believe they've already mailed an update about the oath ceremony. I'll add in the date when I know.