samack

I don't think you can have a name change and do the oath the same day because there's a legal process to it? When I asked about it out of curiosity at the end of my interview, the IO said "you can request one now but you won't be able to naturalize today".

Yep, mine started off at 7 months when I submitted my application, dropped to 4 a few days later, went back to 7 when I got my interview date, and then settled at 6 the morning of my interview lol.

I'm officially a US citizen! 30 people from 19 different countries were in my ceremony today but it went by so fast! I think we were in and out in around 1/2 hour. It seemed like everybody got there at the same time so the line stretched from security into the waiting area for interviews. Family members were sent into the ceremony room first and then the rest of us had to hand over our green cards/EADs and confirm the information on our naturalization certificates. They *did* use my entire name (my IO confirmed that dropping the second middle name would have required a name change and I'm not bothered enough to go through that process) but when they handed out the certificates they just referred to everyone as Mrs./Ms. or Mr. Last Name. I think the bulk of all ceremonies are essentially the same (videos, call of countries, oath, pledge of allegiance, etc) but they let family members come to the front of the room for the oath for pictures and video. My husband stood right in front of me and filmed the whole thing! I will say that one of the coolest and best parts of the ceremony was seeing everyone interact with each other. There were people there with multiple family members and people there by themselves, but I don't think anyone felt alone. People were offering to take pictures for others, complete strangers were taking pictures together, families were hugging, one man got both of his small kids from the family section to be with him while he took the oath, and everyone applauded for everyone else. It was really nice to see. Its been a *long* day but I'm so glad the whole process is over. I don't intend to ever go back to that office unless I somehow lose my certificate (*knock on wood* because they told us it costs around *$600* to replace it!) or I randomly find myself working there someday. I think the least friendly people we encountered all day were the security guards and even they weren't that bad. I hope everyone has a similar experience at their FOs! Now to register to vote, update my SSN, and (eventually) get my passport!

She also said that she goes to the naturalization ceremonies when she's not busy with interviews so that she can cheer loudly for everyone. There are definitely great IOs out there who are happy to be part of your journey!

Just finished my interview! I passed! I'll try to recap what I remember, but parts of it honestly felt like an out of body experience. My appointment was at 10:45 and we got there 20ish minutes early. It was super busy at the Pittsburgh FO today - my husband and I and another couple got off the elevator and one of the security guards said "are they ever going to stop coming today?!" lol. I think my interview started a couple of minutes late, but I hadn't checked my watch because I jumped up mid-sentence and hustled to the door when they called my name. My IO was *super* nice and put me at ease right away. I remarked on how busy it was today and she said "I know! I don't know WHAT they were thinking! There are interviews all day AND ceremonies! There's a lot going on here today!" We started with the reading and writing portion ("what do we pay to the government?"/"we pay taxes") and then the civics test. My questions were: 1) Name two cabinet level positions 2) What is the supreme law of the land? 3) Who is the current speaker of the house? 4) We elect a US representative for how many years? 5) Why are there 50 stars on the flag? 6) What is the highest court in the land? I got all of them right and told her that my husband had laughed at how hard I had studied, but that I wanted to be prepared to be able to run all 100 if I needed to. She laughed and said it was a good strategy. We went over some of the yes/no questions on the N400 and she yawned a couple of times but laughed and apologized. She said it wasn't a reflection on me, just that those questions are very repetitive for IOs. We also fixed one old address I'd accidentally entered wrong. I'd dropped my interview letter off at a window when I first arrived, so all she wanted to see was my current green card. Literally nothing else. I signed off on the oath, verified my information, and then she asked if I was prepared to be naturalized today! I guess today is the first day they've started to do same day ceremonies again because they've been short staffed, so that was great timing. We have to go back in a couple of hours for the oath to happen, but I'm glad it'll all be done! As she was walking me out, we were talking about nerves and preparing for the test. She asked if I'd noticed that she has some of the answers posted on her wall, and when I said that I didn't she took me back to her office to show me. She has the full anthem, the bill of rights, the constitution, etc all on large posters, and she was like "we want to help people when we can and realize that it's harder for some than others, so those are just there in case." I thought it was really sweet. Anyway, I can post a brief update about the ceremony itself but I wanted to write out the interview details while I can still remember them! Good luck to everyone who still has to do their interview - I was so nervous, but it really is the smoothest part as long as you're prepared.

I'm filing under 5 years instead of 3, so I only uploaded what the application requested and proof of a paid speeding ticket. I also think I'm bringing too much to the interview, but I know that would be the case regardless of which eligibility I was using. I'd rather go overboard and waste paper than have an RFE! I'm taking copies of my driver's license, current green card, EAD, SSN, marriage certificate, deed for our house, both of our birth certificates, 5 years of tax information, more information about my ticket, the two (expired) Canadian passports I have, and my conditional green card. I had way too many documents with me when we went through the ROC interview but it still made me feel better to have them. I don't think you'd ever really regret having too much!

I'm not, but I grew up in a French area of my province so I understand that naming convention! I can account for the first and second name (my grandmother and mother chose one each), but have *no* idea what possessed anyone to pick the third one that they did lol. My NOA1 showed up with all of them too, but it didn't have the care of line. I thought it may have been because I signed the application with all three names, but I can't imagine I didn't do that with the others too. I guess we'll see on the day, but maybe I can pull whoever is running the ceremony aside for a second and promise that there's a crisp $20 bill in it for them if they just skip saying the third name out loud 😂

This is a kind of dumb question and I don't know if anyone has any insight, but worth a shot! My name has always been a bit weird and confusing because I have an official first name that's on all of my government documents, a middle name (which is what I go by) that's on all of my government documents either as an initial or in full, and another middle name that's on my birth certificate and marriage license and that I've included somewhere on all applications to USCIS including this one. For example: Sally Jane Mary Smith, but almost everything is either Sally Jane Smith or Sally J. Smith. Thanks, family! Anyway, all of the cards I've received from USCIS up to this point have just had my official first name, the initial of my first middle name (the one I go by) and my last name. Will my naturalization certificate follow that same trend, or are they suddenly going to add the second middle name to it? It's not a big enough deal to go through the effort and possible delay of a name change just to drop it, but I'm also hoping it's not on my certificate because it would feel weird at this point (and I hate it lol). Can I ask that it just reads like my other cards do? Again, not a huge deal either way, but I'm curious and would also like to brace myself to potentially have to hear it said out loud! It's a relatively common name with an extremely uncommon spelling (think spelling error, really) and it sometimes throws people. My husband, however, would have a field day if he hears it said in an official capacity 😂

As of this morning, so is mine! Studying for the civics test has actually been kind of funny because my (American) coworkers all wanted the questions to see how they'd do. The answer is not well! 😂 I'm not bringing a *ton* with me, especially compared to other steps, because I'm filing based on being a resident for 5 years. I did put all of it into the binder I used for my very first K1 interview, though. It's a nice, full circle feeling. I'm also about to start going over my application again to make sure I can remember all of my own dates - my moves and job changes all happened in the last few years and everything has been a blur since 2020 anyway! I do wish there was an easy way to see what my chances of a same day oath ceremony are, just so I can mentally prepare for that soon. I'm also not sure if my husband can come in and wait for me in the waiting room since he's not needed for the interview, so I may have him hang out at a nearby Panera just in case.

You probably have already, but did you check the documents section of your USCIS account? I didn't think I'd gotten one when I submitted either but found it there when I checked a few days later!

I had been logging into my USCIS account to check for updates. I had also downloaded an app (not Lawfully) that monitors the status of your application but only ever received notifications for things like Visa Bulletins or system maintenance. The status has also changed there to show that my interview was scheduled, but I never did get a notification for it. If you don't have an app and don't ever check your account, I guess you'd also just get a surprise letter in the mail someday!

I think someone in this thread got their interview notice in 6 days! Still, though, way quicker than I expected it to be because it feels like most of the other steps took longer than average for me. Funnily enough, with the interview notice came my estimated wait increasing from 6 months to 7!

I just got notified that my interview was scheduled! I'm in shock at how fast that was! NOA/biometrics reuse: 1/10/2024 Interview scheduled: 1/24/2024 Interview: 2/28/2024 FO: Pittsburgh, PA Now I can start studying!

Finally submitted the application on 1/10 even though the draft had been sitting finished and saved for almost a year. Glad to see I'm not the only one who dragged my feet! My husband (US citizen) and I have been married since 2016 and when I went for my removal of conditions interview in September of 2020 the officer said no less than 6 times that I should just submit my citizenship application because I was a "great candidate" for it and they had all of my documentation already. We didn't feel like spending more money so soon, so here we are. Received the NOA almost immediately and the status changed to "case is being actively reviewed". I wish I would have also gotten a bio reuse notice but wasn't too optimistic since I've had to have them redone at every step of the process. Estimated wait time went from 8 months to 7 months within a few minutes, but for now I'm just refreshing the tracking app until something happens! Edit: just checked the documents section of my case on the website and I *did* get a biometrics reuse notice! Amazing!