AHC_2015

That's what I did too. You have to be quick to get an appointment.

That's so crazy. When I checked in February (just to see what was there) there wasn't a single appointment for March.

Thank you! Yeah, my green card wasn't expiring until 2026 so I guess I could have waited. When I finally decided to go for it I was checking timelines and now seemed like a good time with the fast processing. There's no way I could have renewed my green card in three months. 🤣

Yes, Phoenix is going fast! Congratulations on your wife getting her passport. It was next to impossible to find a passport appointment here but did find one whole appointment on April 7 so I booked it!

Thank you! Hopefully your interview will be scheduled soon! 😀

Agreed. I applied on December 27 last year and just had my oath ceremony today. Super easy under the 5-year rule.

My oath ceremony was today. The appointment letter said that it was at 12:30pm and to be there no more than 30 minutes before. We got to the courthouse at 11:45am and no one else was at the security checkpoint so we got through in a minute. We stood outside the courtroom until 12:40pm at which point they told the people that were being naturalized to enter the courtroom while friends and family had to stay outside (they were allowed in later). They had us all sit on the benches and then verified that those who were present were actually scheduled to take the oath today. I had filled out the back of the appointment letter and signed it but then the lady tells us that the city and state in the first line should say Phoenix, AZ even if we live in another part of Phoenix (such as Gilbert, Chandler, etc.) or another city. Good thing I brought a pen with me so that I could correct it. They then had everyone line up to hand over their green card(s). Afterwards we were shown where to sit. On the chair was the packet with the voter registration form, passport form, an American flag, etc. After that it was a whole lot of waiting to get everyone checked in and seated. Eventually we were told about how to apply for a passport, there was a lady who explained how to sign up to vote and a lady from the National Society Daughters of the American Revolution gave a short speech and they handed out American flags pins to everyone. The judge didn't show up until 1:40pm and the monitor in the lobby did say that the ceremony wasn't until 1:30pm so 12:30pm was just the check-in time. Anyway, we did the oath of allegiance, the pledge of allegiance and they played the national anthem. They had also asked for three volunteers to come up and speak for a couple of minutes about their journey to become citizens. Finally the judge gave a brief speech and then they handed out the certificates. After that we were free to go or we could stay and have our picture taken with the judge. We were done just after 2:00pm. It says outside the courtroom that phones must be turned off, but they said that you're allowed to take pictures and videos inside the courtroom. You just need to keep your phone on silent. So, that's it for me! 😀

Congratulations! 🥳 Hopefully you don't have to wait too long to find out when your oath ceremony is. It's so weird how they do it differently from field office to field office. In Phoenix they give you the letter right after you pass the interview.

Completely understand and agree! Sorry for going off topic!

Nice! No roots showing for you. 😉 I gave up on the highlights last year and went back to my natural hair color so much less maintenance. ☺️

I guess I'm not super girly but I do know what I'm wearing and what I'm doing with my hair. ☺️ How about you? Are you ready for the big day? 😀

Yes, I received it on Friday so it took exactly a week from my interview. Not sure why some of the letters take longer to arrive than others. No name change for me. I did that when I got married. ☺️

I guess it depends on your field office and how fast they're processing applications. My field office is Phoenix, AZ. I filed my N-400 on December 27, 2022, received my interview notice on February 2 and had my interview on March 10. My oath ceremony is this Friday. USCIS also listed 16 months as the processing time for my field office. When I applied it said 10 months. It eventually changed to 8 months and that's when my interview was scheduled so I wouldn't trust their estimates.