Tommy2000

Stupid question: why do you guys change your names? I get it if someone gets married, but why else?

I brought everything and only got asked my GC, Passport, and DL and invitation letter at the entrance. That was it. They had everything else on file.

Hvala!

Hi all, my process is now complete. Total wait time 2.5 months. Went to the oath ceremony this morning in Philly. It took about 1.5 hours total as there were about 50 people and everyone showed up, which according to the officers was unusual. There was a wide variety of people (30 countries total) and some even either didn’t have or forgot to bring their green cards, etc. However, everyone still got naturalized but they had to promise to bring the GC the next day, etc. This is how it went: - Security was busy as many people brought their families, so 30 minute early arrival is recommended - everyone was waiting in the waiting area downstairs until invited row by row to the oath room in the back, which is nicely decorated and full of flags - There were at least 3 oath ceremonies today, 9am, 11 am, 1 pm - Some people must have missed the 9 am and ended up participating in the 11 am ceremony and one person was too early, ao they made an exception and gave her the oath as well - in the room you first present your paper with filled out back. Remember to write the place of your FO in the place line (many people had to correct it) - with the paper, the officer took our GCs, checked us off, and pointed us to the table next to hers - this is where the naturalizations certificates were shown to everyone to make sure that the information on it is correct and put them in the right order, e.g. everyone had his assigned seating (first in - first out) this took a while (yes, we all got the little flags, but no copy of the constitution, or anything else) - then the officer brought the families in, put a welcome video on and read a few nice words / welcoming everyone - everyone had to stand and hold hand on heart as they played the national anthem -then there was a short recorded welcome message from President Biden played on the screen - the director of the FO came down and took the oath. He spoke it and everyone repeated after him (there was also a Print-out with the text) - at the end of the Oath we became citizens - after that a few more words of welcome - then everyone had to stand again and pledge allegiance to the flag while looking at a flag in the room - then in the order we sat got registered in, we received our certificates -ceremony ended when the last person received his certificate - there was plenty of opportunity to ask questions and take pictures thereafter. All in all a fun an joyful experience and in my case very fast. Best of luck to all of you!

They probably just opened and reviewed you file in preparation for the interview. I received like 4 or 5 of these prior to and right after interview.

Received oath ceremony notice for May 2nd. That was very fast.

I guess the difference is the conditions. I didn’t have any conditions on my GC, as we moved to the US after we were already married for over two years. Now the only question is that you are still married, so you can apply based on the 3-year rule. Thats luckily not a topic for us since we both still love each other very much and we have always lived together at the same addresses and always moved together, filed taxes together, share everything from finances and bank accounts to beds 😉 Without conditions my wife was not even invited to the interview and would have to wait outside in the waiting room. If however, you have conditions, you still need to have these removed.

My wife did not go with me. I don't think it is necessary. We already interviewed together before I got my 10-year GC. Also, the officer did not ask for any documentation other than the GC, DL, Passport, not even my wife's original birth certificate, but they probably had that information on file from the GC process. I did submit a lot of additional evidence like bank statements, mortgage, car docs, insurance, credit card statements, etc with the online application. Will see how it goes.

Hi all, I was a silent reader for the last few days on this topic and wanted to share my experience with everyone else going through this process: Personal: EU citizen 10 year GC (received in Fall of 2019) Married since 2016 (outside of the U.S.) to U.S. born citizen wife (together for almost 15 years at this point) Timeline: Applied for N400 (3-year rule): 02.14.24 (Philadelphia) Biometrics reused: a few days later Interview notice date: 02.22.24 Interview (today): 04.10.24 in the morning Current status: oath ceremony will be scheduled Important notice: Please plan extra time to arrive at your interview location. I got up at 5:30 am this morning to be there by 8:00 (about 1:15 hours drive to office), but got into a lot of traffic, construction, closed roads which gave me anxiety that I will not make it on time. Arrived in front of the building 10 minutes prior, had to pay for parking, the app did not work, so had to use credit card. There was a long line in front of the security check, and I had the feeling all the people in front of me never go through TSA, because they did not know what to do and the line moved very slowly. Made it to the check-in with just two minutes to spare, e.g. really on-time. After check-in you walk upstairs to the waiting room, where I sat down a minute before my interview time. Interview: I waited about 20 minutes, before I was called in by a very polite and friendly officer In the room, he had me remain standing to swear me in. I had to rise my right hand and confirm that I will be saying the truth. Questions: Officer asked for my name, date of birth, address, phone number Then proceeded to the test with the following questions: What is freedom of religion What do the 13 stripes stand for the question you answer with We The People How old do citizens have to be to vote for President and three more I cant remember any more, but if you really live in the US you should know these questions without a lot of studying Then had me read a sentence on an ipad Write a sentence he dictated on the ipad (the stylo was not working correctly and my cursive handwriting was not very helpful) Asked a number of different questions from the application, e.g Did I register to vote in any elections, etc. Member of any organisations, parties, etc. Convictions Crime, etc. willing to take the full oath willing to carry arms Willing to defend the constitution Asked if there was a time that my wife and I have not been living together After that I had to sign the forms on the Ipad (two different signatures) Officer informed me that he will recommend me for approval and that I will get a letter in the mail within the next week or 10 days with invitation to take the oath. A few minutes after I left the status changed to oath ceremony will be scheduled. Hope this helps. If there are any questions just ask! Best wishes everyone