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| The little tiny flag they gave us after we took the oath. |
First off, I came to the United States on a K1 (fiancee) visa and became a citizen on March 20th this year. I have included a video of this experience (at the end this post) basically just talking about things that happened and my experience as a whole. Please feel free to ask any questions.
Here are a few photos of the oath taking day, which is the official day that you become a citizen. You cannot claim to be a citizen until after you take the oath; even if you passed the interview and the test. You are not a citizen until after the oath and after you have given up your green card and received your naturalization certificate.
Also, while everything was being checked out (as far as the spelling of the names on the certificate, that you have to proof read to make sure everything is spelled correctly), only the applicants were allowed in the room, but as soon as everything was set and ready the families were allowed inside the room. It was a big crowd so the families had to stand. You will be allowed to record and take pictures all you want, you can move around and stuff to make sure you get good shots. My husband took these pictures.
Also, while everything was being checked out (as far as the spelling of the names on the certificate, that you have to proof read to make sure everything is spelled correctly), only the applicants were allowed in the room, but as soon as everything was set and ready the families were allowed inside the room. It was a big crowd so the families had to stand. You will be allowed to record and take pictures all you want, you can move around and stuff to make sure you get good shots. My husband took these pictures.
Here is my timeline:
K1 Visa to Permanent Residency Timeline
May 2009 -- K1 visa petition filed *we were notified the same month that it was received
September 2009 -- Petition was approved notice received
November 2009 -- Interview appointment (also got my medical done same trip to Manila)
November 2009 -- Interview appointment (also got my medical done same trip to Manila)
December 2009 -- I arrived in the United States
January 2010 -- Application for Employment Authorization and Adjustment of status filed
February 2010 -- Biometrics appointment
April 2010 -- Permanent Residence Application was approved (2 year green card received)
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I-751 (Conditional Residency Conditions Removal) Timeline
January 2012 -- Application to remove conditional residency filed (I-751)
* (less than a week later) we got a notice of extension of residency while waiting for the results.
February 2012 -- Biometrics appointment
October 2012 -- Request for removal of conditions approved (received 10 year green card)
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N-400 Application for Naturalization Timeline
July 2016 -- Application for Naturalization/Citizenship filed
August 2016 -- Biometrics appointment
February 2017 -- Naturalization/Citizenship interview
March 2017 -- Oath taking ceremony
You do not take the Oath by yourself, you will take the oath with many other people who are also scheduled to do it. Approximately took about 45 minutes to an hour. It would differ from office to office but the USCIS Mount Laurel location does same-day oath taking, the will ask you if you want to take the oath the same day -- 3:00 PM everyday is their schedule.
I hope this was helpful to you guys, and if you have questions, please ask away. I'll be happy to answer them.
Check out the video if you don't mind me blabbering about it.
2 comments:
Great post. We are waiting for my wife's oath taking appointment. Any day now . . .
thank you for stopping by! congrats and God bless you both!
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