What happens at your citizenship interview and oath ceremony

This page covers the last two steps of becoming a citizen: the interview and the oath. It is general information, not legal advice. DNLH is not a law office. For the whole process from the start, see Becoming a U.S. citizen: the complete guide. For interpreters, lawyers and disability help on the day, see Asking for help at your citizenship interview and oath.

Nervous? That's normal. The interview is serious, but it is not built to trick you. People pass every day with honest answers and good preparation.

How do I know when my interview is?

USCIS mails you an interview notice with the date, time and field office address. If you have a USCIS online account, check it too.

Since August 25, 2026, USCIS may also do a neighborhood investigation, usually before the interview and always before the oath. See What happens after I apply?

If you cannot go on the date, follow the instructions on your notice right away to ask for a new one. Do not just stay home. Moved? Tell USCIS within 10 days of moving at uscis.gov/addresschange, or your notice may go to the wrong place.

What should I bring to the interview?

Everything your notice lists. That list is the rule for your case. Most people also need:

• Your interview notice
• Your green card
• Your passports and any travel papers
• Originals or court certified copies of any record you sent as a photocopy. This includes arrest reports, court dispositions and proof you finished a sentence or program.
• IRS tax transcripts, especially if you took a trip of more than 6 months
• If you owe taxes: your signed payment agreement and proof of where the payments stand
• Your own copy of the N-400 you filed
• Proof of anything new since you filed, like a marriage certificate, a new child's birth certificate or a new lease

Papers in another language need a full English translation with the translator's signed statement that it is complete and correct.

Get there early. Plan for traffic and security lines.

What happens in the interview room?

An officer puts you under oath, goes over your application with you, and gives you the test. Here is the order most people see:

1. You swear to tell the truth. Everything after that is under oath.
2. The officer reviews your N-400. The officer asks about your answers: where you live, your work, your trips, your marriage, your children, and the yes or no questions about your history. The officer checks what you say against your file.
3. The English test. Your speaking is judged as you talk with the officer through the interview. Then you read and write (see below).
4. The civics test. The officer asks questions about U.S. history and government out loud. You answer out loud.
5. The result. You get a written notice of results before you leave.

Who can be in the room? A lawyer or DOJ accredited representative may come with you. If yours does not show up and you don't want to go on without them, the officer must reschedule. An interpreter is allowed only if you qualify to test in your own language, and you bring and pay for them. Details are in Asking for help at your citizenship interview and oath.

How to answer. Tell the truth, every time. If you don't understand, say so and ask the officer to repeat it or say it another way. If you don't remember, say that. Never guess, and never let anyone coach you to give a false answer.

How does the English and civics test work?

You get two chances to pass each part. Most people take the test during the interview.

English

• Speaking: the officer listens to you during the interview.
• Reading: you read aloud one of three sentences correctly.
• Writing: you write one of three sentences correctly.

Civics (spoken)

On the 2025 test, the officer stops once you get 12 right, or once you get 9 wrong.

Exceptions (counted on the day you filed):

• 50 or older with 20 years as a green card holder, or 55 or older with 15 years: you skip English. You still take civics, and may take it in your own language with an interpreter.
• 65 or older with 20 years as a green card holder: you get 10 questions from a special list of 20, and need 6 right.
• A disability that keeps you from learning English or civics: Form N-648, filled out by a licensed doctor or clinical psychologist. See Can I skip the English or civics test because of a disability?

If you don't pass a part, you get a second try on that part, between 60 and 90 days after your first interview. You only retake the part you missed. Use the time to practice out loud. See How to study for the citizenship civics and English test.

What if something changed since I filed?

Tell the officer. Good moral character counts all the way up to the oath, not just up to the day you filed. Be ready to talk about:

• A new address, job, marriage, divorce or child
• Any trip outside the U.S.
• Any arrest, citation or charge, anywhere, even if it was dropped. Bring the papers.

Arrested, charged, or ticketed for something involving alcohol or drugs since you filed? Talk with an immigration attorney or DOJ accredited representative before the interview. Some problems put more than your citizenship case at risk. See Applying for citizenship with an arrest or record.

If you are on probation or parole, USCIS will not approve your case until it is finished. Talk with a clinic about timing.

What can the officer decide?

One of three things. You leave with a written result.

• Approved. Congratulations. Your next step is the oath. Some offices hold the oath the same day. Others mail you a notice with a date.
• Continued. Your case is on pause, not over. This often means the officer needs more papers, or you need to retake a test. The notice says what to send and by when. Meet that deadline, keep a copy, and mail it with tracking.
• Denied. The letter says why. You can ask for a hearing with Form N-336 within 30 calendar days of getting the denial, or 33 days if it came by mail. The fee is $830 on paper or $780 online (checked October 19, 2026). A fee waiver may be possible. Take the letter to a free clinic the same week. See My citizenship application was denied. What can I do?

Waiting too long? USCIS has 120 days after your first interview to decide. If it does not, you may ask a federal district court to review your case. Talk to a lawyer about that step.

What happens at the oath ceremony?

You become a citizen when you take the Oath of Allegiance at a public ceremony. Not before. Approval is not citizenship. Until the oath, live as a green card holder: no voting, and never say you are a citizen. USCIS treats false claims to citizenship and unlawful voting very seriously and can send people to immigration court for them, even without a conviction.

Before the ceremony. USCIS sends you Form N-445, Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony, with your date, time and place. It includes questions about the time since your interview: trips, arrests, citations, marriages and more. Answer them honestly. Write in anything new. If you cannot attend, follow the N-445 instructions to ask for a new date right away. Do not just skip it.

What if I miss it? The law treats missing more than one ceremony you were properly told about, without good cause, as giving up your intent to become a citizen (8 CFR 337.10). USCIS then reopens your approved case and sends you a written notice. You have 15 days to answer and show good cause. If you don't, USCIS may deny the application (USCIS Policy Manual, Volume 12, Part J, Chapter 4). So one missed date is not the end, but treat every date as fixed and ask for a new one in writing before the day.

New trouble before the oath? USCIS must not give the oath if it learns of disqualifying information after approving you, such as a new arrest. It reopens the case and gives you 15 days to respond. Call a clinic right away if anything happens between your interview and your oath.

Need the oath sooner? You can ask USCIS or the court for an expedited ceremony for a compelling or humanitarian reason, such as a serious illness in your family (Policy Manual, Part J, Chapter 6).

At the ceremony:

1. You check in and hand over your completed N-445.
2. An officer reviews your answers and makes sure you are still eligible.
3. You turn in your green card and any USCIS travel papers.
4. You stand with the group and take the Oath of Allegiance.
5. You receive your Certificate of Naturalization (Form N-550). Check your name, birth date and other details before you leave.

Can I change the words of the oath? The law allows certain changes, for example for religious or conscience reasons. Ask USCIS before your ceremony, using the exceptions and accommodations page.

Registering to vote. Since August 31, 2026, USCIS again lets nonprofit, nonpartisan groups help new citizens register to vote right after an administrative ceremony, when election officials are not there to do it.

We hope you get to celebrate this day with the people you love.

What do I do right after I become a citizen?

• Protect your certificate. Keep it somewhere safe and make a copy.
• Found a mistake, or lost it later? Use Form N-565. The fee is $555 on paper or $505 online, and $0 if the mistake was USCIS's fault (checked October 19, 2026).
• Get a U.S. passport and register to vote. See You are a citizen now: how to get a passport and register to vote.
• Check on your children. Children under 18 with green cards who live with you in your legal and physical custody may become citizens automatically the day you do. See Did my child become a citizen when I did?
• Wondering about your other citizenship? See Can I keep my other citizenship if I become a US citizen?

An example

This is a made up example to show the steps.

Grace filed her N-400 in January 2026, so she takes the 2025 civics test. Her interview notice lists her green card, passport and any court records.

1. The week before, she reads her N-400 again and practices civics questions out loud with her daughter.
2. At the interview she mentions a trip to Manila last spring that came after she filed. The officer adds it.
3. She answers 12 civics questions right and reads and writes one sentence each. She leaves with a written approval.
4. Her N-445 comes by mail. The ceremony is on a day she has a medical procedure, so she follows the notice's instructions to ask for a new date before that day.
5. At the rescheduled ceremony she answers the N-445 questions honestly, turns in her green card, takes the oath, and checks her certificate before she leaves.

What mistakes should I avoid?

• Leaving out an arrest or ticket because it was "dropped" or "small"
• Bringing photocopies of court records instead of originals or court certified copies
• Taking a long trip abroad between the interview and the oath without advice
• Paying anyone who calls or emails promising to speed up your case. USCIS does not ask for fees by phone or email. See Warning signs of an immigration scam.

Questions people ask

How long between the interview and the oath? It depends on your office. Some offices do the oath the same day. Check your case in your USCIS online account or on Case Status Online. For typical waits at your office, check the USCIS processing times tool. Times change, so we don't give a number.

My green card expires before my oath. What do I do? Your N-400 receipt notice extends it for 2 years from the "Card Expires" date. Carry both. See My green card is expiring but I applied for citizenship.

Can I change my name when I become a citizen? Yes, you can ask. The N-400 has an optional name change question, and the instructions say a court can allow you to change your name when you naturalize. Because only a court can approve it, the change happens at a judicial ceremony, and the court clerk gives you a paper showing the court changed your name (Policy Manual, Part J, Chapter 6). Ask the officer at your interview how your office schedules this. It can mean a different ceremony date.

Who can help?

You don't have to walk into that room alone. These are free or low cost public offices and nonprofits. Contact them to confirm hours, languages and openings. Being listed here is not a referral or a promise of service. Details checked October 18, 2026.

East Palo Alto and San Mateo County

• Community Legal Services in East Palo Alto (CLSEPA): 650-326-6440. Walk in help Monday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., 1861 Bay Road.
• Immigration Institute of the Bay Area, Redwood City: free citizenship workshop on the second Tuesday of each month and free classes. Register at (650) 780-7530.
• San Mateo County Immigrant Services: (650) 363-4194, immigrantservices@smcgov.org.

Santa Clara County

• Office of Immigrant Relations keeps a list of citizenship providers.
• Asian Law Alliance, San Jose: (408) 287-9710.

Anywhere in California

• The state's map of free immigration legal services, or call (916) 651-8017.

Only attorneys and DOJ accredited representatives may give you immigration legal advice. More options: Free or low cost immigration legal help in the Bay Area.

Is there a checklist I can print?

Yes. Print it and check off each line.

You have worked hard to reach this day. Walk in prepared, tell the truth, and let the rest unfold. We are cheering for you.