The Oath Ceremony: The Day You Actually Become a Citizen

You're approved, but not a citizen yet

One step remains after approval, and it is the one that counts: the Oath of Allegiance. You are deemed a citizen as of the date you take that oath, not the day you were approved.

You passed. You were approved. And you are still not a citizen yet. You are not a citizen until you take the oath at a ceremony.

The law is exact about the timing. Before you are admitted as a citizen, you take the oath in a public ceremony, held in the United States.

The notice, and the questionnaire on it

After approval, you may take the oath the same day if a ceremony is ready. If not, USCIS mails you a notice — Form N-445 — with your ceremony date and a short questionnaire to complete.

The N-445 asks whether anything changed since your interview, things like a new trip abroad, an arrest, or a change in your marriage. Answer it honestly and bring proof for anything you mark yes. An officer reviews your answers when you check in.

What happens at the ceremony

The ceremony follows a fixed order, and none of it is a test. You check in, the officer reviews your N-445, you turn in your green card, and then you take the Oath of Allegiance.

Then the oath itself. You take the Oath of Allegiance, and with it you become a citizen.

What the oath says

The oath is a promise in a few parts, set in law: support the Constitution, give up foreign allegiance, defend against enemies, bear true faith, and serve the country when the law requires it.

You support the Constitution. You give up allegiance to any foreign country you belonged to before. You promise to defend the Constitution and laws against all enemies, and to bear true faith and allegiance to them. And you agree to serve the country when the law requires it: by bearing arms, by noncombatant service, or by civilian work of national importance. At the ceremony you sign your name to a copy of the oath.

Some people take a changed version. If your religious training and belief oppose bearing arms, the oath drops the bear-arms promise; if they oppose any military service, it drops the noncombatant promise too. The inapplicable promises are simply removed, and you take the oath in that shorter form. USCIS notes that the oath can be modified or waived in some situations.

The moment it is done

When the oath is finished, you are a citizen — that status begins the moment you take the oath, not a day before. Then you receive your Certificate of Naturalization.

Review the certificate on the spot, and tell USCIS about any error before you leave the ceremony. Errors are easiest to fix before you go.

When life gets in the way

If a serious illness, disability, advanced age, or urgent travel or work makes the date impossible, you can ask USCIS for an earlier or special ceremony. But do not simply skip it.

Miss more than one ceremony you were notified for, without good cause, and USCIS may treat it as giving up on becoming a citizen. And if a court granted you a name change, you sign the oath with your new name.

Your next step

This is the last step of the path this site is built for. When your notice arrives, complete the N-445, bring it with your green card and photo ID, and go.

There is nothing left to study and nothing to buy. If you are still preparing for the interview that comes before all this, the interview walkthrough and the practice quiz are where to start.