The ceremonies took place at the Immigration Office building in San Francisco, but in a different area with a separate entrance. At first we had to stand in line. While I was waiting, someone checked the form I brought with the appointment. I also had to sign again on the form to certify that I had not done anything wrong between my interview and now, such as getting in conflict with the law or joining any dubious associations, including the Communist Party. Inside the building the first course of action was to give up my green card. At a counter I handed it over (Michael had already turns his in at his ceremony) somewhat sadly and moved, because after all, the card had served us well for many years. An usher then guided me to my seat, a somewhat unromantic plastic chair in boring government design. On the chair, there was already a packet with my naturalization certificate, including a information sheet on applying for a passport and another sheet with the wording of the oath to be sworn. A small American flag was also in there.
All participants wore masks and there were always two chairs unoccupied between us to maintain the Covid safety distance. The ceremony was led by the head (Robin Barrett) of the Immigration Office in San Francisco, which was probably more of a coincidence. There were a few encouraging words from her, something along the lines of the ceremony not being particularly festive, but the event still being meaningful and important. She then reminded us to check our naturalization certificate for our name and date of birth, as it would be a long and costly process to correct any errors once we had left with the certificate. The certificate also includes the full name, date of birth, a photo, gender, height, and marital status, as well as the so-called "Alien Registration Number" which was already on the green card. It must also be signed.
Interestingly, even simple things as your signature on the form can raise many questions, as we read on the various internet forums. Do you sign with your middle name or without? Michael always shortens his first name when signing, even on official documents. Is that allowed on a naturalization certificate? The statements on the internet were very contradictory. Fortunately, we received information about it at the swearing-in ceremony: You sign exactly as on our California driver's license, because the signature on the driver's license can be used for comparison. In my case it was easy anyway, I always write everything out. By the way, you can also sign the certificate later at home in peace.
The actual ceremony was then very short and painless. Everyone had to stand up and raise their right hand and then we all spoke the Oath of Allegiance together, mind you with masks. The Oath of Allegiance incidentally has some funny parts, such as that one has to renounce their king or queen. Nobles with corresponding titles incidentally have to swear that they give up these as American citizens. After the Oath of Allegiance, we were also quickly led out of the room. Michael was already waiting for me outside. We quickly took a photo and then I drove to work.