Becoming citizen, don't have time to get a passport, traveling on British Passport

L

Lemontree1

New Member
Hi,

I am due to go on vacation in a couple of weeks, and inconveniently 3 days before I leave I have an appointment for the Naturalization Oath Ceremony, where they will take my Green Card and give me the Naturalization Certificate. I won't have time to get a US passport, so will have to travel on my British Passport.

Does anyone know whether I will have an issue coming back into the US using my British passport, holding my Naturalization certificate? Should I come through the US Citizen passport control? Or go through the Non-Citizen passport control?

Thanks!
 
First of all, you are expected to enter US on a US passport.

You an get a passport same day or within 3 days by going to a passport agency. The earlier in the day you show up, the higher the chances of finishing it the same day. Take an appointment in advance, just showing up may also work, but you have time to get an appointment. And depending on where you are going, you may not have a need for a visa. Your British or American passport might both work.

I wonder why going on vacation as originally planned is more important than doing it right? Another option for you is to delay the oath if you can not do these things in time.
 
Lemontree1 said:
Does anyone know whether I will have an issue coming back into the US using my British passport, holding my Naturalization certificate?
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It's illegal for a US citizen to use a non-US passport to enter the US. They'll eventually let you in, but you can expect to be harassed and held in the secondary inspection room for an hour or two while they figure out if you're really a citizen or just an impostor with a forged or stolen certificate.

If it's not feasible to get a next-day passport at a passport agency (because you live too far, or your oath date is a Friday), ask USCIS to delay the oath. Or if your trip abroad is several weeks, you could leave without* the US passport, but apply for one at a US consulate abroad so you can return to the US with it.


*technically US citizens aren't supposed to leave the US by air without a US passport, but that isn't enforced. However, they are much more strict about the passport requirement when you're entering the US.
 
Well its not quite that easy. The nearest passport agency to me, where I can get a passport on the spot, is a 6 Hr drive. I have the Oath ceremony on the Wednesday and fly out Saturday, for a vacation that has been planned for months, and will cost me a LOT to cancel. I didn't ask the question to be judged on that decision, thank you. I am traveling to Britain, so its not like I am using a passport to enter a country that I don't actually have a passport for, and therefore should not need a visa.

When they send the appointment letters they only give a couple of weeks heads up.. so fast planning is needed. I am going to call the USCIS to see if they have some advice, if I can figure out how to get through to a person.
 
A fine of $100 may also be imposed.

Jackolantern said:
It's illegal for a US citizen to use a non-US passport to enter the US. They'll eventually let you in, but you can expect to be harassed and held in the secondary inspection room for an hour or two while they figure out if you're really a citizen or just an impostor with a forged or stolen certificate.
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Update: I called the USCIS and they have recommended that I reschedule, which I am going to do. Thank you for the replies.
 
That's a good idea, but you might then incur delays when they reschedule your oath (the fewer things CIS does with your application, the better). If you're feeling adventurous, apply for your passport in London or Edinburgh. It shouldn't be much of a problem really. OR, if you're going for a while, apply by post here, have it expedited if you like, and have it sent to someone who can then securely send it to you in Britain.
 
I think you can manage to get the US passport in time for your trip. If you naturalize on Wednesday you still have Thursday and Friday to get your passport. You could fly to that city instead of driving, or drive at night, sleep there and then go to the passport office.

You can also go ahead and try to fly on your British passport. It might work, but as people have pointed out I wouldn't recommend it.

I wouldn't cancel your vacation or reschedule your oath. Either go to the passport office or try your British passport.
 
Jackolantern said:
Try the British passport where? To exit? Not a problem. To reenter? BIG PROBLEM.
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Perhaps he can then tell us his experience coming back and getting through immigration.

All in all, don't get me wrong. I think what he should do is go to the passport office the very next day after he does the oath. However, rescheduling the oath can also work if he wants to save money and doesn't care about the extra time for citizenship.
 
Huracan said:
Perhaps he can then tell us his experience coming back and getting through immigration.

All in all, don't get me wrong. I think what he should do is go to the passport office the very next day after he does the oath. However, rescheduling the oath can also work if he wants to save money and doesn't care about the extra time for citizenship.
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After the Wednesday oath, the earliest he can reach the passport agency (remember the 6-hour drive) is Thursday. Any little glitch could delay the passport issuance beyond Friday, which would prevent him from leaving on Saturday, which apparently would be very costly. Given those constraints, I'd take the same decision he did -- delay the oath.
 
Jackolantern said:
After the Wednesday oath, the earliest he can reach the passport agency (remember the 6-hour drive) is Thursday. Any little glitch could delay the passport issuance beyond Friday, which would prevent him from leaving on Saturday, which apparently would be very costly. Given those constraints, I'd take the same decision he did -- delay the oath.
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I agree that one option is to delay the oath. However, even with a 6 hour drive and glitches, it is a 99.99% chance he will get the passport. If you show up early enough, and if you present your evidence for the urgency, I am sure they will expedite it. If he misses one day, he can still get it by Friday. The question is whether one is willing to put up so much time and effort to get it done. (Assuming) for a person working in full time job, it is time off for oath, then time off for passport and I presume time off for packing etc. ... work will need to take a backseat (or abandoned) starting Wednesday. However, it is doable ... if I did not have to worry about work, I would absolutely bank on Thursday / Friday to get me the passport.
 
99.99% chance? I am sure you mean that in some figurative sense. If 10,000 such attempts were made, only one would fail, statistically speaking? I don't have that kind of confidence.

Even the Passport Agency will not guarantee a one-day turn-around, or state anywhere on their web site that a same day service is assured. For a good reason. Of course, it is quite true that they do produce passports in a single day day more often than not. However, it is also well understood that the the emergency service can be a one- to three-day service. On top of that, the 6-hour drive itself comes with its own set of risks (however, infinitesimal). If someone were planning to flee a war-ravaged country, or if there were life and death exigencies, I would consider this to be an advisable course of action. Otherwise, I see no advantage of taking this risk. Impatience, in my opinion, is not a worthy enough cause.

I guess it all boils down to individuals' proclivity for risk. In the absolute, I cannot say you are wrong. From where I stand, my decision seems reasonable to me. From where you stand, yours to you :-)
 
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javacafe said:
99.99% chance? I am sure you mean that in some figurative sense. If 10,000 such attempts were made, only one would fail, statistically speaking? I don't have that kind of confidence.
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Alright java ... I will revise it to 99%. Of course what I said was hyperbole to illustrate the point. I can not comment on the driving risk. And of course I talked about taking time off from work, and indicated that also may not be possible. However, it is my understanding reading this site, personal experience, reviews from YELP and other websites, that they would prioritize urgent cases. That's all I am saying.

Under what conditions would I go through this effort for this impatience? ==> When I feel that delaying the oath is worse than taking this risk. If I was traveling for 4 weeks, and then I was supposed to come and go on some business trips, there may never be a good time for oath and how many times will one re-schedule? Or maybe I have vacation time now I need to consume, but it will cost me to do it later. Or maybe my kid is turning 18 next month !! While most of these situations are hypothetical, they do come true to a small population.

Yes, I agree with you. It boils down to individuals' proclivity for risk ... and ... their personal situation.
What would be my reasons? I have wasted enough time in my life with the old INS that the thought of going into an paperwork cycle with them scares me, even though they seem to have improved a lot over the last decade.
 
In addition to the risk of the passport agency not delivering the passport by Friday ... there is another major thing to worry about: having to take Thursday and Friday off from work. That would mean convincing the boss to grant those 2 extra days on short notice in addition to the long vacation that's already scheduled (which may be impossible if the vacation itself used up all the available days off). And it also would mean having to complete critical work assignments by Tuesday (since Wednesday is oath day) instead of Friday.

Unless you have a particularly pressing citizenship-related situation like an LPR child about to turn 18 or a fiancee waiting abroad or applying for a Federal job, or you're asylee/refugee/stateless with no passport or a useless passport, you'd have to be nuts to go through all of that hassle to keep the original oath date.
 
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