How to sign the US passport?

M

MJA

Registered Users (C)
Are you supposed to sign your full name like on naturalization certificate or your regular signature?

I applied my passport at the Boston Passport agency on 02/21/07 and received it same day. It is an e-passport. I could feel the difference in customer service at the passport agency as compared to USCIS. Everyone at the passport agency was very accomodating and friendly.
 
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I just signed my name the way I normally do (no middle name). I think my wife signed the way she usually does (first initial, last name).

They won't refuse you at the border because they don't accept your signature.

Your days of sucking up to the USCIS are over, you get to be lackadaisical like every other American citizen. Congratulations!
 
MJA said:
Are you supposed to sign your full name like on naturalization certificate or your regular signature?

I applied my passport at the Boston Passport agency on 02/21/07 and received it same day. It is an e-passport. I could feel the difference in customer service at the passport agency as compared to USCIS. Everyone at the passport agency was very accomodating and friendly.
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Your regular signature - not just printing your name.
 
MJA said:
Are you supposed to sign your full name like on naturalization certificate or your regular signature?

I applied my passport at the Boston Passport agency on 02/21/07 and received it same day. It is an e-passport. I could feel the difference in customer service at the passport agency as compared to USCIS. Everyone at the passport agency was very accomodating and friendly.
Click to expand...

What are the requirements for getting the passport same day at the passport agency. Do you have to have an emergency, or an Air ticket with 2 weeks left will do it? I would appreciate some answers from you MJA or any of you guys.
 
You need to schedule an appointment in advance on their automated system on the phone. Also, should be travelling within 14 days.
 
Actually when passport agent asked me to sign my passport application I asked her whether I should sign my full name signature like on the naturalization certificate or my regular signature as on my driver licence. She told me that they do not require full name signature and I should sign my legal signature, same as on my driver licence.


medievalKnight, you have to make an appointment to go to a passport agency. To make an appointment at the passport agency, you should be traveling within 14 days and you need confirmed airline itenerary. You dont need to buy the ticket. You can call 1-877-487-2778 and make the appointment.
 
Yep I signed it the way I always do. I figured if I had to do it like the Naturalization form (which I accidently signed both ways), the passport guy would have let me know as after all you have to sign it in front of them. So that's what I did...
 
MJA said:
Actually when passport agent asked me to sign my passport application I asked her whether I should sign my full name signature like on the naturalization certificate or my regular signature as on my driver licence. She told me that they do not require full name signature and I should sign my legal signature, same as on my driver licence.


medievalKnight, you have to make an appointment to go to a passport agency. To make an appointment at the passport agency, you should be traveling within 14 days and you need confirmed airline itenerary. You dont need to buy the ticket. You can call 1-877-487-2778 and make the appointment.
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Thanks indeed for your prompt response! I am planning to travel IA beginning of April, and I would be buying the ticket sometime in March. So I thought about applying for the passport once my flight is within 2 weeks in the Passport agency. I thought this was the quickest and the most economic way to do it! Please let me know if this is the right approach! Can you tell us MJA please how much did it cost you at the passport agancy! Thanks all!
 
medievalKnight said:
Thanks indeed for your prompt response! I am planning to travel IA beginning of April, and I would be buying the ticket sometime in March. So I thought about applying for the passport once my flight is within 2 weeks in the Passport agency. I thought this was the quickest and the most economic way to do it! Please let me know if this is the right approach! Can you tell us MJA please how much did it cost you at the passport agancy! Thanks all!
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After you buy the ticket, you can apply at the passport agency within 14 days of your travel date. Appointment slots get filled quickly so make an appointment as soon as posible. Expedited fee is $157 (97+60).
 
MJA said:
After you buy the ticket, you can apply at the passport agency within 14 days of your travel date. Appointment slots get filled quickly so make an appointment as soon as posible. Expedited fee is $157 (97+60).
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Thanks a lot, that was indeed helpful!
 
Signature on Naturalization Certificate

warlord said:
Yep I signed it the way I always do. I figured if I had to do it like the Naturalization form (which I accidently signed both ways), the passport guy would have let me know as after all you have to sign it in front of them. So that's what I did...
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Warlord,

A quick question - do you have 2 different signatures on your naturalization certificate.

I ran into a similar issue today - when I went to the post office, the passport agent said that my signature was not in the proper format (i.e., it looked more like a printed form and not the cursive form). So, she made me sign again (on top of the initial signature) in a cursive form. So, I have 2 identical versions (one more like a printed form) on the naturalization certificate. Not sure if it will create any problems with passport application or in future. Any help appreciated.

Thanks,

KG
 
I am puzzled. I did not see anywhere in any laws a requirement as to what your personal signature should look like. I always believed it is your personal preference. It is your signature and you should be able to do what ever you want with it. Put a cross down if you wish. The only problem I would expect if someone is inconsistent with their signature (one type on driver's license, another type on Bank's speciment form, another type in a passport). But even then, there is no rule that you have to have only one signature for everything and you cannot change it if for some reason you do not like it any longer.

I personally sign everything with my signature which I had since I was 16 and it is not readable by an English speaker. Never had any problems, questions or otherwise.
 
MichaelDE said:
I personally sign everything with my signature which I had since I was 16 and it is not readable by an English speaker. Never had any problems, questions or otherwise.
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LOL. I find it amusing that even though english is my first language, I still can't read my own signature :D
 
MichaelDE said:
I am puzzled. I did not see anywhere in any laws a requirement as to what your personal signature should look like. I always believed it is your personal preference. It is your signature and you should be able to do what ever you want with it. Put a cross down if you wish. The only problem I would expect if someone is inconsistent with their signature (one type on driver's license, another type on Bank's speciment form, another type in a passport). But even then, there is no rule that you have to have only one signature for everything and you cannot change it if for some reason you do not like it any longer.

I personally sign everything with my signature which I had since I was 16 and it is not readable by an English speaker. Never had any problems, questions or otherwise.
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When you get your naturalization certificate, you will realize that you are not supposed to sign your regular signature on the certificate. Instead, you need to write your name in cursive hand writing without any abbreviation. However, when you sign your passport, you need to put in your regular signature - the way you sign your checks.

That's what the original poster was trying to get a clarification on.

I did not know that either until I got my naturalization certificate. So, I don't blame you for assuming others were just foolish.
 
My husband's passport is signed with his regular signature (like in the check book). I also asked a friend of mine to show me his passport, it was also signed with a normal signature... I am going to do just the same — no full names in cursive.
BTW, I think, in case you have a dual citizenship, it makes sense to sign american passport in a away that matches the signature on the other one... Never know those jokers at the airports :)
 
Dani said:
My husband's passport is signed with his regular signature (like in the check book). I also asked a friend of mine to show me his passport, it was also signed with a normal signature... I am going to do just the same — no full names in cursive.
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That's the right thing to do Dani. This topic came up when I was about to sign my 9 month old son's passport. I called the Passport Agency to get clarification whether to sign the full name in cursive or put in your regular signature and they confirmed that I was supposed to put in my regular signature that is there on my social security card.
 
So that answers the question of how to sign the passport - the overwhelming majority says that one can sign the passport as you would normally sign any document. However, what about the application form for the passport? Since the naturalization certificate has the full name spelled out as the signature - does the application form for the US passport also needs to have the full name spelled out?
 
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