Naturalization and upcoming India trip

G

gc-despo

Registered Users (C)
Just recieved IL for wife and self:

Our timeline:

07/31/2009: N400 Mailed to Phoenix, AZ
08/03/2009: Receipt Date/Priority Date
09/08/2009: FP completed as per scheduled appt
09/20/2009: IL recieved
10/19/2009: Interview date

I have a question. We are planning a trip to India around Christmas time (12/25). Provided our interview proceeds smoothly:

1) When are we likely to get oath?
2) Will there be enough time after oath to apply and get new US passport, and then apply for Indian PIO card/visa?

Do forum members think we have enough time to get all proper docs and make this India trip, or do we need to postpone the trip?
 
gc-despo said:
Just recieved IL for wife and self:

Our timeline:

07/31/2009: N400 Mailed to Phoenix, AZ
08/03/2009: Receipt Date/Priority Date
09/08/2009: FP completed as per scheduled appt
09/20/2009: IL recieved
10/19/2009: Interview date

I have a question. We are planning a trip to India around Christmas time (12/25). Provided our interview proceeds smoothly:

1) When are we likely to get oath?
2) Will there be enough time after oath to apply and get new US passport, and then apply for Indian PIO card/visa?

Do forum members think we have enough time to get all proper docs and make this India trip, or do we need to postpone the trip?
Click to expand...

1) Well, you could get an oath letter from 2 weeks to 6 weeks. If you are going to India and oath ceremony comes around December, have someone (any friend of yours) check your mailbox to see if oath letter is there and have him/her reschedule it for you and your wife. Unfortunately, it will take several days to get an oath appointment if you want to reschedule it.

2) No, you don't have much time to get PIO/OCI because the processing times varies from 3 months to 6 months. But you could get a US passport on the same day you take the oath if you go to the passport agency, not post office. Also, Remember after the oath, your Indian passport will be invalid since India govt doesn't allow dual citizenship so you should get an Indian visa on the same day, then apply for OCI/PIO after you get back from India. It is very important because at the oath your gc will be taken away, you would be stuck in any other country and US port might not let you enter USA if you keep Indian passport.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Uncle Joe said:
Go to India, and asked them about if they can mail to U.S Embassy in India to pick it up
Click to expand...

US embassy won't do anything such as receiving oath letter. Also, Oath cannot be performed outside USA. Oath can be performed in USA for everyone. Outside USA, oath can be performed for only military personnels who are not US citizens.
 
You are in a much better situation than me

My PD is 7/28 and I did my FP on 8/20 , still do not have an interview date

I have confirmed tickets to India on Dec 10.The only saving grace is Atlanta DO offers same day Oaths and I think I can still make it even if I get my interview some time late in November.

Also , I recently found out that you can get your passport the same day if you have confirmed tickets to travel in 2 weeks.Visa is also same day service.



Based on your time line ,you have plenty of time and I think you can move on with your planned trip




gc-despo said:
Just recieved IL for wife and self:

Our timeline:

07/31/2009: N400 Mailed to Phoenix, AZ
08/03/2009: Receipt Date/Priority Date
09/08/2009: FP completed as per scheduled appt
09/20/2009: IL recieved
10/19/2009: Interview date

I have a question. We are planning a trip to India around Christmas time (12/25). Provided our interview proceeds smoothly:

1) When are we likely to get oath?
2) Will there be enough time after oath to apply and get new US passport, and then apply for Indian PIO card/visa?

Do forum members think we have enough time to get all proper docs and make this India trip, or do we need to postpone the trip?
Click to expand...
 
USGC485 said:
US embassy won't do anything such as receiving oath letter. Also, Oath cannot be performed outside USA. Oath can be performed in USA for everyone. Outside USA, oath can be performed for only military personnels who are not US citizens.
Click to expand...
I was talking about passport.
 
Uncle Joe said:
I was talking about passport.
Click to expand...

ok. that's possible for people to pick US passports at US embassy, but the problem is that Indian passport will be invalid after the oath so US citizens won't be allowed to enter India without India visas or PIO/OCI. They must have US passport and India visa/PIO/OCI to enter India. It is not advisable to use Indian passport to enter after taking the oath to become US citizens.

India govt already set up the intelligence computer system at any India port since Mumbai attacks.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You did not say when your travel starts, just mentioned Christmas time. I was able to do oath, passport, and an entry visa in 5 days flat (plus the intervening weekends), I am sure people could do it faster. You will need to dedicate time for this activity and should not plan to work as well as manage this in spare time.

Can't predict when your oath will be. But assuming you have 2 weeks between oath and travel, you can definitely manage it.

PIO/OCI takes much longer, don't even think of them if you are traveling in a few weeks. SFO does them much faster now, but even then 3-4 weeks is a must.
 
All:

Thank you very much for your responses. This is a great forum, I posted then went to have dinner and when I check again there are 6 responses.

It is very useful information that if oath date is within 2 weeks of travel date, then we can get same day passport and same day Indian visa.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
You did not say when your travel starts, just mentioned Christmas time. I was able to do oath, passport, and an entry visa in 5 days flat (plus the intervening weekends), I am sure people could do it faster. You will need to dedicate time for this activity and should not plan to work as well as manage this in spare time.

Can't predict when your oath will be. But assuming you have 2 weeks between oath and travel, you can definitely manage it.

PIO/OCI takes much longer, don't even think of them if you are traveling in a few weeks. SFO does them much faster now, but even then 3-4 weeks is a must.
Click to expand...

I was thinking of starting travel on 12/25 because TIX become cheaper on Christmas day.
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Then you have time till Dec 10 (or even Dec 15) to take oath. Anything later will be worrisome. If it comes later, watch the holiday schedule carefully.
Click to expand...

Reason I prefer PIO card is that for only extra $25, PIO can be converted to OCI later. I dont believe there is any similar credit given for India visa fee when applying for OCI. If I personally go to SF Indian consulate, can I get expedited PIO card?
 
Hi, guys, I have the same problem.

My Interview date is November 12,2009 and my india tickets are booked for November 19.
What should I do? Should I just take the interview and have my oath be rescheduled. My local office is Newark, NJ. The passport agency is located at Hudson St, New York. My trip to India on November 19th, is very important or else I would have postponed it. Any advice will be great appreciated.

Thanks in advance !!
 
cancerboy said:
Hi, guys, I have the same problem.

My Interview date is November 12,2009 and my india tickets are booked for November 19.
What should I do? Should I just take the interview and have my oath be rescheduled. My local office is Newark, NJ. The passport agency is located at Hudson St, New York. My trip to India on November 19th, is very important or else I would have postponed it. Any advice will be great appreciated.

Thanks in advance !!
Click to expand...

Looks like Newark offers same day oath. Assuming you clear the interview and take the oath the next day...

Go to passport agency on Nov 13. Start looking for appointments starting Nov 1st (or earlier if you have patience). I did mine 10 days before. Take the appointment before 10 AM.

Go to visa on Nov 14. Again, get there first thing in the morning.

You got Nov 17 and 18 as buffer.
 
DO not Try This

GC-DESPO,

DO NOT Try to go to India using Indian Passport and pick up the US passport at US consulate and try to leave India using the US passport. This is against the Indian Laws.

When I was in India last time for a Business/Vacation trip; I saw a Lady was arrested at the airport when she was trying to leave for Australia using Australian passport and the immigration office couldn’t find the entry seal on the Australian passport and while questioning it was reveled that she entered India using Indian passport and she was arrested at the Airport ( don’t know what happened after that)
 
tomja1234 said:
GC-DESPO,

DO NOT Try to go to India using Indian Passport and pick up the US passport at US consulate and try to leave India using the US passport. This is against the Indian Laws.

When I was in India last time for a Business/Vacation trip; I saw a Lady was arrested at the airport when she was trying to leave for Australia using Australian passport and the immigration office couldn’t find the entry seal on the Australian passport and while questioning it was reveled that she entered India using Indian passport and she was arrested at the Airport ( don’t know what happened after that)
Click to expand...

Actually something similar happened to me on one of the trips. I had about 8-9 trips (all small < 15 days) after GC, and another maybe 2-3 trips before GC on the passport. The officer was not able to find it ... it took him 5 minutes with no luck and then he started asking questions about last entry etc. ... I finally took the passport from him showed him the stamp. That cooled him down immediately.

I did not realize then what was the big deal about not finding some particular entry/exit stamp. Now I know. In hindsight it does look like they do check if people have taken up citizenship after a GC has been "active" for quite a few years.

However, I am thinking what will be the next step? Once they arrest you, you call the state government (or consulate) - get representation and then ... will they deport you back to US / Australia? Interesting line of thought...
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Actually something similar happened to me on one of the trips. I had about 8-9 trips (all small < 15 days) after GC, and another maybe 2-3 trips before GC on the passport. The officer was not able to find it ... it took him 5 minutes with no luck and then he started asking questions about last entry etc. ... I finally took the passport from him showed him the stamp. That cooled him down immediately. ...
Click to expand...

It happened to me several times in different countries, because I travel a lot, the consulate had to issue an additional booklet as all pages in the passport where used, but it is an other passport book with different passport number, I was always in confusion on which number I should write in entry/exit forms, I always write the one in the new booklet and I use to give both passport books to the Immigration Officer. If you look carefully the entry and exit seals are in different color in India ( red and blue) they always look for a colored seal which correspond to the date ( in my case it might be looking at the seal on the wrong book.)
 
sanjoseaug20 said:
Looks like Newark offers same day oath. Assuming you clear the interview and take the oath the next day...

Go to passport agency on Nov 13. Start looking for appointments starting Nov 1st (or earlier if you have patience). I did mine 10 days before. Take the appointment before 10 AM.

Go to visa on Nov 14. Again, get there first thing in the morning.

You got Nov 17 and 18 as buffer.
Click to expand...

hi sanjose,

thank you for your response...so provided i do the oath ceremony right there on the same day, than i can get the passport in 1 day (appointment taken) and the next week i can the indian visa in one day also.

just in case, i don't get the opportunity to take the oath the same day, then is it advisable to reschedule the oath ceremony? many pople on the forum advises not to reschedule it as it delays the case? does the rescheduling of oath ceremony delays the case a lot or is it just limited to interview date?

thanks in advance.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top