Question for those who applied for the passport book and card separately

Hannah7 said:
Congratulation Jackolantern!

Would be nice if you wanted to share some experience from your interview. Good luck and I hope you continue to be one the of the best members of this forum.
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My interview was straightforward and smooth. I had no long trips, total time outside the US was less than 120 days, and no brushes with the law except one speeding ticket from more than 10 years ago, which I mentioned on the application.

I was asked if I got arrested for the speeding ticket, I clearly explained that I did not, the officer wrote the ticket on the spot then let me drive away. She seemed satisfied with that and moved on to the next question. Yes, I got the "You have been arrested" yellow letter which has been a source of alarm on this forum, and maybe that is what made her ask whether there was an arrest with the speeding ticket.

I was concerned that she might ask about documentation of the ticket (which is likely impossible to obtain at this time), and came prepared to argue against that. I even was ready to point to the paragraph on the document checklist which states that documentation is not necessary for under-$500 traffic violations with no arrest/drugs/DUI, but I ended up not having to argue that point.

I told the interviewer that I had taken one short trip since filing the application, and showed the page from my passport which had passport stamps for both directions. After a quick look at it she said "OK" and moved on to the next question, but I didn't see her make a note of the trip on paper or the computer. I don't know if it's because the trip was already visible in the system, or because it was so short that she felt it could be ignored.

For the civics questions, I got 6 right, no problem.

At the end she smiled and said I can expect the oath letter in the mail, but I didn't get any paper saying "recommended for approval". The oath letter arrived in a week, and the oath itself was 2 weeks after the oath letter.
 
JPBoston said:
It depends on when you apply also. My son's passport book/card took a month when we applied in May, probably because more people applying in time for summer travel. The guy at the PO did say that it usually takes less time than what the processing dates say ... he said 4-6 weeks for regular processing was more like 3-4 weeks.
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Correct - April-June by far is the peak, where routine processing can actually take 4 weeks, but sometime like November, it actually takes only 1.5 weeks (as in the case of my son)
 
I wanted to share my experience so far on passport card. I got my US citizenship on May 8th this year. Since I had to rush to India, I got the US passport on 5/9 at the regional passport agency, got PIO subsequently and went to India and came back. Since passport card is an additional identity document verifying citizenship and easier to carry, I applied for one by sending my original passport by fedex to the address mentioned (PO Box) on the passport form.

When I was tracking the delivery I noticed that fedex mentioned in their website that my delivery address was wrong and there was an exception. So I called fedex and enquired about it. I came to know that fedex does not compete with USPS and due to some agreement they cannot deliver to that PO box address. But they mentioned they have the alternate address with them and will get my package delivered later that day. Thankfully my package was delivered (on 7/22).

Since then, except for the checks being cashed, my status always says application not found. Hoping everything goes well and I get my card issued shortly.

Based on this what I learned is, in the future I should not fedex to a PO Box address - hope this is correct :(
 
GCBy2010 said:
Since then, except for the checks being cashed, my status always says application not found. Hoping everything goes well and I get my card issued shortly.
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And if what others have been saying in this thread is correct, the card's expiration date will be August 2023 (assuming it's issued this month), not the same May 2023 as your passport.
 
Congratulations JackO ! Maybe the cosmic energy made me visit this forum after a long time ... just in time to see your approval/oath update.
 
I checked the mail last night and the passport was there! Now my citizenship starts to really feel real.

That's 2 and a half weeks end to end, without expedited service.

Hopefully the certificate isn't too mutilated when it arrives. Unfortunately the postman will have to bend or fold it to fit it into the mailbox.
 
Congrats Jacko! I am still waiting for my card, about 3 weeks gone so far. Hoping to get it this week.
 
JackoLantern, any update via email that your passport was completed? Congrats!!

Still waiting on mine.
 
The naturalization certificate arrived. The postman bent it to make it fit in the mailbox, but didn't roll it tightly or fold it, so easily regained its flat shape. However it has a number of small dents and creases from the general abuse it must have taken during the sorting and mailing journey.

Looks I'll have to give up the passport book when applying for the passport card, instead of sending the naturalization certificate again as previously planned. I don't want to subject the certificate to more abuse. I'll just have to time the application to ensure that it would be unlikely for me to have a reason to travel abroad while waiting for the card.
 
Jackolantern said:
The naturalization certificate arrived. The postman bent it to make it fit in the mailbox, but didn't roll it tightly or fold it, so easily regained its flat shape. However it has a number of small dents and creases from the general abuse it must have taken during the sorting and mailing journey.

Looks I'll have to give up the passport book when applying for the passport card, instead of sending the naturalization certificate again as previously planned. I don't want to subject the certificate to more abuse. I'll just have to time the application to ensure that it would be unlikely for me to have a reason to travel abroad while waiting for the card.
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Why did you not apply for the passport card along with passport book? It is just a matter of checking a box and paying the additional $45 fees.
 
Jacko - Update. I got the passport card on Saturday - with expiration date in Aug 2023. This is different from my passport book expiry date which I had applied couple of months back (expires May 2023). So your theory is correct.

Now I have a different question. When I entered the US after visiting India, the immigration officer at the port of entry asked me for the purpose of visit. I had to explain I was visiting friends and relatives. Next he asked me how long my trip was. I didn't expect these questions as I thought US citizens may not be quizzed this way. Do you have any idea about this?

I checked the customs and border protection page and all it says is, if you are a US citizen, the CBP will welcome you back to the United States. But that's not what happened to me. Here is a quote from the URL below.

http://www.cbp.gov/xp/cgov/travel/id_visa/legally_admitted_to_the_u_s.xml (scroll to the bottom for information)

"If you are a U.S. citizen, the officer will ask you for your passport, verify your citizenship, and then welcome
you back to the United States. You will then proceed to the Customs inspection area."
 
Jackolantern said:
I checked the mail last night and the passport was there! Now my citizenship starts to really feel real.

That's 2 and a half weeks end to end, without expedited service.

Hopefully the certificate isn't too mutilated when it arrives. Unfortunately the postman will have to bend or fold it to fit it into the mailbox.
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That is awesome! I am hoping for the same but it has only been 1/2 week for me...LOL. The one thing that I noticed the USPS agent (who took in our application) do was actually put our certificates in separate 8.5x11 envelopes and put several sticker on the envelopes that said "do not bend". I guess he did this all the time but he put my mind at ease. At some point these certs will come out of their envelopes and could bent, but at least they had a comfortable ride one way to State :)

Oh, and also, what is the purpose of possessing that card while your passport is gone for whatever reason? Do you travel to Canada or Mexico by road very often? What good is it otherwise?
 
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Tazmania - The reason I applied for card is - it is very handy to carry. Wherever proof of citizenship is required (like driver license, I-9 verification etc), I don't need to carry my passport (which I can store securely and use only for travel). Consider this way, if we are a naturalized citizen, it is an additional proof of citizenship available to us (other than the naturalization certificate & passport book).
 
GCBy2010 said:
Now I have a different question. When I entered the US after visiting India, the immigration officer at the port of entry asked me for the purpose of visit. I had to explain I was visiting friends and relatives. Next he asked me how long my trip was. I didn't expect these questions as I thought US citizens may not be quizzed this way. Do you have any idea about this?
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They may legitimately ask questions to help verify that you're the genuine owner of the passport. If they ask where you've been or how long you've been gone they can cross-check that against what they see in the system; if you had stolen the passport you're less likely to know those details (of course, if you borrowed the passport you could have obtained that information from the passport holder, so it's definitely not foolproof).

But I think some of them are just buffoons who like to bully naturalized citizens, as they feel most naturalized citizens (especially recently naturalized) are less secure in their citizenship than born citizens, and are more likely to accept the abuse because of already tolerating such abuse for years as visa holders and permanent residents. So they may ask questions which are unnecessary or even illegal, but they get away with it because the individuals they harass are not willing to take a stand against them.
 
Tazmania said:
For what reason did you order the card? It's kind of useless isn't it?
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Unless you drive back and forth to Canada or Mexico its practically an ID. I dont need it but applied for it anyway due to just plain ol' excitement
 
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