taking oath and getting passport questions

[mikeyr]

I wish I had found this forum months ago, I had some legal issues and questions that I really worried about for months prior to my interview. On a formal level everything has gone smoothly, on a personal level this was a super stressful few months.

I take my oath in 3 weeks at the L.A. Convention Center and I have some questions about applying for a passport at the same time. I have read other posts here that imply there will be no place to copy the Certificate of Naturalization and you have to surrender it for the passport application. I am little concerned about giving up that piece of paper but I realize I have to and have read here where they got lost in the return mail. Since I don't plan on traveling until Xmas I will have plenty of time to apply for a passport, should I wait, take my certificate home and copy it and then apply later for the passport ? I assume a copy is pretty useless for any official purpose but it would be better then nothing.

Will there be a chance to meet with my wife after I have the certificate and prior to the passport line so we can take a hi def picture of the certificate (12meg camera will take a perfect picture of it, not a cell phone pic) before I surrender the certificate ? or is the passport area in a oath taking area that she can't get to.

Related to that last question can I take my camera with me into the oath taking area ? When I went for my interview the papers specifically stated no cameras even though they allowed cell phones that take pictures.

I have not heard of a passport card before but I will be applying for one of those as well.

For reference, my mother who is 80 and I both applied on Feb 24, got fingerprinting letter March 29, fingerprinting April 11, (mother did not have to do fingerprinting), Interview July 13, and will take the oath on Aug. 25. Got lucky that our interview was on same day and time and the oath is also same day/time.

 

[König]

You can take a camera with you to the oath, and your wife will definitely be allowed to meet with you after the oath before the passport application line. I don't know the specifics of the LA Convention Centre, but where I took the oath, family members could sit behind main applicants.

If I were you, I would not apply for the passport right away. I would first make a copy of the certificate, go to the SSA to update the status and go to the DMV if the name was changed during naturalisation. After that, I would apply for the passport at the post office. This way, even if the certificate is lost in the mail, you will still have the updated driving licence and the SS card - and that is enough to prove work eligibility in the USA.

 

[mikeyr]

Good points, I actually was not worried about the drivers license and proving work eligibility since I have the license and long ago proved my eligibility to work to my employer but things change and that is something I should consider also. As far as the DMV goes, they have (for the last 30 years) had my license under the name I changed to during the interview so no need to tell them. I have gone by the name Mike for 30 years and most legal documents and bank accounts are Mike only the IRS knows me as Michel (I filed a alias paper with the IRS when they questioned me about it 20 years ago). I have no idea what name my SS account is under, don't even know where that card might be, I have never needed it.

Thanks for the information, if I can get in with my camera I may consider taking a hi res pic of the certificate and doing the passport but otherwise I will wait as you suggested.