Travel after Oath

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DJdeMarco

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

My wife's oath ceremony is coming up and we have a question. About two days after the oath, she needs to travel abroad for about 3-4 months while I am on a business contract.

My question is; should she apply for a US passport before she leave the country? My family can then mail the citizenship certificate along with password once received to us abroa; or should she apply for password in a US embassy once abroad.

Here is my concern; If she applies while in the US, usps will take her citizenship certificate and mail it to the passport office. If she then tries to travel abroad, all she has is her passport and local drivers license, no green card. Will they ask her at the US airport before leaving regarding how did she come in and where is her green card?

Is there a way for her to apply for a passport while in the US and not have to give them the citizenship certificate for a few weeks and just show it to them?

Thank you for any help.
 
A US citizen must leav e and enter the United States using a US passport. If your wife, after oath, leaves the US without passport, she would have violated this law. Your solution is simple. Just after oath, go to the nearest passport center and apply for passport. You will be able to get it within hours if you show them her travel ticket. This assumes that she is travelling to a place where US citizens are not require to get a visa or where the visa can be obtain at the airport.

The other option will be to postpone either the oath or the trip. Postponing the oath will not be a smart solution in this case because of the lenght of the trip.
 
fbanna79 said:
A US citizen must leav e and enter the United States using a US passport. If your wife, after oath, leaves the US without passport, she would have violated this law. Your solution is simple. Just after oath, go to the nearest passport center and apply for passport. You will be able to get it within hours if you show them her travel ticket. This assumes that she is travelling to a place where US citizens are not require to get a visa or where the visa can be obtain at the airport.

The other option will be to postpone either the oath or the trip. Postponing the oath will not be a smart solution in this case because of the lenght of the trip.
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Thank you fbanna. I didn't know you could get it within hours. Our nearest passport center is san francisco (4 hours drive). I thought they would take a week or so to process it. She can go there to apply for the passport. She is travelling to the UK (on UK pasport) but if she goes to the airport with just GB passport they would expect her to either have a green card or I94.

If passport agency states that it will take longer to process the passport, can she not travel with just her UK passport and her US citizenship certificate?

Thanks.
 
DJdeMarco said:
If passport agency states that it will take longer to process the passport, can she not travel with just her UK passport and her US citizenship certificate?

Thanks.
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As a returning US citizen, she would need to show her US passport, not her UK passport. Showing UK passport and US certificate during reentry to US will cause confusion and raise questions with US customs.

As for passport agency, there's no guarantees that they will be able to process your passport the same day. Past posters have reported a few hours to next day processing at passport agencies, depending on how busy they are.
 
DJdeMarco said:
Thank you fbanna. I didn't know you could get it within hours. Our nearest passport center is san francisco (4 hours drive). I thought they would take a week or so to process it. She can go there to apply for the passport. She is travelling to the UK (on UK pasport) but if she goes to the airport with just GB passport they would expect her to either have a green card or I94.

If passport agency states that it will take longer to process the passport, can she not travel with just her UK passport and her US citizenship certificate?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Call the passport agency now, explain the situation and try to get an appointment.

As of traveling with a naturalization certificate and a UK passport, i don't know what trouble this may put you in. I am guessing she will be stopped on her way back in when she will claim herself a US citizen and show a foreign passport and a naturalization certificate. But, I want to point to you what is the requirmement as far as passport is concerned:

"When entering or exiting the US, a US citizen must use a US passport".

i don't think a violation of this rule can make her loose her citizenship, but after 9/11, you know more than i how cautious border agents are regarding some issues.
 
Thank you everyone.

I have called and made an appointment with San Francisco Office (Automated system).

Hopefully, they will be able to get her a passport the same day or by next morning.

Thanks again.
 
DJdeMarco said:
Thank you everyone.

I have called and made an appointment with San Francisco Office (Automated system).

Hopefully, they will be able to get her a passport the same day or by next morning.

Thanks again.
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Let us know how it goes, so we can use your example to help others as well.

thanks
 
DJdeMarco said:
Thank you everyone.

I have called and made an appointment with San Francisco Office (Automated system).

Hopefully, they will be able to get her a passport the same day or by next morning.

Thanks again.
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They will probably ask why you are requesting expedited (same day) processing. Be prepared to show them flight itinerary.
 
Thank you all for your help. It was of extreme help.

My wife was able to go to her Oath Ceremony, drive to San Francisco the next day, get her new passport within few hours (about 6) and fly the following day. They did ask for the itinerary at the passport but no hassle at all. Infact they were very helpful.

Thank you for all your help. Good luck to everyone.
 
That is awesome...problem solved. Another success story of people taking good advantage of this forum.
 
DJdeMarco said:
Thank you all for your help. It was of extreme help.

My wife was able to go to her Oath Ceremony, drive to San Francisco the next day, get her new passport within few hours (about 6) and fly the following day. They did ask for the itinerary at the passport but no hassle at all. Infact they were very helpful.

Thank you for all your help. Good luck to everyone.
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I am happy that our advises worked for you. Good luck in your future.
 
What if, though, she had applied for the passport, left the country with her British passport without the airline causing problems, had the US passport sent to her in Britain by a friend, and come back with her US passport? The only time DHS would check her, she would have her US passport. You think they'd cause trouble over her departure on another passport?
 
cafeconleche said:
What if, though, she had applied for the passport, left the country with her British passport without the airline causing problems, had the US passport sent to her in Britain by a friend, and come back with her US passport? The only time DHS would check her, she would have her US passport. You think they'd cause trouble over her departure on another passport?
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I don't see an issue with that scenario as long as the airline doesn't ask for proof of US citizenship status at departure.
 
TWIN TROUBLE said:
What if they notice that there is no exit stamp on the US passport?
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There is no such thing as an "Exit Stamp" for departing the US. The US does not, as other countries do, have exit controls in place. That's one thing I can't understand about the current regulations: that US citizens must enter and leave the US with a US passport. How can you "leave" the US with a US passport when nobody checks your passport? And what if you are a dual citizen traveling to the country of your birth, and they have the same requirement? If they do, then at some point during your trip you are breaking the laws of one country to be in compliance with the other.

As for the airline check in process, they don't care what nationality you are as long as you have a valid passport and/or visa. They will swipe your passport, but nothing more. Not sure that this info is uploaded to a DHS database, but it wouldn't surprise me. It is for inbound flights. Personally, I think the only time it really matters is when you ARRIVE in the US - you should always use your US passport and only your US passport when seeking to gain admission here.
 
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