Hi there. We have our oath ceremony (whoop whoop) in a couple of weeks and are traveling to London over Thanksgiving (a month after the Oath). I read that we can’t use the Certificate of Naturalization to re-enter the US and obviously we’ll no longer have our green cards so I’m assuming that our only option is to apply for US passports. Given the timings, we’ll need to expedite them.

So my questions are: will/can they give the kids (age 12) a Certificate of Naturalization at the Oath Ceremony (they’ll come with us and we can bring their ID etc)? If not, do you know how long it might take to apply/receive one? (Read that it costs $500+). Or can I apply for their passports at USPS using my Certificate as proof?

(Timeline if anyone’s interested: applied April 19th (90 days before 5 year GC anniversary!), ETA was April 2020. Biometrics May 10th. Interview and Civics test Oct 9th, Oath Ceremony Oct 22th.)

thanks!

Thanks Rete. That makes life easier... and a bit cheaper!!

Once they have passports do you think it’s still worth applying for the documentation or is it a waste of money?

Do I need to bring the kids with me when I apply for our passports at the post office? Or can I get the back of their photos signed by someone who vouches that it’s them?

They had a place set-up to accept passport applications in the library next to the building where I did my Oath. They still charged an acceptance fee, but was able to send my application same day and pay to expedite it, and I had it back inside 2 weeks.

After seeing someone, who from what I could tell by what the immigration officer was saying to him had been repeatedly told to get a US passport after entering with a foreign passport and naturalization certificate multiple times, it’s defiantly not an experience I would want to go thorough, but interesting that it’s at least possible. Not sure how they were able to board the flight, maybe they used an ESTA and foreign pastry to get on the plane and then pull out the certificate to prove they are a USC at inspection.

i heard that they don’t accept the naturalization documentation for re-entry. Do you know if I ha e to surrender my kids’ Green Cards at the oath ceremony as well as ours? If I don’t then I can presumably just sort out their passports when I return from our overseas trip (and therefore not pay extra to expedite them)

I had heard the same on here many times , but what I saw in person indicated it may not be so clear cut in the real world. As I understand it they can’t deny entry to a USC, but I assume they would treat it like a USC arriving with no passport at all, so the fee is probably more than the cost of a passport. I guess the difference is a dual national has more chance of making it on a plane as they have a passport. Most airlines would not let you board a flight without the right entry documents.

My children were already USC before so I can’t answer your question from my own experience, but I would assume if they become USC when you do they would take all the GC’s, they seem to want any and every official document related to immigration you have.... not sure if they would know to ask for them, but I assume entering on them after they had become USC would be a violation of some type.