N-400: Question about former passports....

[antda 13]

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the midst of preparing my N-400 application and have been reading posts here on VJ about the N-400 process too.

Anyways, one of the items that have been mentioned is "previous and current passports", as a document that they require for the N-400 process and interview, regardless of if they are expired or still valid.

I currently have the following passports in my names:

-Canadian (valid, from 2009-2014, in my married name)

-Canadian (expired, from 2004-2009, in my maiden name, with an visitor's visa to the USA which I later adjusted to a US green card immigrant status)

However, I sort-of have another passport, under my parent's name:

-Birth Country (expired, in my parent's name, but with a page notation and photo with my particlars as a minor child in it many years ago, with an immigrant visa to Canada). As far as I know, I don't have citizenship and/or any other legal ties to this birth country now, so I cannot get another passport from that birth country, nor do I want to or intend to either.

So my question is: Do I also have to include that past Birth Country passport for the N-400? If so, will I have to show them the original, or will a copy of it suffice? Or will submitting only my Canadian passports original and/or copy suffice for this N-400 process, since Canada is my current country of citizenship and that these are the only passports in my name and possession?

The reason why I ask this now is that I don't have that birth country passport in possession with me now, as it is not mine. Therefore, if such is needed for the N-400, I will have to ask to "borrow" it from my parents, which could take some time to do beforehand, and I will have to do that as soon as possible...

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

Ant (Still waiting for I-751, Still waiting for Baby...)

Edited April 7, 2009 by AntandD

[TayRivers 4]

Hi Everyone,

I'm in the midst of preparing my N-400 application and have been reading posts here on VJ about the N-400 process too.

Anyways, one of the items that have been mentioned is "previous and current passports", as a document that they require for the N-400 process and interview, regardless of if they are expired or still valid.

I currently have the following passports in my names:

-Canadian (valid, from 2009-2014, in my married name)

-Canadian (expired, from 2004-2009, in my maiden name, with an visitor's visa to the USA which I later adjusted to a US green card immigrant status)

However, I sort-of have another passport, under my parent's name:

-Birth Country (expired, in my parent's name, but with a page notation and photo with my particlars as a minor child in it many years ago, with an immigrant visa to Canada). As far as I know, I don't have citizenship and/or any other legal ties to this birth country now, so I cannot get another passport from that birth country, nor do I want to or intend to either.

So my question is: Do I also have to include that past Birth Country passport for the N-400? If so, will I have to show them the original, or will a copy of it suffice? Or will submitting only my Canadian passports original and/or copy suffice for this N-400 process, since Canada is my current country of citizenship and that these are the only passports in my name and possession?

The reason why I ask this now is that I don't have that birth country passport in possession with me now, as it is not mine. Therefore, if such is needed for the N-400, I will have to ask to "borrow" it from my parents, which could take some time to do beforehand, and I will have to do that as soon as possible...

Any thoughts, ideas, suggestions, etc. will be greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance for your help.

Ant (Still waiting for I-751, Still waiting for Baby...)

You only need the passports that have been issued in your name. My wife was included on her mothers passport years ago but this was not required at the N-400 interview. The interviewing officer only looked at the entry/exit stamps in her current passport and her original entry stamp in the passport that was in her maiden name.

Just take what you have and you will be fine.

[Stella08 0]

If I remember correctly, they only ask for passports you have used to enter the U.S. That way they can compare the stamps in the passports with the travel dates you put on your applications.

For the interview I had my current passport and the expired one before that. But I didn't have the the expired passport from almost 20 years ago anymore which I had used when I visited the U.S. for the very first time.

All the IO wanted to see was my current passport. I think if there had been something unclear about how much time I had spent outside the U.S. after I became a permanent resident or how much time I had spent in the U.S. before I received my visa, he might have checked more carefully.

[antda 13]

Hi TayRivers,

Thanks for your reply. Glad to hear that your wife didn't have any problems with the passport in her mother's name, since the interview officer didn't want to see that. Yes, it would make sense they only want to see the entry/exit stamps in her current passport, as more likely than not they are probably looking at the times a person has been out of the country, since their permanent residency, and not really looking for anything else before.

Hmmm..I wonder if they issue British passports for minor children under their parent's names nowdays too? (my parents had a British passport and I was under theirs, like your wife was under her parents).

Likewise, my original US entry stamp (that's the only travel stamp that's in there) was in the Canadian passport in my maiden name, so I'll bring that along. As well, I'll bring along my new Canadian passport in my married name too (though there are no stamps in that one).

Congratulations to your wife getting US Citizenship!

Ant (Still waiting for I-751, Still waiting for Baby...)

You only need the passports that have been issued in your name. My wife was included on her mothers passport years ago but this was not required at the N-400 interview. The interviewing officer only looked at the entry/exit stamps in her current passport and her original entry stamp in the passport that was in her maiden name.

Just take what you have and you will be fine.

[antda 13]

Hi Stella08,

Thanks for your reply. That would make sense that they only ask for passports, as like you said, "so that they can see the entry into the US and compare that with travel dates you put on your applications", as this determines eligibility for US Citizenship. The only problem in my case is that I don't have such travel stamps in my passports (except for my original POE US vistor's visa entry stamp), as my travels have been back to Canada, I've used my Canadian passport for such travels, and the US/Canada has a "visa waiver" program in which no passport stamps are needed.

So I guess I'll just have to find another additional way to explain those frequent visits, as there is no proof in the passports of such...

Glad to hear that you didn't have any problems for your citizenship interview, showing your current passport and your expired one before that, and they didn't bother asking for the one before that. Likewise, I'll do the same in showing my current passport and my last expired one, and hopefully that will be sufficient for them too.

And yes, if there are no problems in terms of how much time you spent outside of the USA, then they should be ok with what you have provided them passport-wise. Glad everything went well for your citizenship interview there.

Congratulations on getting your US Citizenship, Stella08!

Ant (Still waiting for I-751, Still waiting for Baby...)

If I remember correctly, they only ask for passports you have used to enter the U.S. That way they can compare the stamps in the passports with the travel dates you put on your applications.

For the interview I had my current passport and the expired one before that. But I didn't have the the expired passport from almost 20 years ago anymore which I had used when I visited the U.S. for the very first time.

All the IO wanted to see was my current passport. I think if there had been something unclear about how much time I had spent outside the U.S. after I became a permanent resident or how much time I had spent in the U.S. before I received my visa, he might have checked more carefully.

[antda 13]

P.S. Yippee... One less thing to worry about for me, in terms of "borrowing" the old expired passport from my parents. I'll just bring what I have passport-wise that is issued in my name only, and hope for the best there when the time comes for me for my citizenship interview this/next year.

[NickD 202]

The whole deal in a nutshell, depends on whether you are applying for the 3 year marriage or five year LPR requirement. I didn't even check on the five year as marriage was our problem.

On the N-400, you have to list all of your trips outside of the USA that lasted longer than 24 hours since you became a permanent resident. The purpose of bringing in your foreign passport is so the IO can, if they want, to verify those trips, you do not send that verification in with your N-400. In our case, my wife has to renew her passport within that three year period, so had to bring in her expired as well as her new passport, and sure enough, her IO compared those dates with the few trips we made.

Anything outside of that, they don't care about.

Another reason is to check how many days you were out of the country, they have limits on that as well, they want you here to get your USC. All that stuff is in the M-476 manual, I don't recall those times, but do recall when reading it, we weren't even close to those limits. I gather they assume if your passport says you were out of the country, you were not here.

Guess that doesn't cover aliens from outer space with a stealth flying saucer, no records of that, just kidding, but is possible.

[antda 13]

Hi NickD,

Thanks for your reply, and thanks for explaining "the whole passport deal in a nutshell". And yes, I'm applying for US Citizenship, based on the 3yr marriage requirement rules.

In terms of travelling, "since I've become a permanent resident", my trips have been between 24-48 hours, for 10-20 trips, during these 2-3 years, which is nowhere near the abandoned residency status 6 months/180 days limits. My trips have been back to Canada by car (since we live so close to the border and I'm from there originally), and I've travelled with my Canadian passport. Now the problem with verifying my trips based on my passport, is that it is nearly impossible to do, and they simply "don't issue exit/entry stamps" for such trips to "visa-exempt countries", nor do I have any travel tickets proving for these land travel trips. So I would have to find some other way to "verify" these trips, other than my "blank/no stamps" passports....Any ideas? The best I can do is to write a list of these trips, from the best of my memory/recollection, and they can verify it through some other way instead, as I'm sure they have some record of my trips at the border that I'm not aware of as they did swipe my green card and/or passport when I cross the border.

Ok, now if my passport says "blank/no stamps" and I've been out of the country, does that mean that I'm not out of the country to Canada...No...So as I said before, I'll have to find some other way to "declare" and "prove" such...And if the officer doesn't believe me...well..I'll let them figure that one out...

Actually, when I was at my AOS interview, I remember the IO asking me "So, if you're from Canada, how come you have a passport stamp for your POE when you drove over here?" (by the way, this is the only stamp that I have in my passports). To which I said, "I don't know, you tell me"....

In this case, I guess I fall under the category of "aliens from outer space with a flying saucer"..(well, more like "an alien from the USA with a minivan with no travel records", to be exact)...

Ant (Still waiting for I-751, Still waiting for Baby...)

The whole deal in a nutshell, depends on whether you are applying for the 3 year marriage or five year LPR requirement. I didn't even check on the five year as marriage was our problem.

On the N-400, you have to list all of your trips outside of the USA that lasted longer than 24 hours since you became a permanent resident. The purpose of bringing in your foreign passport is so the IO can, if they want, to verify those trips, you do not send that verification in with your N-400. In our case, my wife has to renew her passport within that three year period, so had to bring in her expired as well as her new passport, and sure enough, her IO compared those dates with the few trips we made.Anything outside of that, they don't care about.

Another reason is to check how many days you were out of the country, they have limits on that as well, they want you here to get your USC. All that stuff is in the M-476 manual, I don't recall those times, but do recall when reading it, we weren't even close to those limits. I gather they assume if your passport says you were out of the country, you were not here.

Guess that doesn't cover aliens from outer space with a stealth flying saucer, no records of that, just kidding, but is possible.