Travel While Naturalization is Pending

[reeses16 8]

Hello! My hubby and I have booked a trip to Amsterdam for mid November. And we're not sure if he will have his US citizenship by then. So I'm playing with a few scenarios and have lots of questions:

(1) Can my hubby travel to Canada from the US, and return to the US using only his green card?

Since he's a citizen of Ethiopia he is required to have a tourist visa to visit Amsterdam. All the info that I could find about getting a tourist visa to The Netherlands indicate that we can only apply in person at an Embassy. Our nearest embassy for the Netherlands is in Vancouver, Canada. The website says to bring a self-addressed, paid envelope to submit with the visa application. I'm assuming we'll apply for his visa, leave the passport, which means we would have to re-enter the US with without his Ethiopian passport, and I'm not sure if this is ok.

(2) If you are lucky enough to take the oath the same day as your interview, do you get your certificate the same day?

(3) If you take your oath after the interview, as part of the citizenship ceremony, how soon after the oath do you receive the naturalization certificate?

Thankfully there is a passport agency locally, so we could apply in person for a same day passport once we have the certificate.

Hubby has his biometrics soon. I'm planning to schedule an infopass appointment for the same day to see if they can tell us the dates of their Sept, Oct, & Nov naturalization ceremonies. Hopefully they know ( I know!), and I can better narrow down our options. No matter what, I figure we should have his interview letter before November and we could always request a reschedule.

Thanks in advance for the responses!

[reeses16 8]

(4) Do the Honorary Dutch Consulates issue tourist visas?

I'll call them in the morning, but thought someone here might know.

Thanks again!

Edited August 18, 2010 by reeses16

[v333k 59]

Hi,

I am pretty sure you can mail the application to the nearest consulate in the US and not have to go to it personally. I wouldn't go to Canada for this, but that's only me.

I've heard of people having to show only the GC when returning to the US but I wouldn't take my chances.

Some locations offer same day oaths, but I am not sure if they are willing to share this information ahead of time. You can always ask and see if they tell you.

Once the oath is taken, the certificate is issued on the spot and the newly naturalized individual will walk out with it.

As for how long after the interview an oath is scheduled, it depends on the location and how frequently they perform oath ceremonies.

[NickD 202]

Ever hear of that phase, "Putting the cart before the horse"?

Booking a flight while making a commitment to the USCIS and before even applying for a visa first also sounds doing things a bit backwards.

Wife had a new ten year green card and a renewed five passport, we were good to travel of the next five years. In making the N-400 commitment checked the processing times for both the USCIS and the Department of State. Not too long ago, was taken the USCIS 18 months to process the N-400, we took our trip before applying, processing time then was nine months, to our amazement was done in five months. Also the DOS was taking as long as six months to issue a US passport, that was cut back to three weeks, she got her passport in eleven days. Can't travel between your oath and until you get your US passport, they take your green card away. We knew we would be in what I call the twilight zone again, but if an emergency did arise, there are options to handle that. Costly options, but still options.

Sure you can postpone your interview, but this puts you right back at the end of the line, so why even apply if you are planning on taking a trip? Or booking a flight before getting that visa, sure sounds like putting the cart before the horse.

[reeses16 8]

Yep, I've heard that phrase NickD. And that is exactly what we did! Anyway, just asking for advice on how to proceed given the choices we've made.

FYI, the earliest that you can apply for a visa to the Netherlands is 3 months in advance of your departure so we're right on time.

Ever hear of that phase, "Putting the cart before the horse"?

Booking a flight while making a commitment to the USCIS and before even applying for a visa first also sounds doing things a bit backwards.

Wife had a new ten year green card and a renewed five passport, we were good to travel of the next five years. In making the N-400 commitment checked the processing times for both the USCIS and the Department of State. Not too long ago, was taken the USCIS 18 months to process the N-400, we took our trip before applying, processing time then was nine months, to our amazement was done in five months. Also the DOS was taking as long as six months to issue a US passport, that was cut back to three weeks, she got her passport in eleven days. Can't travel between your oath and until you get your US passport, they take your green card away. We knew we would be in what I call the twilight zone again, but if an emergency did arise, there are options to handle that. Costly options, but still options.

Sure you can postpone your interview, but this puts you right back at the end of the line, so why even apply if you are planning on taking a trip? Or booking a flight before getting that visa, sure sounds like putting the cart before the horse.

[reeses16 8]

Thanks for the reply,V333K .

[Captain Oates 910]

Admiralty rules

What to do if your ship is caught on a lee shore

answer:

Never put your ship on a lee shore

[NickD 202]

From experience, youngest son needed a student visa for Japan, university already showed he paid his $15,000 tuition cost in advance, never had to show up, they sent his visa via overnight within a day.

He met a girl there, want to go back to see her, applied for a tourist visa, had to show up at the consulate in Chicago, took almost a year for him to get that. In that time, his girl found somebody else.

Just seems if they know you have a lot of money, going there to spend it and come back home, can get a visa very quickly. But if not, and concerned you are going there for free medical care or whatever, can take a very long time.

[reeses16 8]

In case any one if following this, I just wanted to give a few updates. See red text.

Hello! My hubby and I have booked a trip to Amsterdam for mid November. And we're not sure if he will have his US citizenship by then. So I'm playing with a few scenarios and have lots of questions:

(1) Can my hubby travel to Canada from the US, and return to the US using only his green card?

Since he's a citizen of Ethiopia he is required to have a tourist visa to visit Amsterdam. All the info that I could find about getting a tourist visa to The Netherlands indicate that we can only apply in person at an Embassy. Our nearest embassy for the Netherlands is in Vancouver, Canada. The website says to bring a self-addressed, paid envelope to submit with the visa application. I'm assuming we'll apply for his visa, leave the passport, which means we would have to re-enter the US with without his Ethiopian passport, and I'm not sure if this is ok.

No, he needs both his passport & green card. I have heard that some people were able to come back with only the green card, but we won't take that gamble.

I have communicated with the Dutch Embassy by phone and e-mail, and he MUST appear in person to apply for a visa. They will NOT process any visa applications through the mail. From the time the application is received it takes approximately 15 days to receive the visa. They will not issue visas the same day.

(2) If you are lucky enough to take the oath the same day as your interview, do you get your certificate the same day?

Yes, you receive your certificate the same day you take the oath. If you take the oath in conjunction with your interview you will receive it the same day.

(3) If you take your oath after the interview, as part of the citizenship ceremony, how soon after the oath do you receive the naturalization certificate?

Thankfully there is a passport agency locally, so we could apply in person for a same day passport once we have the certificate.

Same day.

Hubby has his biometrics soon. I'm planning to schedule an infopass appointment for the same day to see if they can tell us the dates of their Sept, Oct, & Nov naturalization ceremonies. Hopefully they know ( I know!), and I can better narrow down our options. No matter what, I figure we should have his interview letter before November and we could always request a reschedule.

Thanks in advance for the responses!

(4) Do the Honorary Dutch Consulates issue tourist visas?

I'll call them in the morning, but thought someone here might know.

No. There is a honorary consulate near our home. They used to issue visas, but have stopped this as of 2 years ago.

Thanks again!

[reeses16 8]

If we apply for a visa we will travel to San Fransico (the nearest embassy that processes visa), since they will keep his passport and I don't want to be stuck in Canada. It would be an unexpected trip, but we've been wanting to visit anyway and this is a good reason. We've already scheduled an appointment with the Embassy. We will cancel or reschedule as things unfold.

FYI, the Dutch visa application is like a K1 visa! Seriously, among other things we have to include pay stubs, bank statements, paid hotel reservations, and evidence of health insurance with at least $45,000 in coverage. I just thought this combine with the mandatory in person application was a bit atypical (overboard). But its want they want, and if we want to visit, its what we're going to do. Its actually not too bad, we've gathered everything they request.

My hubby's biometrics appointment is soon. So an interview letter isn't far off. That will help us get a better view of the time line we're facing. We made an infopass appointment immediately following his biometrics. Hopefully, the person we will speak with will be able to tell us the dates /frequency of upcoming oath ceremonies for our local office.