birth certificate vs passport

[heartbeat 0]

I have to appear for an interview for my citizenship in 2 weeks. However I received 2 requests to appear for the interview. One of them said to bring my spouse's passport, naturalization certificate or birth certificate. The other one said to bring only the birth certificate or naturalization certificate. No word about the passport. The second letter came letter. I was planning on taking on the passport only, but now I am worried that they accept only the birth certificate. I thought I was ok with passport only???

Thanks

Heartbeat

[NickD 203]

I have to appear for an interview for my citizenship in 2 weeks. However I received 2 requests to appear for the interview. One of them said to bring my spouse's passport, naturalization certificate or birth certificate. The other one said to bring only the birth certificate or naturalization certificate. No word about the passport. The second letter came letter. I was planning on taking on the passport only, but now I am worried that they accept only the birth certificate. I thought I was ok with passport only???

Thanks

Heartbeat

The USCIS brought new meaning to the word, "redundant", besides the passport, naturalization, or birth certificate, also said to bring in all of the original documentation, and for us like the rest of us, this was the third time!!

Since their game is redundancy, played their game and included copies of both my birth certificate and passport in the mailed evidence that dictated I should bring in those original documents that would include my birth certificate AND passport.

Ha, make a game of it, you want evidence, I got evidence, but would like to say, hey, you want to see my wife's green card, we can show you both of them, and we didn't exactly get these out of a box of Cracker Jack, took tons of evidence to get those. And we also didn't get our marriage certificate out of a box of Cracker Jack either, state ran us through the mill to get that.

What I didn't send in was four years of junk mail I saved addressed to my wife, would have been quite a box full, but now I wish I did, that is even more proof she has the same address that I do.

[lucyrich 20]

They need proof not only that your spouse IS a citizen, but that your spouse HAS BEEN a citizen for the entire three year period. A birth certificate would normally provide that proof, at least if your spouse was born in the US. A new passport might not. A passport more than three years old probably would.

I remember that letter. We went through the entire process of getting the visa, green card, and removing conditions without ever taking my birth certificate out of the vault. We always used a US passport as proof of citizenship. Then we got this letter saying the US Citizen's birth certificate was required. So we brought it to the interview. They didn't ask to look at it; the passport was enough. Your interviewer might do things differently.

I wouldn't suggest leaving anything at home. If they ask for the birth certificate, bring the birth certificate, even if it seems redundant. If it's really really hard to get the birth certificate, you might risk going without it, but know that that carries at least some risk they'll delay things until you can come up with it. Whatever you bring, make sure you can show that your spouse was a US Citizen for the entire three year period.

[NickD 203]

They need proof not only that your spouse IS a citizen, but that your spouse HAS BEEN a citizen for the entire three year period. A birth certificate would normally provide that proof, at least if your spouse was born in the US. A new passport might not. A passport more than three years old probably would.

I remember that letter. We went through the entire process of getting the visa, green card, and removing conditions without ever taking my birth certificate out of the vault. We always used a US passport as proof of citizenship. Then we got this letter saying the US Citizen's birth certificate was required. So we brought it to the interview. They didn't ask to look at it; the passport was enough. Your interviewer might do things differently.

I wouldn't suggest leaving anything at home. If they ask for the birth certificate, bring the birth certificate, even if it seems redundant. If it's really really hard to get the birth certificate, you might risk going without it, but know that that carries at least some risk they'll delay things until you can come up with it. Whatever you bring, make sure you can show that your spouse was a US Citizen for the entire three year period.

Guess that boils down to naturalization certificate versus passport, but a good point, with just a passport, how would one prove he/she is natural born or naturalized? But yet they say a passport.

Didn't you have to dig out your birth certificate for the initial interview? Remember fighting with the State of Illinois to get the latest greatest birth certificate without errors when they converted to a computerized system. I just submitted both for the N-400, ha, wanted to see my papers, but didn't want to see me for my wife's interview.

[lucyrich 20]

Guess that boils down to naturalization certificate versus passport, but a good point, with just a passport, how would one prove he/she is natural born or naturalized? But yet they say a passport.

The law doesn't care whether the US Citizen was natural born or naturalized, but it does matter that the person has been a US Citizen for the entire three year period. A passport more than three years old would probably provide adequate proof for the purpose in question.

For some citizens, a birth certificate doesn't prove anything about their US Citizenship, so it's strange they would ask for it.

Didn't you have to dig out your birth certificate for the initial interview?

Nope, we only submitted my passport as proof of citizenship with the initial I-130, so that's the only proof of citizenship we needed to show to them again at the embassy in Caracas (they only need to verify the documents that were used to support approval of the petition). We went to that interview in Caracas together, so I naturally had my passport in hand, since I had used it to enter the country and to enter the US embassy. We went the CR-1 route, so there was no adjustment of status or other interview in the US.