Very Very Emergency

[jasminelily 1]

Thank you so much for all your replies! every word you said is really so helpful! I will definitely ask him to talk to the US embassy next Monday first thing in the morning. He didn't bring his certification of naturalization with him, but I will definitely ask his parents to mail to his company address which is more secure and let him bring that to US embassy in China.

Ok. Didn't see this earlier, but I have to say, again no offense, it's a little hard to believe he didn't even think about to bring his naturalization certificate with him. I suggest that when all this is resolved, he needs to spend some serious time on this very helpful forum as I've learned a lot by coming here to read on. That's pretaining if he has time or heart to care about. If he doesn't care to spend time on reading = help himself, then he's going to spend money to get attorney's legal advice or have a very nice friend like you to read it, then digest, then regurgitate it back to him. Well so long... my conclusion is "you're never gonna know what kind of trouble that you'd get yourself (i mean himself) into if you aren't careful or care enough to be careful, at the end, don't rely/expect on anyone else to help you if you don't help yourself from the beginning because nothing is granted, including other people's kind heart of helping you (i mean him)." I mean if he's careful from the beginning, then he wouldn't have this trouble situation that he's facing now. Sorry that I sounded a little negative but life is a long hard lesson to learn. And you always learn from mistakes by trial and error. This case is trial went way too wrong. Again GOOD LUCK to him and you too!

[NickD 203]

It was clearly pointed out at my wife's oath ceremony that after she had to surrender her green card, she could no longer leave the US without getting a US passport, but they didn't tell the people HOW to do that. Course, as her USC husband, I knew how to do that, but can see where other people new to this country can easily get confused. And the way things are today, without a computer on the internet, it can be very confusing, certainly can't use the yellow pages.

Once a location is found, you can go there to pick up the application with very small print and lots of instructions, I preferred to download the application and type in all the answers, even with super neat hand printed text, errors can be made. Since I like to save paper, I printed out the application double sided just like the original form. But after I checked everything over, the wanted single side printing of the form, some six pages of it, so I had to print it out again. Then to make a clear check list of everything we were suppose to bring.

I used our city clerk, and while she had that DOS thingy hanging on wall approved and all that, she could administer the oath, and my wife had to sign the application in front of her, she wasn't trusted enough to verify my wife's certificate was valid and original, so could not copy that and send that in. I thought that was crazy. I put her certificate in a clear hard plastic folder, she went to remove it to staple it to her application. Said wait, that application will cost us 400 bucks and can take a year to get it, can't you just leave it in the plastic folder and staple the plastic part to the application? She did.

She told us it will take a month for my wife to get her passport back, I had to comment the internet was stating for expedient service that we paid for, the DOS stated less than two weeks. She also said, and I knew this, we can check on the processing time on the internet, but that never works. With overnight service, they should have received her application the next day, and with electronic funds transfer, was expecting to see our check cashed instantly, but three days went buy and my check didn't clear yet. We could not mail it ourselves, so I called her and asked, she did have the return receipt, and on the forth day, our cash was checked, we did receive her passport in nine days and I had to sign for it. Her certificate came back first class two days afterwards. Still stumped on that as the return address was identical to her passport, and why in New Orleans when we are so close to Chicago?

Wife had to take all of Tuesday off for the oath ceremony, no way could she get Wednesday off, was behind on her work, but manage to shift with a co-worker on Thursday so she could come in an hour later. So typical, these places are only opened when a person has to be at work.

We did consider driving down to Chicago, but you have to make an appointment and have airline tickets to leave within two weeks for one day service, at least this way, you know your certificate will be safe. My wife's mom is not in the best of health, and there is a feeling of helplessness when you don't even have your certificate, know where it's at, and what if something should happen. In that respect, it was a very long nine days.

But it was equally as stressful trying to get her foreign passport renewed when your consulate says, what in the hell do you want our passport for when you are living here. I quickly snapped back, we are staying here to make lots of money, and we are going back once we do, that came out without even thinking. But this is what you run into when you change countries and forced to keep a foreign passport current while living here. A couple of bucks under the table also helps, hate to say it, but that is the way it is. Let's just call that an expedient fee that even this country charges.

I got on the DOS website everyday to check her process, not even an acknowledge that they even received it, and just like calling the USCIS, the DOS is also a waste of time, did you check the status on the internet?

But is is all over now, wife and I were so happy after the oath, but that didn't last long, we were put right back into a state of limbo, AGAIN.

We have just too many damned agencies, would be nice if they also gave you a passport along with your certicate, would be willing to pay extra for that.

[crystalchen 0]

I don't really know what to say, but really, thank you so much!!!

I think his English is OK, he had his Bachelor degree from US. I would recommend him to tell the truth, for sure! I think he will be able to apply and get an US passport, but I don't know how could he come back to the US. Without a valid Chinese visa, he is not able to leave China, for sure. Also, in the future, will he face any diffifulties going back to China? I am not sure. He should ask the officer in US embassy.

Thank you again, so much! for these postings. I will post here when I contact him.

[crystalchen 0]

That is so true......I wish I could let him know it earlier. What he thought was that someone here could apply the passport for him. So he signed the application but not in front of any officers from City clerk or post office, and he mailed it to me to help him mail out. I didn't read the instruction until he already arrived China. He thought that he would disregard his Chinese passport after he arrived China, and I will mail his new US passport to him, but we totally forgot the visa thing, we thought everything is the same with greencard, you know, no visa, very convenient. so...

but thank you so much for your posting. I really appreciate your help and your sharing about your story!

[AusCal 3]

Since you will be sending him his naturalization certificate, I would recommend sending it with DHL. Whilst UPS & Fedex are more predominant in the US, DHL does have a stronger recommendation for expediated international courier service.

[NickD 203]

Since you will be sending him his naturalization certificate, I would recommend sending it with DHL. Whilst UPS & Fedex are more predominant in the US, DHL does have a stronger recommendation for expediated international courier service.

And making copies of that certificate first, USCIS wants a copy of it in case the original is lost.

[jasminelily 1]

I don't really know what to say, but really, thank you so much!!!

I think his English is OK, he had his Bachelor degree from US. I would recommend him to tell the truth, for sure! I think he will be able to apply and get an US passport, but I don't know how could he come back to the US. Without a valid Chinese visa, he is not able to leave China, for sure. Also, in the future, will he face any diffifulties going back to China? I am not sure. He should ask the officer in US embassy.

Thank you again, so much! for these postings. I will post here when I contact him.

(1) I don't see why he won't be able to leave China once he's got his US passport. What reasons do China have to hold him? I mean e.g. if you're a student/tourist and you want to to US study/sightseeing, then you need a visa so you will be allowed into US. I mean he's a US citizen, at least it's still true at this moment before they start to de-naturalize him, he is just going home, he doesn't need a visa to go home, he has a US passport, I mean he will get one. What benefits do China earn by making him stay? It's true that he broke the law, but he broke the US law, not the Chinese law. I'm more worry about if US is going to let him in when he lands on US soil.

(2) I don't think he will have any difficulties going back to China. I mean sure you do have to apply for a tourist/work visa, if by difficulties you meant by applying the visa, that's true because it became more troublesome than it was when he's a LPR. Now if you're thinking whether they'll approve his visa or not, that's up to China, but I don't see the reason why not, because there are thousands (might be more) of people like him, Chinese immigrated to US becaome US citizen just going back to visit family/friends. It's not like he's the only one. It's not like once he immigrated then it means he became totally disconnected with his family in China, there's still and always will be a tie. I mean he can also apply for work visa if it's work related, as long as you have employment letter, I don't see why won't they let him back.

[NickD 203]

Believe she meant having a US visa in his Chinese passport to come here as an alternative, may get by with that, but as a USC is against the law. My wife got a ten year visa to come to the USA that is still valid in her Venezuelan passport book, but we won't dare use it. What he really needs to come back to the USA with a foreign passport is a green card, but he had to surrender that when he got his certificate.

No problem leaving her with any foreign passport, especially going to the country where that passport is from, could be problems going to different countries depending on which country that passport is from and which one you are going to. May or may not require a visa, this is really complicated.

But he left with no knowledge of the law and apparently without concern how he is going to come back. That is the problem.

[jasminelily 1]

That is so true......I wish I could let him know it earlier. What he thought was that someone here could apply the passport for him. So he signed the application but not in front of any officers from City clerk or post office, and he mailed it to me to help him mail out. I didn't read the instruction until he already arrived China. He thought that he would disregard his Chinese passport after he arrived China, and I will mail his new US passport to him, but we totally forgot the visa thing, we thought everything is the same with greencard, you know, no visa, very convenient. so...

but thank you so much for your posting. I really appreciate your help and your sharing about your story!

That's a topic about advantage and disadvantage about becoming US citizen, if you scroll back, there had been many discussions. One advantage of becoming US citizen is you'll get full protection from US embassy if you get in trouble on a foreign country. Another advantage is he doesn't have to worry about they'll take away his green card if he stayed too long in China, I think you do need to apply for re-entry permit if you stay there more than a year in order to come back without problem. Another advantage is the green card has an expiration date, he needs to renew it every 10 years, now he became a citizen, he doesn't need to worry about expiration date no more. The disadvantage is when now he wants to go back to China, he needs to apply for a Chinese visa before Chinese will let him into China, and that's a not convenient from my point of view. I mean at the end Hong Kong law is a little different from actual Chinese law because I can go back to Hong Kong without a visa, I was born there and they have to let me in with my Hong Kong ID and birth certificate, and I have natual right to stay there if I wish, it's granted although I have to make sure I enter with US passport for the embassy protection but I do have my HK ID as my visa. But if I would want to go pass the Hong Kong/China border, then I will need to apply a real Chinese visa, that can be easily be done in the US embassy in Hong Kong. Also when I leave Hong Kong, since I'm going to have a US passport, so I don't need a US visa to go back to US.