what happens at the Citizenship interview with

[sheepnfish 0]

I wanted to know what does the officer that is providing the interview do with your old passport and your green card?

Then when you get yor citizenship papers? Can you travel mean while?

[Ladylethal 12]

Your old passport? You mean your original country passport? I don't think USCIS has anything to do with your passport, what they do is at your oath ceremony after you become a citizen they destroy your Green Card. Then to travel you need to get your US passport done (to leave and enter US as an american citizen).

[Flames9_RN 358]

I wanted to know what does the officer that is providing the interview do with your old passport and your green card?

Then when you get yor citizenship papers? Can you travel mean while?

At the Interview, they will look at ur passport, greencard and you give them BACK!! Your not a USA citizen UNTIL AFTER THE OATH CEREMONY! And yes you can travel between Interview and Oath ceremony. Some offices do interview/oath ceremony on the very same day.

At the oath ceremony, they will take back your GREENCARD, and u shall never see it again! They will NOT take your Canadian passport, it is YOURS to keep!! You will get a Naturalization certificate, BUT you can NOT use that to travel on! So head on down to the post office (or where ever else that does them) and get a USA passport. If I were you, I would goto the SSN office first and get that squared away, its VERY easy procedure, your just updating their records letting them know ur now a USA citizen, but they wil want to see the Naturalization cert (or passport) You fill out a new SSN form (download it from SSN.gov), hand it to the SSN clerk, he updates the system and thats that! Took me all of 3 minutes at the SSN office!! Head to Post office and do the application. http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738_2.html Fill it out at home, speeds up the process!! I had my ISA passport in my hands about 10 days later!! The Naturalization certificate that YOU have to send with the passport application (thats why I suggest doing the SSN office first) comes back in a separate envelope than ur USA passport. Totally up to you if you want to keep a Canadian passport, some do, some do not renew. I plan to renew mine.

Cheers

[sheepnfish 0]

Your old passport? You mean your original country passport? I don't think USCIS has anything to do with your passport, what they do is at your oath ceremony after you become a citizen they destroy your Green Card. Then to travel you need to get your US passport done (to leave and enter US as an american citizen).

Thanks Luis & Laura

Yes !!!! I mean "original" passport We travel to Canada to vist family We have a member of the family whom is ill, and we will need to get my husbands USA passport. soon after the citizenship

[Flames9_RN 358]

Your old passport? You mean your original country passport? I don't think USCIS has anything to do with your passport, what they do is at your oath ceremony after you become a citizen they destroy your Green Card. Then to travel you need to get your US passport done (to leave and enter US as an american citizen).

Thanks Luis & Laura

Yes !!!! I mean "original" passport We travel to Canada to vist family We have a member of the family whom is ill, and we will need to get my husbands USA passport. soon after the citizenship

Just DO NOT leave the USA without a USA passport. The Naturalization Cert will NOT get you back into the USA. The lady at my Oath ceremony said that like a dozen times. Luckily to get a USA passport, its very fast! Dude at post office told me 3-4 weeks, 10 days later it came in mail ( you do not have to sign for it) And one can get it expedited as well.

[Ladylethal 12]

Yep, once you become a citizen you MUST present your US passport to leave and enter the country, like said above go to the SSN office to update your info, then order your passport, and then you're done. Your canadian passport is between you and Canada, the US gov has nothing to do with whether you renew it or not.

[Flames9_RN 358]

You can ENTER canada with Your Canadian passport, but when u return, must use your USA passport.

[lucyrich 20]

You can ENTER canada with Your Canadian passport, but when u return, must use your USA passport.

Well, legally, according to US law, once you become a US citizen, you cannot leave the US without a US passport. Now Canadian law determines who can enter Canada, and the Canadian officials may say it's fine with them if you to enter Canada, since you're a Canadian Citizen, but when you, as a US Citizen, leave the US without a US passport, you would technically be violating US law.

From INA 215(b)

Except as otherwise provided by the President and subject to such limitations and exceptions as the President may authorize and prescribe, it shall be unlawful for any citizen of the United States to depart from or enter, or attempt to depart from or enter, the United States unless he bears a valid United States passport.

But a couple of points to note: First, that "except as otherwise provided..." clause is what allows the State Department to allow passport-free land/sea travel to and from Canada, Mexico, and the Carribean, at least until June of this year. So it's entirely possible you could get away with land/sea travel for awhile under that exception. Also, even for air travel or travel to faraway countries, it's almost certain that nobody will try and enforce this bit of the law as you exit the US, provided you're a dual citizen and you use your foreign passport to exit. They would normally only notice it as you tried to re-enter the US, or as you went to a foreign consulate trying to get a US passport so you could re-enter. Finally, I don't believe there's a specific penalty for violating this bit of the law. So while the officers might grumble and sternly tell you that you broke the law by leaving without a passport, the real consequences are likely to be limited to a bit of inconvenience as you try and get the documentation to allow your return to the US.

Anyway, the point to remember is that, as soon as you take your US Citizenship oath, then according to US law, you are just like any other US Citizen who hasn't yet got his first US passport. You should get a US passport before international travel, and if you don't know when your next travel will be, you should apply for that passport as soon as possible. They're routinely coming in a week or two, and in an emergency you can get one even quicker.

[pars3221 0]

Hi,

Do you know which form you need to fill out for the SSN update?

Thanks

[NickD 203]

I don't know where they come up with lawful permanent resident or LPR either you are a two or a ten year resident and as such, you always have to carry the green card with you if you are over 18 years of age. Believe I read here just once of the IO taking away the green card at the interview, and in one other case, keeping the passport. Don't know if the posters were honest or not in posting these statements, but without that green card, you are no longer here legally.

You would be in bad shape if they took either or both after your interview, for one thing, they won't let you attend your oath ceremony without your green card.

Also as a so called LPR you are not permitted to have a US Passport, but that green card has some super powers, with your current valid foreign passport and that card, you can leave and come back to this country. The USC ceritificate does not have the power, you cannot come back with that in lieu of your green card.

Even more ironic, my wife was grilled at her interview with how she answered all the questions, evidence, civics, and English test, at the end, her IO had her read alound, the oath, and sign that in her presence, but she was no different status wise walking out as she walked in. At her oath ceremony, she only had to be present and go through the motions of standing, sitting, or listening, didn't sign anything, well except for those eight question on the back of her oath letter where she didn't overthrow the US government since her interview and didn't commit any crimes where is wasn't caught or arrested for, but then was handed her certificate, didn't have to sign it in front of anyone, just walked out, but walked out as a US citizen.

While we walked out from the oath ceremony in an estatic state, when we got back in our car, realized with had a whole new bunch of stuff to do, practically back to square one, that started with dealing with yet, another US agency, saying another oath, and getting her US passport and even more cash out of our pocket, but figured twenty bucks a year for ten years wasn't that bad.

Just don't leave your interview without all the papers you brought in, was a bit teed off that her IO insisted on keeping my original copies of our tax returns, but at least my wife wouldn't let her keep our original divorce papers from our previous marriages, that would cost a small fortune to replace. But I did want to see her foreign passport and green card before we left due to some posts I have read on this board. Did that before we left the office. Wife tended to be a little bit brain dead after that 42 minutes of grilling.

With the IRS, yet another government agency, you are required to keep the last three years of your tax returns, if called in for an audit, will tell them to get those back from the USCIS. Hell living in a country with so many different agencies, each having their own set of rules, most of which, our congress doesn't even know a damned thing about.

[sheepnfish 0]

Hi,

Do you know which form you need to fill out for the SSN update?

Thanks

[/qte

I called the SSA office today looking for the form too.

They told me there is no form you have to come in with your citizenship paper or/ and US passport.

[Flames9_RN 358]

http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.html It is the same form that one applied to get their original SSN. Each office may do it differently. I walked in, handed him the already filled out sheet and my Naturalization cert, he just transferred over what he required, printed out a sheet, I verified al was correct, signed it, and that was it .

[AusCal 3]

While we walked out from the oath ceremony in an estatic state, when we got back in our car, realized with had a whole new bunch of stuff to do, practically back to square one, that started with dealing with yet, another US agency, saying another oath, and getting her US passport and even more cash out of our pocket,

- What, having to apply for a passport, and a quick update at SS is "practically back to square one"??? Think you might be exaggerating just a bit, Nick LOL

[NickD 203]

While we walked out from the oath ceremony in an estatic state, when we got back in our car, realized with had a whole new bunch of stuff to do, practically back to square one, that started with dealing with yet, another US agency, saying another oath, and getting her US passport and even more cash out of our pocket,

- What, having to apply for a passport, and a quick update at SS is "practically back to square one"??? Think you might be exaggerating just a bit, Nick LOL

LOL, meant it in the light of my wife only had her ten year card for a couple of weeks, a sense of freedom, but we felt in a state of limbo again between waiting for her oath letter after her interview. And a complete loss of freedom to travel after her oath ceremony. But within two weeks, it was finally all over with even a much newer freedom, that also included freedom from the USCIS.

Was nice taking off that AR-11 reminder off the refrigerator, wife felt naked without her green card, but quickly got use to that. Also the reminder to renew her card within ten years.