US Passport question

[rajthebam 0]

i applied for US passport and got the passport in mail the other day but my citizenship certificate original was missing. do they send this via separate mail?

can u share ur experience please? i am starting to panick...

[raymaga 25]

It is quite common to receive the passport and the naturalization certificate in separate envelopes.

Wherever you applied for your passport (if you did so in person) should have explained that to you.

So, don't worry, it will show up in the mail eventually.

[TayRivers 4]

I got my certificate in the mail about 3 days after I got my passport. So dont panic..

[NickD 202]

I feel it's okay to worry or even panic until that certificate comes in, you need it for other stuff, so either have to battle with the DOS or with the USCIS with 400 bucks plus a copy of the one that was lost with a 6-9 month wait.

With expedient service, passport came in in a cardboard envelop that I had to sign for, three days later, the extremely more expensive certificate came in first class in a cheap paper envelop from exactly the same office, New Orleans in our case when Chicago is nearby. DOS could have saved 43 cents for the stamp and another 20 cents for the envelop, and even another hundred bucks to pay someone to address it, if they just stuck it in with the passport. But this is our government.

[Goran 2]

I feel it's okay to worry or even panic until that certificate comes in, you need it for other stuff, so either have to battle with the DOS or with the USCIS with 400 bucks plus a copy of the one that was lost with a 6-9 month wait.

With expedient service, passport came in in a cardboard envelop that I had to sign for, three days later, the extremely more expensive certificate came in first class in a cheap paper envelop from exactly the same office, New Orleans in our case when Chicago is nearby. DOS could have saved 43 cents for the stamp and another 20 cents for the envelop, and even another hundred bucks to pay someone to address it, if they just stuck it in with the passport. But this is our government.

Did they accept a copy of your Naturalization Certificate? It says on mine that it is illegal to make copies of the certificate.

[krysia 0]

i applied for US passport and got the passport in mail the other day but my citizenship certificate original was missing. do they send this via separate mail?

can u share ur experience please? i am starting to panick...

I live in the Bronx

I got my passport last thursday and passport card and the certificate on saturday

I was also already getting worried

the certificate comes in quite a big USPS thick envelope

if you have a small mailbox ask at your postoffice

[gregorypapago 0]

It is quite common to receive the passport and the naturalization certificate in separate envelopes.

Wherever you applied for your passport (if you did so in person) should have explained that to you.

So, don't worry, it will show up in the mail eventually.

Its strange. I never received a Naturalization Certificate. I had to send my back once for having the wrong spelling.

No one ever mentioned to me about the certificate,maybe this is new?

Thanks

[NickD 202]

I feel it's okay to worry or even panic until that certificate comes in, you need it for other stuff, so either have to battle with the DOS or with the USCIS with 400 bucks plus a copy of the one that was lost with a 6-9 month wait.

With expedient service, passport came in in a cardboard envelop that I had to sign for, three days later, the extremely more expensive certificate came in first class in a cheap paper envelop from exactly the same office, New Orleans in our case when Chicago is nearby. DOS could have saved 43 cents for the stamp and another 20 cents for the envelop, and even another hundred bucks to pay someone to address it, if they just stuck it in with the passport. But this is our government.

Did they accept a copy of your Naturalization Certificate? It says on mine that it is illegal to make copies of the certificate.

Our city clerk had a certificate hanging on the wall that she was certified by the DOS to accept and process passport applications, she made my wife take an oath to tell nothing but the truth. When it came to her making a copy of my wife's original certificate that she held in her hand, said she is not allowed to do that, she has to send the original in. I said, I notice you gave my wife the oath, and that you very carefully studied my wife's photos and looked at her face, and they trust you with that, but they don't trust you in verifying her certificate is real and just send in a copy that you made from it? That is what SS does. She replied, she can't answer that, but those are the rules of the DOS. So another person miles away where my wife isn't even present looks at her photo ID certificate and says it's okay while you can see both her certificate and my wife? Again she said, these are the rules, she has to send the original in. So I asked, what happens if the DOS mutilates her certificate or it's lost in the mail. She said, that happens once in awhile, you have to file a complaint, but if you want your passport, we have to send in the original certificate and hope for the best. The other option is to drive down to Chicago and apply in person with your certificate, but you have to make an appointment first and bring in airline tickets proving you are going to make a trip in the next two weeks. Said, do they accept e-mails, that is all you get nowadays instead of plane tickets. She said, she didn't know about that.

Well, we don't have plane tickets just yet, so let's see what happens.

I already made hi res scans of my wife's certificate and printed out several copies of it in color that we would need for the USCIS if the original was lost. Went to our office supply store and purchase a plastic insert for it's protection. She was going to staple the certificate to the application, insisted she put the staple in the plastic liner instead. When the certificate came back, it was still in that plastic liner and in good shape, but did come back. I also changed our mailbox to a much larger one, so it didn't have to be bent, that was only around ten bucks compared to the cost of over 400 bucks to get a replacement.

The only bright news, is that your US passport also proves that you are a USC in case the original was lost.

It's a very strange procedure, you get paranoid in dealing with the USCIS for years, and my wife felt naked leaving the house without her green card, but now she is just like me, accustomed to going anywhere without any form of ID on your person. Just need to take my drivers' license along if driving, and of course that and the passport if traveling abroad.

It's been almost a year now since my wife got her certificate, locked it up in my fireproof safe along with other documents, and we haven't looked at it since. This got me to thinking about me and my only proof, my birth certificate. I needed that when I first attended kindergarten, and not again until I was 16 for an SS card and a driver's license, and not again until I was 18 when I was drafted, don't even know why they wanted to see that, they knew all about me. Then years went by and didn't need my birth certificate ever until I met my wife and we started to deal with the USCIS. Couldn't find it, so had to write to Illinois to get several copies of it. Since my wife is just like me now, a USC, perhaps she would never have to show it again. But you can get very paranoid when dealing with the USCIS, SS, and the DOS, for the DOS, they just want to see your old passport, but shouldn't we be in their database? Guess you don't need that if it's lost or stolen. It's weird dealing with our government. IRS certainly keeps close track of all of us.

Does this

[*Robert* 2]

Our city clerk had a certificate hanging on the wall that she was certified by the DOS to accept and process passport applications, she made my wife take an oath to tell nothing but the truth. When it came to her making a copy of my wife's original certificate that she held in her hand, said she is not allowed to do that, she has to send the original in. I said, I notice you gave my wife the oath, and that you very carefully studied my wife's photos and looked at her face, and they trust you with that, but they don't trust you in verifying her certificate is real and just send in a copy that you made from it? That is what SS does. She replied, she can't answer that, but those are the rules of the DOS. So another person miles away where my wife isn't even present looks at her photo ID certificate and says it's okay while you can see both her certificate and my wife? Again she said, these are the rules, she has to send the original in. So I asked, what happens if the DOS mutilates her certificate or it's lost in the mail. She said, that happens once in awhile, you have to file a complaint, but if you want your passport, we have to send in the original certificate and hope for the best. The other option is to drive down to Chicago and apply in person with your certificate, but you have to make an appointment first and bring in airline tickets proving you are going to make a trip in the next two weeks. Said, do they accept e-mails, that is all you get nowadays instead of plane tickets. She said, she didn't know about that.

Nick, I love how you tried to use logic and reasoning with the city clerk! Good job! Too bad it didn’t work. This is the first I’ve heard about having to send in the original naturalization certificate. That IS scary! At least now I won’t be shocked when we go in. You certainly made some very valid points, but once again... we're dealing with the government!