U.S. Passport Application Warning

[Goran 2]

I was naturalized on July 15th 2009, and applied for my U.S. Passport at the local Post Office the same day. Standard Passport Processing time is stated to be 4-6 weeks on the Department of State website. My planned vacation to Sweden starts September 17th - plenty of time to get my passport processed (at 6 weeks, should be processed by last week of August.)

Think again....

I received a letter yesterday stating that my passport application was not signed in front of the passport application acceptance agent at the post office. This is completely incorrect. I signed the bloody application right in front of the agent. I am 100% certain of this. What really baffles me is why would they say I didn't sign the application????

Anyway, now, barely more than 3 weeks before I leave for Sweden, I still have no passport, and I have to go back to the post office and re-apply for the passport. All I say is that they better expedite the process this time so that the passport comes within 2 weeks.

... and I thought dealing with incompetent and lazy federal workers would stop once I got my Naturalization Certificate and became a U.S. Citizen... HA! I am afraid it has just begun!

Goran

[AbbynSheryl 0]

hey i am sorry it happen to u, some time things go wrong and u might have to do it again, good luck, abby n sheryl

[satyam 0]

... and I thought dealing with incompetent and lazy federal workers would stop once I got my Naturalization Certificate and became a U.S. Citizen... HA! I am afraid it has just begun!

Goran

You have a reason to vent your anger, I pray you get your passport before your planned departure

[TayRivers 4]

Dont bother going back to the post office you can go to a passport center and apply inperson if you are traveling within the next few weeks..

http://travel.state.gov/passport/about/age...encies_913.html

[NickD 203]

Did they return your USC certificate in the same package? Did you go back to that guy at the post office and ask him what's going on. Didn't he make you sign it in front of him after saying the oath and all that stuff?

We had a choice in our town between the city clerk and the post office, always a line at the post office, so elected to use the city clerk. She had that authorized thingy on the wall from the DOS, but apparently they only trust her to give the oath, but not to make a copy of the certificate. Really enjoy watching that TV program, NCIS where one government agency never trusts another. Surprised the DOS trusts the USCIS, in our case, we don't trust anyone of them. Not a paranoid statement on my part, constantly on the news about Americans not trusting their government.

[Goran 2]

NickD: Did they return your USC certificate in the same package? Did you go back to that guy at the post office and ask him what's going on. Didn't he make you sign it in front of him after saying the oath and all that stuff?

No. In the cover letter they sent me they stated that they were retaining my USC certificate. All they sent me were three things. The first was the cover letter, which indicated the "problem" of not having signed the application and that they would wait 90 days for me to correct the problem, and in those 90 days keep my USC proof. The second was a letter to the Passport Acceptance Agent that included a check list of things he/she needed to do when I showed up (such as do not charge this customer another $25 for processing, etc). The third was clean passport application with one of my two photos that I sent in with my original application stapled to it.

I filled out the application again and returned to the same post office where I submitted my original applciation. It so happened that the same "acceptance agent" was on duty this time as well. He is as sure as I am that we both signed the application before it was sent to the New Orleans Passport Agency.

Yes, I took the oath and signed the application in front of him. (It's hard to miss the "DO NOT SIGN THIS APPLICATION UNTIL REQUESTED TO DO SO BY A PERSON ADMINISTERING OATH." I am a pilot, and therefore very linear in my thinking. I do not leave things "undone," nor do I not follow instructions, line by line, and double check that they are done. (Known as Checklists to pilots).

NickD: We had a choice in our town between the city clerk and the post office, always a line at the post office, so elected to use the city clerk. She had that authorized thingy on the wall from the DOS, but apparently they only trust her to give the oath, but not to make a copy of the certificate. Really enjoy watching that TV program, NCIS where one government agency never trusts another. Surprised the DOS trusts the USCIS, in our case, we don't trust anyone of them. Not a paranoid statement on my part, constantly on the news about Americans not trusting their government.

It's funny that you mention the "...not to make a copy of the certificate." I was going back and forward on this one. It states clearly on my certificate that you are not allowed to make copies. However, the Immigration Officer that handed us our USC Certificates at the Oath Ceremony told us that even though it says not to make copies on the certificate that we should do so anyways. I am regretting that I didn't before sending it away for my passport application.