Expired Passport

[Bacon 0]

So my issue is that I was born abroad and lost my birth certificate. To get a certified copy of it would take two months which since I'd like to submit the I-129F packet this month is not something I can wait for. To add to this I've just recently relocated due to work and cannot find my current passport. I have found an old cancelled passport from when I lived in Sicily with a validity time frame of five years.

Now the requirements for proof of US Citizenship only state that I need a copy of a US Passport with a validity of five years. It doesn't state that it has to be an active passport.

Has anyone tried to prove citizenship with their passport and do you know if a cancelled one will work?

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

So my issue is that I was born abroad and lost my birth certificate. To get a certified copy of it would take two months which since I'd like to submit the I-129F packet this month is not something I can wait for. To add to this I've just recently relocated due to work and cannot find my current passport. I have found an old cancelled passport from when I lived in Sicily with a validity time frame of five years.

Now the requirements for proof of US Citizenship only state that I need a copy of a US Passport with a validity of five years. It doesn't state that it has to be an active passport.

Has anyone tried to prove citizenship with their passport and do you know if a cancelled one will work?

Doesn't matter how much time it had left on it—it became invalid when you cancelled it.

[Justine+David 218]

You could go risky and send the package off and then request a birth certificate to prepare for the inevitable RFE. From what I've read on the boards, a lot of people seem to get their I-129F's abjudicated within a few weeks of sending their RFEs off so it might be quicker this way if you're lucky.

However, if I were in your shoes, I'd wait to get the birth certificate and/or call USCIS to confirm that canceling your passport makes it invalid proof.

[redglasses 1]

You can report and replace the lost passport with expedited service.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

So my issue is that I was born abroad and lost my birth certificate. To get a certified copy of it would take two months which since I'd like to submit the I-129F packet this month is not something I can wait for. To add to this I've just recently relocated due to work and cannot find my current passport. I have found an old cancelled passport from when I lived in Sicily with a validity time frame of five years.

Now the requirements for proof of US Citizenship only state that I need a copy of a US Passport with a validity of five years. It doesn't state that it has to be an active passport.

Has anyone tried to prove citizenship with their passport and do you know if a cancelled one will work?

It has to have "had a validity of more than 5 years when issued" that means an adult passport. The 5 year passport is a child's passport and is not acceptable. You can go to a passport issuing station and report a lost passport and it can be replaced. I would also get anohter copy of your birth certificate as it MAY be asked for during the AOS phase, it is frequently requested for the AOS interview...also, you are an adult now and should have such documents available to you as they are needed from time to time.

[Ladylethal 12]

The USC´s birth certificate is a requirement of the AOS´s Affidavit of Support, so I´d request one asap anyway.

[toma1 10]

Has anyone tried to prove citizenship with their passport and do you know if a cancelled one will work?

Yep, I did that when I lost mine. I used an old cancelled passport. Read the passport rules on the DOS website, they are pretty clear.

[Gary and Alla 3,694]

The USC´s birth certificate is a requirement of the AOS´s Affidavit of Support, so I´d request one asap anyway.

Not correct. The USC sponsor's citizenship was established with the petition for the visa. I did not enclose a copy of my birth certificate with the AOS or I-864 and it was not asked for at our interview, but many people I have spoken to have had to take one to the interview. It IS a requirement for a joint sponsor to the I-864

Has anyone tried to prove citizenship with their passport and do you know if a cancelled one will work?

Yep, I did that when I lost mine. I used an old cancelled passport. Read the passport rules on the DOS website, they are pretty clear.

You CAN use an expired passport for proof, BUT it must be an adult passport, not a child pasport. The OP reprts a having an expired "5 year" passport which is the child's version, issued before age 16

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

From page 2 of the I-129F instructions:

D. In place of any of the above, you may give USCIS a copy of your valid, unexpired U.S. passport issued with a validity period of at least five years. You must submit copies of all pages in the passport.

An expired or cancelled passport will not be accepted. The OP needs to find his current (valid, unexpired) passport or his Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or else obtain a Certificate of Citizenship.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Stephen + Elisha

[toma1 10]

An expired or cancelled passport will not be accepted. The OP needs to find his current (valid, unexpired) passport or his Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or else obtain a Certificate of Citizenship.

That's wrong. I used an expired, cancelled passport as proof myself. There may be a 10-year requirement, however, I'm not sure about that.

[toma1 10]

An expired or cancelled passport will not be accepted. The OP needs to find his current (valid, unexpired) passport or his Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or else obtain a Certificate of Citizenship.

That's wrong. I used an expired, cancelled passport as proof myself. There may be a 10-year requirement, however, I'm not sure about that.

By the way, let me clarify that I mean that he should use the expired passport to obtain a new passport and then send that new passport to USCIS.

[Stephen + Elisha 92]

An expired or cancelled passport will not be accepted. The OP needs to find his current (valid, unexpired) passport or his Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or else obtain a Certificate of Citizenship.

That's wrong. I used an expired, cancelled passport as proof myself. There may be a 10-year requirement, however, I'm not sure about that.

By the way, let me clarify that I mean that he should use the expired passport to obtain a new passport and then send that new passport to USCIS.

Yes, that should work, as long as it was an adult passport.

Edited September 14, 2009 by Stephen + Elisha

[D&R 0]

So my issue is that I was born abroad and lost my birth certificate. To get a certified copy of it would take two months which since I'd like to submit the I-129F packet this month is not something I can wait for. To add to this I've just recently relocated due to work and cannot find my current passport. I have found an old cancelled passport from when I lived in Sicily with a validity time frame of five years.

Now the requirements for proof of US Citizenship only state that I need a copy of a US Passport with a validity of five years. It doesn't state that it has to be an active passport.

Has anyone tried to prove citizenship with their passport and do you know if a cancelled one will work?

If I were you, I'd order a new passport and a copy of your birth cert TODAY! You're going to need your passport anyway to eventually fly there, so get on it. Birth certificates are always little handy things to have anyway especially in the whole Visa/moving country thing. Mine took less than a week to arrive, but I guess if you were born abroad, it would be longer.

Either way... order them both now

[Surf2Salsa 0]

The USC´s birth certificate is a requirement of the AOS´s Affidavit of Support, so I´d request one asap anyway.

Let me jump in here and ask this question. K-1 and then eventually the AOS application, is the the PETITIONER'S (not the beneficiary) birth certificate required anywhere in the AOS process? The petitioner has a valid passport and certificate of naturalization but no birth certificate and chances of getting it are slim.