Lost my passport? What can I do? Help????

[joetruk 0]

Dear all,

Thank you for all the useful information from Visa journey's friends.

Here is my status:

My GC issued on March 9 2007

I'm going to apply for my citizenship on December 2009(90 days prior my 3 years married to my husband who is a US citizen)

The thing is I lost my passport which is issued from my country of citizenship, and I believe that they need my passport at the time of naturalization interview , and I traveled around 6 times accumulate total of no more than 7 months in 3 years and unfortunately I just remember 4 exact times(date go/return) based on my e-tickets. So, do you have any ideas to help me out for my situation. Thank you you all.

Have a wonderful Christmas.

joetruk

[Chica Yeyé 41]

One quick question. Was your GC a 10 year one?

[joetruk 0]

One quick question. Was your GC a 10 year one?

Yes, I got my 10 years GC

[Inky 1,111]

Did you report the passport lost and apply for a new one? Should be the first thing you do since they need to cancel it so if its found no one can steal and use your passport.

[joetruk 0]

Did you report the passport lost and apply for a new one? Should be the first thing you do since they need to cancel it so if its found no one can steal and use your passport.

Thank you Inky

I did the report part and waiting for the new one arrive.

[Chica Yeyé 41]

Did you report the passport lost and apply for a new one? Should be the first thing you do since they need to cancel it so if its found no one can steal and use your passport.

Thank you Inky

I did the report part and waiting for the new one arrive.

It all looks ok --- did you have copies of the stamped pages? for the dates/

[Inky 1,111]

Did you report the passport lost and apply for a new one? Should be the first thing you do since they need to cancel it so if its found no one can steal and use your passport.

Thank you Inky

I did the report part and waiting for the new one arrive.

good good!

[joetruk 0]

Did you report the passport lost and apply for a new one? Should be the first thing you do since they need to cancel it so if its found no one can steal and use your passport.

Thank you Inky

I did the report part and waiting for the new one arrive.

It all looks ok --- did you have copies of the stamped pages? for the dates/

Unfortunately, I don't

[joetruk 0]

Did you report the passport lost and apply for a new one? Should be the first thing you do since they need to cancel it so if its found no one can steal and use your passport.

Thank you Inky

I did the report part and waiting for the new one arrive.

It all looks ok --- did you have copies of the stamped pages? for the dates/

Unfortunately, I didn't

How can I fill my application without those information ? and what will I tell the CO at the interview time that all matters that I really worry about now.

all your replies are appreciated. Thank you

Edited December 9, 2009 by joetruk

[Lansbury 19]

I'm going to apply for my citizenship on December 2009(90 days prior my 3 years married to my husband who is a US citizen)

You cannot apply 90 days prior to being married 3 years, you must have been married the full 3 years. It is only the 3 year residence requirement that you can apply 90 days before reaching.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You can try to reconstruct the dates that were in the passport for those other trips. Where were they to? Did you visit anyone? If so, contact them and see if they remember the dates. Maybe someone wrote those dates into a daytimer or on a calendar. Did your spouse need to take time off of work for those trips to accompany you? Would the Human Resources Department there have a record of the holiday dates taken? Did you have to stop mail while you were away and perhaps have a record of that? Do you remember what the weather was like during those trips - Spring, Winter, Summer, Fall? Was it in relationship to a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving? Try to find things like this that might trigger your memory so you get an approximate idea of the dates at least. You can then list those dates on the application. Do you know when or when you lost your passport? If it was stolen did you file a police report?

Basically you need to show at the interview that you meet the residency requirements for citizenship. Seven months is well within that requirement. The passport would verify the dates but if you don't have it, you don't have it. Bring copies of whatever documents you do have to show the dates that you remember to your interview and explain the circumstances.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Edited December 9, 2009 by Kathryn41

[joetruk 0]

I'm going to apply for my citizenship on December 2009(90 days prior my 3 years married to my husband who is a US citizen)

You cannot apply 90 days prior to being married 3 years, you must have been married the full 3 years. It is only the 3 year residence requirement that you can apply 90 days before reaching.

I married on November 2006, my GC issued on March 2007. I think it's time for my citizenship, or am I wrong?

Thanks

[joetruk 0]

You can try to reconstruct the dates that were in the passport for those other trips. Where were they to? Did you visit anyone? If so, contact them and see if they remember the dates. Maybe someone wrote those dates into a daytimer or on a calendar. Did your spouse need to take time off of work for those trips to accompany you? Would the Human Resources Department there have a record of the holiday dates taken? Did you have to stop mail while you were away and perhaps have a record of that? Do you remember what the weather was like during those trips - Spring, Winter, Summer, Fall? Was it in relationship to a holiday like Christmas or Thanksgiving? Try to find things like this that might trigger your memory so you get an approximate idea of the dates at least. You can then list those dates on the application. Do you know when or when you lost your passport? If it was stolen did you file a police report?

Basically you need to show at the interview that you meet the residency requirements for citizenship. Seven months is well within that requirement. The passport would verify the dates but if you don't have it, you don't have it. Bring copies of whatever documents you do have to show the dates that you remember to your interview and explain the circumstances.

I hope this helps. Good luck.

Thank you Kathryn41

I think this is the only way I can deal with this situation, if I put the wrong information on my application like the date, will they reject my application?

[Kathryn41 3,205]

They shouldn't reject the application. You will have an interview and you can discuss the details with the adjudicator. Another option is trying to find proof of the time you were in the US - pay statements, rent receipts, etc. - to show that you had a continual presence in the US. It is a lot more document heavy, but it provides you with some sort of back up documentation if at the interview you run into problems with them not accepting the dates that you listed.

I listed the dates I was out of the US - totaled several weeks - and I brought my passport with me, but the trips were to Canada and my passport was only stamped on return once by US authorities and never by Canadian authorities on entering Canada so there really was no 'proof' of the time I was in the US vs out of the US. They never asked to see my passport. Seven months over 3 years isn't even close to the cut off date for residency requirements so again, they may not even request to see your passport. If they do, well you explain what happened and that you have brought the evidence that you had available to show the times you were not in the US and in the US.

I honestly don't think you will have a problem, but do the best you can to document the times away. Did you travel with a spouse? Does his/her pasport show dates of travel or stamps? Is that another option to explore?

[NickD 203]

Is it possible that your passport was stolen rather than lost? You don't want to lie about this, but better to have it stolen than lost to relieve suspicion of trying to hide something.

Can't believe how naive I was about immigration when I first started this, thought it was all over after the AOS of my wife and daughter. My attorney warned me, it's just starting so start saving dates, plane tickets, evidence for the two year conditional and USC. Am surprised you weren't warned, but for us, that wasn't done by our IO at the AOS stage. Have to remember that my wife is done, but still saving evidence for our daughter since she turned 18 before my wife could apply for USC.

This makes immigration a very long journey, even filled out our taxes both ways, joint or separate, was to our advantage to file joint, but would have filed joint anyway just to make the USCIS happy if it worked the other way. Wife had to renew her very old passport during this trial period and wanted to pitch it because it had her old married name on it. Said we both know we were married before, but we need that for your interview, so got locked up in our safe. She needed that.

Feel the USCIS should warn you what you are in for, but they don't, very difficult to go back. Best of luck.