Need passport for ROC?

[vanee 13]

It's been a great break from all this since AOS, but almost 2 years later, here I am again. I'll be filing for ROC in the next couple of months.

My question is about my passport. I need to file for ROC by May 18, and my Canadian passport expires in July of this year. Do I need my passport for any of this? Will I run into problems if we have an interview and my passport is expired by then or if I don't have a passport because I'm waiting for it to be renewed?

Thanks for your help. I did search for this topic but didn't find the answer.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Yes,

you will need your passport, not only for ROC but more so for the N-400 a year from now. Your expired passport that is.

If you are accused of shooting someone, the cops will want to see the gun that's registered in your name for many years, not the one you just bought at Walmart.

[Krikit 1,165]

Hi Vanee. Welcome back.

I don't recall needing my passport for the ROC at all.

[sciencenerd 56]

I'm not at the ROC stage yet, but my wife had to renew her passport a couple months ago and it literally took 10 days even mailed from the states. I would just get a new one in a few months. You can request them to send you back your old one so you'll have your valid passport and your expired passport if necessary.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

The only time you might need your passport - I did - is if USCIS neglects to mail you your extension letter (NOA1) extending your current green card for another year.

I had to go to the local USCIS office and get the I-551 stamp placed in my passport so I had proof of my legal status in the US. I renewed my passport shortly before I filed for ROC specifically so it would be valid at the time, however, you can use an expired passport as well. You would need to bring in two passport style photographs to an InfoPass appointment and they would then create an I-94 using the photographs, stamp it with the I-551 stamp and staple it in the expired/expiring passport giving you proof of your extended status while the ROC is processing.

It took less about 10 days for me to get my new passport back as well - I couriered it there and they couriered it back to me - so you have several options: you can renew your passport now and it will be renewed by the time you need to file (request the old one returned as well), you can renew it after you receive your NOA1 extension letter, or you can just let it expire and if you don't get the NOA1 extension letter within 30 days of filing, you can get the I-94/I-551 stapled into the expired/expiring passport. You can even let this passport expire and then request a new one without having to send in the old passport.

You won't run into any problems with regards to the ROC application or interview itself. It is just a good idea, as a non-US citizen (even a resident alien) to have a passport from their country of citizenship for their own protection, especially if you need to fly back to Canada. You can enter Canada with your birth certificate and the US with your green card and extension letter - but the airlines require a passport for you to fly across the international border..