Changing to 'citizen' as Social Security

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Please correct me if I am wrong--as we are not to this stage in the immigration process yet--but first time passport holders must apply in person at either a county courthouse or a passport authorized location at a US post office. I know when we went for the marriage license there were people applying for passports in front of us at the county courthouse. I think I read on my last passport application--cira 2008-- that a first time application must submit all documents and be "interviewed" at an approved location. If that is the case then the proof of citizenship does not leave your possesion. I know I would never mail it in if it is the only thing providing my citizenship. I would find a way to show it to someone in order to get a passport, but that is me as I do not trust the USPS with anything important.

Dave

I believe that everyone, not just first time passport holders, can apply in person at one of the designated locations. First time passport applicants do need to show up in person. http://travel.state..../first_830.html and others can renew by mail under certain conditions http://travel.state..../renew_833.html There are passport processing application centers called Regional Passport Offices which do the actual work on site - and if you live near one of them that's great - but the majority of people apply for their passports at a designated location such as a county courthouse or the US Post Office. My husband had to apply in person when he renewed his US passport. Even at a passport designated location you still have to turn over your citizenship document. The location will review the form, administer the oath that the information is accurate, accept the payments and then they deliver the whole application to the Passport Office. Your certificate is still required. The only time you get to keep your certificate is if you are applying at one of the actual Passport Application Processing Centers.

What was really frustrating is that the passports and certificates were sent back by priority mail - not registered or certified. In my situation, the priority mail tracking information wasn't updated after USPS accepted the package from the Passport Office - it just vanished! The original passport finally showed up over a month after it had been mailed, cancelled and a new passport issued and delivered, so I appreciate your concern about USPS.

Here is the list of the Regional Passport Offices where you get to keep your certificate: http://travel.state....encies_913.html

Edited June 13, 2011 by Kathryn41

[LvivLovers 39]

So it sounds like unless you have proof of immediate travel, that you have to have your Naturalization certificate mailed in with your Passport application. Is that correct? They really need one of these agencies set up for people who just don't trust the government to not lose their important documents.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

After becoming a US citizen, I first applied for a US passport book and US passport card, which is an absolute must for any naturalized citizen, for obvious reasons. Once I got my passport book, I put it in my fire safe at home; once I got my passport card, I went to the SSA and had my records updated to my new citizenship status and my new name. Once I had done that, I went to the DMV for a new driver's license in my new name. Here, too, I used my passport card for identification purposes. They just had to swipe it at the terminal: cool!

After I got my Certificate of Citizenship back, it went into the bank safe where it hopefully will remain as a worst case scenario backup, i.e., in case a fire, earthquake, or Tsunami swallows my house and everything in it. With both passports gone, your driver's license gone, you have only one document to prove that you are not an illegal alien: the Certificate of Naturalization.

http://www.newcitizen.us/after.html

[mex 0]

There will big difference of both Status when it comes to "SSC" For LPR There is No USA Printed in the middle.. Except only for Citizen. Like with me now i got a new SSC. and i still have my old SSC but I like the new one better.

[NickD 203]

After becoming a US citizen, I first applied for a US passport book and US passport card, which is an absolute must for any naturalized citizen, for obvious reasons. Once I got my passport book, I put it in my fire safe at home; once I got my passport card, I went to the SSA and had my records updated to my new citizenship status and my new name. Once I had done that, I went to the DMV for a new driver's license in my new name. Here, too, I used my passport card for identification purposes. They just had to swipe it at the terminal: cool!

After I got my Certificate of Citizenship back, it went into the bank safe where it hopefully will remain as a worst case scenario backup, i.e., in case a fire, earthquake, or Tsunami swallows my house and everything in it. With both passports gone, your driver's license gone, you have only one document to prove that you are not an illegal alien: the Certificate of Naturalization.

http://www.newcitizen.us/after.html

Out of curiosity, does your passport card have your place of birth printed on it?

Probably, a big difference between being born here and being naturalized, you never even think about being a US citizen. Willing to bet most people that are born here don't even know they are a US citizen. Only proof of being a US citizen is your birth certificate.

In thinking way back, only times I had to show my birth certificate was to enroll in kindergarten, more of a proof of age than anything else, to apply for an SS card when I was 16, again proof of age, had to be 16 years old back then to get one. Again at the DMV, again, proof of age, and being drafted, that again was proof of age. Then that birth certificate was lost for some odd 30 years. If I didn't meet this woman I fell in love with in a foreign country, still wouldn't have one, but needed one for the DOS to get a US passport to visit her. That was a mess, State of Illinois converted mine to a database with many typos. But was five bucks a copy, so I sent in a check for 25 bucks to get five copies. DOS never returned my birth certificate, but who cared, only five bucks.

Since my first drivers' license, never had to show my birth certificate again to get another one, just showed the old one. But yet that is the only form of ID one would have. And really only required to carry it when driving, so never bothered if not driving. Even recall making a tour with our sales department to seven US cities and in Toronto traveling via the airlines. Knew I didn't need my license, so left it at home. All you needed to buy an airline ticket was money, but my company gave me that.

After I married my wife, we applied for her license after she got her EAD card, but her license looked exactly like mine, but had that burden of carrying either that EAD or her LPR card. Only time she showed it was for the DMV and her employment, but they just started in our state to see that, thanks to Bush. And of course, the USCIS that I have not even heard of until we decided to get married.

Now I am paranoid about having proper forms of ID. The only stigma she has that I don't have, is her place of birth on her US passport, so required to have her home passport to visit her mom. So she is not a US citizen like I am. And if she loses her US certificate, its 400 instead of 5 bucks. That even makes us more paranoid. But at least, unlike her green card, she doesn't have to carry that to use the restroom at night.

In my discussion with the DOS on this place of birth issue, they claim the FBI wants that on your passport for identification. Why just the FBI, why not the CIA or the DEA, and besides that, all of that information is in her records? "I don't know why, but it was always done that way" was the only answer I got. Only thing the SS wants is your number, don't even have to give your name, its on file, and at least, they don't put your place of birth on that card.

Feel our major problem is that we just have too many different governmental agencies to deal with, each with different views on the same subject. To me, its crazy if not completely insane.

[imzadi 0]

Hmm, interesting. When the woman at SSA told me I would get a new card in the mail I said that the one I had was still fine - wasn't marked as restricted or anything. She said, nope, you'll get a new card. Maybe there had been a design change in between my original and the new one and they were updating it because of that? No idea. If you want a new card you can request one. You are allowed to have them replaced fairly regularly and on a far more generous scale than I would have expected .

Neither was mine - that could explain why I didn't get a new one.

Thanks for your input.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

On a US-born US citizen, the place of birth on the passport card is the state he or she was born in. On a US citizen, natural-born or naturalized equally, the place of birth on the passport is the country they were born in.

There is no way to omit this.

Keep in mind though, a natural born US citizen can have Vietnam as his birth place, but being born to a US citizen mother and a US citizen father. Thus, "Vietnam" as the place of birth doesn't mean that the passport holder is a naturalized US citizen!

[ryna 132]

Please correct me if I am wrong--as we are not to this stage in the immigration process yet--but first time passport holders must apply in person at either a county courthouse or a passport authorized location at a US post office. I know when we went for the marriage license there were people applying for passports in front of us at the county courthouse. I think I read on my last passport application--cira 2008-- that a first time application must submit all documents and be "interviewed" at an approved location. If that is the case then the proof of citizenship does not leave your possesion. I know I would never mail it in if it is the only thing providing my citizenship. I would find a way to show it to someone in order to get a passport, but that is me as I do not trust the USPS with anything important.

Dave

I'm a US-born USC who applied for my passport at my local county courthouse. My certified US Birth Certificate was turned over to be sent to the DOS. The local courthouse/US Post office locations only act as collection agents for the documentation. Of course, it didn't really matter to me if my Birth Certificate was lost and never to be seen again as I can have another certified copy sent to me within days if for some reason I needed it, but it was definitely out of my possession for several weeks and returned to me around the same time as the Passport and/or Passport Card.

[milimelo 4,496]

That's what happened to me, too ...

But when I went to the SSA to update my status as USC they made a copy of my Certificate, but I never received a new SSN card. A mishap perhaps ?

Seems to be common as last year I updated SSA and also never received a new SSN card.

[NickD 203]

Someone told my wife, since her daughter became a US citizen, she can't apply for a job until she gets a new SS card and number. Replied, what? With school and visiting her grandmother for the last month, she never got around to it. But will take care of it today.

My wife is one that follows rules, we were told to apply for SS first and allow ten days for that information to get into their new database before applying for a US passport. Didn't do that, knew my stepdaughters' had this trip planned, so applied for the US passport first, it came in within three weeks even at the standard rate.

Understand one advantage of US citizenship status is getting disability benefits when you are 55 if disabled as opposed to being a LPR. Really not on the mind of a 21 year old. For most of us, FICA is a tax with constant threats from those idiots in Washington DC they are going to cut all SS benefits. Not only is FICA a very stiff tax, you and your employer pay 14.8% of your gross wages even if you only earn a thousand bucks! That extra 148 bucks is a lot of money to those people with those low wages.

If that isn't bad enough, you also pay income tax on that FICA tax, if you earned enough to pay income tax. Just look at your tax forms, you don't list your gross wages with FICA taxes subtracted, you list your gross wages before FICA taxes that are not deductible. Therefore, you are paying income tax on your FICA taxes. And if you look further down the form, you have to pay income taxes on your SS benefits. This is how corrupt our government has become! With an IRA or a 401K plan, you don't have to pay taxes on that amount, not until you use it, but that is after your FICA taxes are already withheld. But yet you have to pay income taxes on your FICA taxes.

Your SS office better be very nice to you, they are screwing us blind. Their wages are a good share of your FICA taxes, that is how they are paid.