Oath at Pomona Fairplex, Los Angeles Area

[Shakil 4]

I have heard that you can apply on site for a US Passport at the oath ceremony at Los Angeles. My oath is on 11/29/2011 at Pomona Fairplex. I wanted to know what kind of payments would they accept. If I get a money order or cashiers check, would I have to make separate ones (fees, expedite fees and execution fee) or just one with the total amount?

Thanks..

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

I have heard that you can apply on site for a US Passport at the oath ceremony at Los Angeles. My oath is on 11/29/2011 at Pomona Fairplex. I wanted to know what kind of payments would they accept. If I get a money order or cashiers check, would I have to make separate ones (fees, expedite fees and execution fee) or just one with the total amount?

Thanks..

Don't be stupid.

Don't give your original Certificate of Naturalization (CoN) out of your hands before you had a chance to scan it, make copies of it, and update your status to that of a U.S. citizen with the SAA! If your CoN gets lost in the mail, you have no way of proving that you are not an illegal alien. You don't have a Green Card anymore, and getting a new CoN will not only cost $345 but also take between 12 and 21 months!

If your driver's license expires during this time, you can't get a new one. If you need to switch jobs, you can't get a new one.

I repeat: don't be stupid. Take that CoN home and scan it, then copy it before you even go to the bathroom! What difference does a day make?

Btw, I had my Oath Ceremony in Pomona as well. Plan 25 minutes for parking, 10 minutes for walking, and don't bring guests as they have to stand like cattle about 100 yards away behind a chain. A nightmare!

Edited November 17, 2011 by Brother Hesekiel

[Shakil 4]

I have a portable scanner with me in the car. It is the kind of work that I do that I need to keep one with me. I will definitely scan it before giving it out. I will have to take another day or half day off for the passport and spend time at the post office so I thought I am going to get the CoN, scan it, make sure scanned copy is legible, send it to my email, make sure I receive it and then apply for the passport. Fortunately, all of this would take me about 10-15 minutes.

[Shakil 4]

FYI, the scenario of losing your CoN does not make you stop from getting a passport. You can have them search for your naturalization number in the department of state records and costs you $150. Once they find it, obviously they will since thats how you get your first passport made, they make your passport which then serves as a proof of citizenship. All of this is done along side your passport application and does not take any more time than getting your passport made 4-6 weeks. It is not true that you cannot get a job or switch a job or get a drivers license during that time.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Never heard of this. Do you have a source where I could look this up?

[NickD 203]

we were told at our oath ceremony that the USCIS contacts SS with citizenship information, but to allow ten days for it to happen. Still went to our SS office with the certificate and form to get an updated SS card. Somehow they are suppose to maintain a database. Wouldn't do that for Bush, but Obama gave SS 100 million bucks to maintain this database. How you can check on it yourself is beyond me. Prefer having that piece of paper, and if they just started this about six months ago, would take them years to get caught up.

Also have a history of the number of times the USCIS misplaced our application, like three times, who is to say they won't lose it the fourth time. USCIS, SS, and the DOS are three completely separate agencies. Is it like the FBI communicating with the CIA, or the VA communicating with the military or with the USCIS communicating with the NVC? Lastest problem, USCIS tells us we should hear from the NVC in ten days, been over three months now. Even sent them the forms, no good, has to come from the USCIS. How can you trust agencies like this?

Do you really trust your Made in China hard drive? Stepson did, by following from very poor advice from this dad, fooling around with in incompatible OS, crash is computer and he lost everything. Have is HD here, I can't do anything with him, best I could do is to send me $2,000.00 to let one of these recovery places fool with it, no warranties on this. Yep, I wanted six hard copies of that certificate before sending it off. If you have that, won't lose your certificate, if you don't, can't bet they will lose it.

We had three choices for the US passport, post office, no experience there, don't be afraid to ask, clerk of court, she had been doing it for over twenty years, or buying an airline ticket and flying to Chicago, far more expensive than losing your certificate.

What's really weird with your on-site DOS agents, there, saw you get your certificate, trusted in every aspect, that is indeed you, but they are NOT trusted in making a copy of your certificate, even with USCIS people all around you and those security guards. We live in a strange country, wasn't always that way, just have a bunch of idiots running it.

[Shakil 4]

Never heard of this. Do you have a source where I could look this up?

Thank you for contacting the National Passport Information Center.

For current passport application requirements and forms, visit www.travel.state.gov

Please include the passport fee, expedite fee and express mail fee (optional) in one check made payable to the "Department of State."

Check for payment of execution fee should be payable to the acceptance facility.

If you are 16 years of age or older, the total non-refundable cost for a 10 year passport book is $135. Of that total, the passport fee is $110 and the execution fee is $25.

If you are under 16 years of age, the total non-refundable cost for a 5 year passport book is $105. Of that total, the passport fee is $80 and the execution fee is $25.

The above fees are for routine processing. Passports may be expedited for an additional fee of $60. Passports are mailed United States Postal Service Priority Mail, unless Express Mail delivery is requested and paid. Express Mail is an additional $12.72.

Checks for payment of passport fees should be made payable to the Department of State; checks for payment of the execution fee should be payable to the acceptance facility. Personal checks (cannot be new account starter checks), money orders, bank checks and business checks (print name and date of birth on memo line) are all accepted for payment.

Proof of citizenship for passport purposes, if not present, can be obtained through the file search. You can request it along with form DS-11 if applying for an first time Adult passport. The fee for File Search is $150 under 22 CFR 22.1, Item No. 6.

For additional information on schedule of fees for File Search and its exemptions, please see: http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/22CFR/HTML/22CFR/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-14/0-0-0-18.html.

For additional information on U.S. Passport fees, please see: http://cas2k3ftp01/passport/fees/fees_837.html

For further information, please refer to our website www.travel.state.gov or call (877) 487-2778, for TDD/TTY users 1-888-874-7793 (Mon-Fri 8:00AM to 10:00PM ET; excluding federal holidays). If you need to contact us again by email, please include all prior messages/correspondence in your reply so we can review what has previously taken place.

Thank you.

National Passport Information Center

Agent # XXXX

From: Shakil [mailto:xxx@xxx.com]

Sent: Wednesday, November 16, 2011 5:19 AM

To: NPIC, Passport

Subject: Passport Questions

Hello,

I have an oath / naturalization ceremony on Nov 29th at Pomona Fairplex near Los Angeles. I know that there is an acceptance center right beside the ceremony place. You can submit your passport application right after the ceremony within the Fairplex. My question is that if I want to pay by money order or cashier's check, do I make three separate ones (fees, expedited fees and execution fee) or just one all inclusive one. Would all of them be made to "Department of State"? Also, if my naturalization certificate gets lost in the mail before you guys actually receive it or on the way back, how do I prove my citizenship? I want to apply for both passport card and book, expedited with overnight service.

Thank you,

Shakil

Privacy/PII

This email is UNCLASSIFIED

[lolita2011 0]

Don't listen to any bloopers here, first of all they will not take the original certificate from you and they will ask you a copy instead; the second thing don't let people of this website make you paranoid because they are dummies, if you lost your certificate it does not mean that you are not American, but it's a pain in the neck to claim another certificate specially if you are willing to bring someone from your family to the U.S. I heard that many people lost their papers as Passport and Certificates because their houses get burned or stormed but they get back all their papers again. my a d v i c e for you is to follow the instructions as they asked you to do it step by step, and you should be fine.

Just my 2 cents!

good luck! :thumbs:

Edited November 21, 2011 by lolita2011

[Shakil 4]

Thank you..

Did anyone have any prior oath experience at Montebello? I searched the forums but I didn't get any fruitful results. Not very many people go to this location that are on this forum.

[NickD 203]

Don't listen to any bloopers here, first of all they will not take the original certificate from you and they will ask you a copy instead; the second thing don't let people of this website make you paranoid because they are dummies, if you lost your certificate it does not mean that you are not American, but it's a pain in the neck to claim another certificate specially if you are willing to bring someone from your family to the U.S. I heard that many people lost their papers as Passport and Certificates because their houses get burned or stormed but they get back all their papers again. my a d v i c e for you is to follow the instructions as they asked you to do it step by step, and you should be fine.

Just my 2 cents!

good luck! :thumbs:

If "they" assuming the DOS will make a copy of your original certificate, won't be a problem, and is news to me. Since when did the DOS adopt that practice? If you lose your certificate, that is your own fault. Of course you have to follow the instructions on the passport application form, if you don't, will just cause yourself more delays. But you are guided through it.

Like using paranoia in jest, but that is a delusional fear, dealing with the USCIS or the DOS is not delusional, on the contrary. USCIS could give you a certificate stamped for passport only at an extra cost of 15 cents. USCIS is the one giving strong recommendations on making copies of your certificate. Even they need that to make you a duplicate, after paying them 400 bucks and making you wait a year. Its not paranoia, it dealing with a very disorganized organization.