getting u.s. passport.

[markiweiss49 4]

i would like to know after my wife removed conditions on her greencard, can she get a u.s. passport. my wife's greencard expires in may of 2013 and 90 days before her greencard expires, she will send in her application to removed conditions on her greencard. i am getting different answers about when she can get her u.s. passport. her philippines passport is still valid and it will expires in 2013. in 2013, we are planning to go to the philippines on our vacation in sometime in 2013. i hope that someone can help me on this matter. i tried looking it up on the internet but had no luck. thank you everyone. mark

[N M 96]

She needs U.S. Citizenship before she can get a U.S. passport.

Removing conditions on a GC does not entitle anyone to a U.S. passport.

[Inky 1,111]

There is no different answers to this question.

She CANNOT get a US passport unless she is a US citizen. She is not a US citizen so she Cannot get one until she is.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

post containing misplaced humour that could be misconstrued by those not recognizing the sarcasm has been removed. Posts of this nature are more appropriate in the Off Topic forums instead of the immigration forums.

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As mentioned above, passports are issued by Governments to the citizens of their country. Your wife is entitled to a Philippines passport as she is a Philippines citizen. When she becomes a US citizen - after application, interview, exam and oath ceremony - she is eligible to apply for a US passport. The earliest she is eligible to submit a petition to the US Government to apply for citizenship is 90 days prior to 3rd anniversary of the date on which her green card was issued as long as you two have also been married at least 3 full years at that time. In order for your wife to reach a 3rd anniversary of her green card, she needs to apply for the Removal of Conditions within the 90 days prior to the 2nd anniversary of her green card. If her Removal of Conditions has not been approved by the time the 3 year anniversary arrives, she is still allowed to apply for citizenship. The citizenship application will 'force' them to make a decision about the ROC before they can start to work on the citizenship petition.

Since your wife's 2 year green card expires in May 2013, the earliest your wife would be eligible to file for US citizenship would be sometime in February 2014. It generally takes about 4 to 6 months for the citizenship paperwork and she needs the oath certificate in order to request a US passport so it looks like the earliest she could possibly receive a US passport is the Fall of 2014.

She will need to renew her Philippines passport if she wishes to travel between the time it expires in 2013 and the time she is able to receive a US passport in the latter half of 2014.

Edited December 4, 2011 by Kathryn41

[mr and mrs 187]

immigration is serious business, though i did chuckle.

[markiweiss49 4]

post containing misplaced humour that could be misconstrued by those not recognizing the sarcasm has been removed. Posts of this nature are more appropriate in the Off Topic forums instead of the immigration forums.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

As mentioned above, passports are issued by Governments to the citizens of their country. Your wife is entitled to a Philippines passport as she is a Philippines citizen. When she becomes a US citizen - after application, interview, exam and oath ceremony - she is eligible to apply for a US passport. The earliest she is eligible to submit a petition to the US Government to apply for citizenship is 90 days prior to 3rd anniversary of the date on which her green card was issued as long as you two have also been married at least 3 full years at that time. In order for your wife to reach a 3rd anniversary of her green card, she needs to apply for the Removal of Conditions within the 90 days prior to the 2nd anniversary of her green card. If her Removal of Conditions has not been approved by the time the 3 year anniversary arrives, she is still allowed to apply for citizenship. The citizenship application will 'force' them to make a decision about the ROC before they can start to work on the citizenship petition.

Since your wife's 2 year green card expires in May 2013, the earliest your wife would be eligible to file for US citizenship would be sometime in February 2014. It generally takes about 4 to 6 months for the citizenship paperwork and she needs the oath certificate in order to request a US passport so it looks like the earliest she could possibly receive a US passport is the Fall of 2014.

She will need to renew her Philippines passport if she wishes to travel between the time it expires in 2013 and the time she is able to receive a US passport in the latter half of 2014.

[markiweiss49 4]

i would like to thank you for the imformation that you had given me. you have been a great help on giving me this imformation. i would like to asked you one more question. my wife's philippine passport expires in 2014 but its in her maidan name. does she have to renew her passport in her marry name or it doesn't make a difference. i was thinking about going to the philippine embassy in new york to have her renew her passport in her marry name. once again, thank you very much. mark

Edited December 5, 2011 by markiweiss49

[Kathryn41 3,205]

You're welcome.

It should not make a difference. She would need to travel internationally by booking the tickets in the same name that is in her passport but even if she uses her married name elsewhere and it is still her maiden name in her passport, she just needs to carry and have available a copy of your marriage certificate in order to show she is the same person. If she is able to get her married name added without having to get a whole new passport then certainly you can do that - and perhaps someone from the Philippines would be able to advise you on that possibility - but if not, she is fine to continue using her passport with her maiden name in it along with her wedding certificate. If they can't add her married name to her passport without a whole new passport or sending it back to the Philippines, then there shouldn't be any problems waiting until it is ready to expire to renew it in her married name or replace it with her US passport if she has received citizenship by then. I hope this helps.

Edited December 5, 2011 by Kathryn41

[markiweiss49 4]

once again kathryn, thank you very much. you have been very helpful. take care, mark.