Do they take your Citizenship Certificate

[VFittipaldi 30]

Hi,

It has been almost 10 days since i had my oath ceremony and received my Citizenship Certificate. I am sending out a K1 packet this week for my fiance' In two weeks i will have free time to start my passport process and updating the SSN.

My question are:

~ Which one did you do first? (What was your experience)

~ When you go to do your SSN update do they take the certificate away for a while like they do with the passport?

Any comment or advice is appreciated. Thank you!

[googolplex 7]

I don't remember updating the SSN at all. I received my certificate of naturalization 8.5 years ago. All I remember is that I had to mail in the original certificate of naturalization for the US passport. If you are applying a K-1 petition, be sure to make a few copies of your certificate of naturalization before sending the certificate for the US passport. It is because you need to attach a copy of your certificate of naturalization in your K-1 petition.

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Moving to the Citizenship sub-forum "Passports, etc. What to do now you are a US Citizen"

Moderator Hat off . . .

No, they only need to see your citizenship certificate at the SSA - they will make a copy of it for their records. That is why it is best to get your SSN updated first, and then send away for your passport, because the passport office does need to have your certificate for the passport. Make a good colour photocopy of your certificate before you send it away as well so you have some proof of your status. You may also wish to register to vote before you send away for your passport just in case there is a delay in getting your passport and certificate back. You need to register a specific time before the election (usually about a month) so this will ensure you get to vote in the upcoming mid-term elections in November.

Remember to update your DL as well, although you can probably wait until you get your certificate back for that. The Department of Driver Services will check to verify the accuracy of your certificate so you need it with you when you update their records.

[VFittipaldi 30]

I don't remember updating the SSN at all. I received my certificate of naturalization 8.5 years ago. All I remember is that I had to mail in the original certificate of naturalization for the US passport. If you are applying a K-1 petition, be sure to make a few copies of your certificate of naturalization before sending the certificate for the US passport. It is because you need to attach a copy of your certificate of naturalization in your K-1 petition.

Thank you for the tip. Yes i made several copies of the certificate, color and black and i scanned it and saved it on my computer.

[VFittipaldi 30]

Moving to the Citizenship sub-forum "Passports, etc. What to do now you are a US Citizen"

Moderator Hat off . . .

No, they only need to see your citizenship certificate at the SSA - they will make a copy of it for their records. That is why it is best to get your SSN updated first, and then send away for your passport, because the passport office does need to have your certificate for the passport. Make a good colour photocopy of your certificate before you send it away as well so you have some proof of your status. You may also wish to register to vote before you send away for your passport just in case there is a delay in getting your passport and certificate back. You need to register a specific time before the election (usually about a month) so this will ensure you get to vote in the upcoming mid-term elections in November.

Remember to update your DL as well, although you can probably wait until you get your certificate back for that. The Department of Driver Services will check to verify the accuracy of your certificate so you need it with you when you update their records.

I see now. Ok since they do not take it away there then SSA is where i should go first. I registered to vote at our oath ceremony. I did make copies and scanned it in also to have a digital copy.

Update the Drivers License? Did not hear about that before. What do they update there?

Thank you!!!

[Kathryn41 3,205]

Different States handle it differently but many tie your Driver's License eligibility into your immigration status. For instance, in Georgia, as a permanent resident or immigrant you can only renew your DL for 3 years at a time or until the expiry of your immigration document, whichever is shortest and you have to renew the card in person. As a citizen you can renew your DL for 10 years at a time and you can do it through the mail.

If you use your DL as identification when you vote (Georgia requires proof of identification when you vote as well as when you register), if your DL is tied into an 'immigrant' status then you will receive a notification that you are ineligible to vote and they will be investigating your attempt to vote with the proper authorities, even if you have a voter's identification card. (Seriously - that is how I found out - I had updated everything except my DL and when I used it as identification it was rejected because it still showed I had immigrant status rather than citizenship status). I had to go to the Elections Office and re-verify my citizenship certificate and I had to take the certificate to the Department of Drivers Services and update my status there. They issued me a new DL as well - no additional cost, fortunately.

So, just reminding you that you probably need to update your citizenship status with your Department of Driver Services as well.

Edited August 20, 2014 by Kathryn41

[VFittipaldi 30]

Different States handle it differently but many tie your Driver's License eligibility into your immigration status. For instance, in Georgia, as a permanent resident or immigrant you can only renew your DL for 3 years at a time or until the expiry of your immigration document, whichever is shortest and you have to renew the card in person. As a citizen you can renew your DL for 10 years at a time and you can do it through the mail.

If you use your DL as identification when you vote (Georgia requires proof of identification when you vote as well as when you register), if your DL is tied into an 'immigrant' status then you will receive a notification that you are ineligible to vote and they will be investigating your attempt to vote with the proper authorities, even if you have a voter's identification card. (Seriously - that is how I found out - I had updated everything except my DL and when I used it as identification it was rejected because it still showed I had immigrant status rather than citizenship status). I had to go to the Elections Office and re-verify my citizenship certificate and I had to take the certificate to the Department of Drivers Services and update my status there. They issued me a new DL as well - no additional cost, fortunately.

So, just reminding you that you probably need to update your citizenship status with your Department of Driver Services as well.

Wow, Georgia is not very easy on immigrants is it!!? In Oregon you update your drivers license every 10 years as a green card holder. I have been a green card holder almost for 9 years until last week but that's interesting to know. Thank you!

[HeatDeath 430]

I think that's part of the requirements for a drivers license to be REAL-ID compliant. Utah used to give immigrants 5 year drivers licenses, but when they changed their processes to keep their DLs compliant, the term of the DL was changed to be the same as the term of whatever immigration doc you showed them (e.g 2 years for a 2 year GC, etc).