passport & oath ceremony

[pepper spray 0]

Can you apply for passport during oath ceremony, if yes how does it work ? I mean is there personnel from the passport agency collecting application and fees on site or you just pick up an application form & go outside to a usps office and apply there ?

Can you apply in a passport agency instead of post office even if you are not doing expedited, just routine passport application ?

Edited January 17, 2015 by pepper spray

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

They will have passport application at the end of ceremony. Remember to bring pictures.

[pepper spray 0]

They will have passport application at the end of ceremony. Remember to bring pictures.

Yeh but who collects the applications for passport..? Is it the uscis or who ?

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Yeh but who collects the applications for passport..? Is it the uscis or who ?

Dept Of State people, no more USCIS.

[pepper spray 0]

Dept Of State people, no more USCIS.

Can you pay with debit/ credit card or you have to have cash to pay for the passport fees.

[NancyNguyen 1,658]

Can you pay with debit/ credit card or you have to have cash to pay for the passport fees.

My parents' ceremonies they only took checks, no cash no card.

[pepper spray 0]

My parents' ceremonies they only took checks, no cash no card.

Ok, good to know, Thank you !

[kzielu 1,153]

They will have passport application at the end of ceremony. Remember to bring pictures.

Or they won't - on my ceremony there was no sign of anybody taking passport applications. Even if there was, would likely not waste time - did it next day without having to wait with the passport-hungry crowd...

[pepper spray 0]

Or they won't - on my ceremony there was no sign of anybody taking passport applications. Even if there was, would likely not waste time - did it next day without having to wait with the passport-hungry crowd...

Where did you apply at post office or passport agency ?

Did they fold or staple you certificate of naturalization when you got it back ?

A freind of mine applied at post office he got his naturalization certificate back folded in two with a couple of tiny stapler holes in it .

[kzielu 1,153]

Where did you apply at post office or passport agency ?

Did they fold or staple you certificate of naturalization when you got it back ?

A freind of mine applied at post office he got his naturalization certificate back folded in two with a couple of tiny stapler holes in it .

Applied at local title division which was one of the acceptance facilities - post office surprisingly was by appointment only. They stapled it there to rest of documents -but why it's important ? It's document you likely won't ever use again. Came back unfolded in an envelope, ended up somewhere deep in the filling cabinet.

BTW - no passport agency in OH, nearest one like in Pittsburgh or Detroit so would have to be insane to drive there. Got passport after a week...

[Gosia & Tito 199]

Can you apply for passport during oath ceremony, if yes how does it work ? I mean is there personnel from the passport agency collecting application and fees on site or you just pick up an application form & go outside to a usps office and apply there ?

Can you apply in a passport agency instead of post office even if you are not doing expedited, just routine passport application ?

Depends on where and the size of it (how many people).

I've been to relatively small ones where they did it, and been to some that had literally hundreds if not thousands of people, and there was no taking of passport applications

[pepper spray 0]

I guess i' ll just wait till the next day of my oath ceremony and apply at my local post office at least by then i'll have a coppy of my naturalization certificate in hand, just in case..

[dioxide45 25]

You will need the original certificate, and the only way to get the original back at the time you apply is to do so at a Passport Agency. Acceptance facilities like the USPS will send the certificate of naturalization with your application. If you apply at an agency or acceptance facility, you can pay by credit or debit card.

I really see no reason for them to offer to take applications at oath ceremonies. It adds another layer of complications. Just go to the USPS office the next day.

I don't think you can apply at a local agency unless you are traveling within the next two weeks or need a visa within the next four weeks. So you may or may not be able to apply at an agency.

[pepper spray 0]

You will need the original certificate, and the only way to get the original back at the time you apply is to do so at a Passport Agency. Acceptance facilities like the USPS will send the certificate of naturalization with your application. If you apply at an agency or acceptance facility, you can pay by credit or debit card.

I really see no reason for them to offer to take applications at oath ceremonies. It adds another layer of complications. Just go to the USPS office the next day.

I don't think you can apply at a local agency unless you are traveling within the next two weeks or need a visa within the next four weeks. So you may or may not be able to apply at an agency.

I want to apply at my local passport agency cause it is not too far from where i live, but i dont need expedited, and even if i want to spend the extra $60 to get passport expedited, i have no proof like airplane tickets or such...

if only they take regular non expedited applications at passport agencies i' d go there only to not risk my original naturalization certificate in the mail..

$380 to replace it if lost ...that is too much money for a piece of paper.

[HeatDeath 430]

You usually wouldn't want to apply for a passport in the immediate aftermath of the oath ceremony, even if there is a desk where you can. The passport application requires you to surrender your naturalization certificate with the application. They mail it off and you get it back several weeks later. But there are several other things you will typically want or need to do with your naturalization certificate in the days or weeks right after your oath ceremony - register to vote, update your driver license, update your SSA records, etc. Since none of these typically require surrendering the naturalization certificate, but the passport application does, it makes the most sense to do everything else you need the naturalization certificate for first, minimizing the impact to you if, YHVH-forbid, the State Department lose it during your passport application process.

When you do go to apply, make a point of ordering the passport card in addition to the book. The passport card is the most durable, resilient, and cheapest proof of citizenship document naturalized citizens can acquire. We can't just replace our proofs of citizenship documents by going to the county office and dropping $20 for a birth certificate the way our spouses and children can, but a lost or destroyed passport card can be replaced quicker, easier and cheaper than a lost or destroyed passport book, and MUCH quicker, cheaper and easier than a lost or destroyed naturalization certificate.

EDIT: When you apply for your first passport as a newly naturalized citizen, you must apply in person at an acceptance facility (mine was in my local city hall, the post office will not usually suffice), and they will definitely take your original naturalization certificate and mail it back to you several weeks later - there is no way around this that I am aware of.

Edited January 18, 2015 by HeatDeath