Applying for a passport during the Oath Ceremony? (2019/SF)

[anonee 8]

Hey folks,

 I'd love to hear from people who have managed to apply for a passport during the oath ceremony. I saw a few people claiming they skipped the line and applied at a post office. I am curious, is the line just that massive? Is there a way I can minimize the hassle during the application by doing some advanced prep work?

 

Also, a few additional questions on that front:

- I applied for a name change in the court, my naturalization certificate will be in my new name but my driver's license will be in my old name. Do I need to bring a copy of the court order for name change? 

- Do I need a copy of my driver's license or is this something they can do assuming I bring my original driver's license.

- I plan to fill out the DS 11, bring it to the oath ceremony (along with a passport size photo), plus confirmation of travel in two weeks from date of passport. Is this sufficient for me to expedite my passport?

 

Thanks!

[Dashinka 24,493]

I am not aware of anyone being able to apply for a passport at the oath ceremony itself.  In my wife’s case, her oath was in the afternoon, and the federal court where the oath was held is right across the street from the Detroit passport office, but they close around 3pm and the oath ceremony was not completed in time.  We had a rep from the passport office explain how to apply and she even told us that if we apply at the passport office (not the post office) within 30 days they would not keep the naturalization certificate, so we went back down to the passport office the next day and applied with an expedite and she had her passport in about 3 days.  If you have a passport office local to you, then you may be able to do the same.

 

note, if you have immediate travel plans, and go to a passport office, I believe you can get a same day passport.

 

Good Luck!

Edited June 1, 2019 by Bill & Katya

[Going through 5,671]

Not all oath ceremonies include the option to apply for the passport right there and then.  That's the first thing you'd have to find out.

As far as expediting---it's normally a matter of just paying an increased fee...no proof of imminent travel is needed, generally, unless applying for a same-day passport at a passport agency/center.  Since you are travelling soon, may want to check and see if same-day processing is available in your area....because even expedited may take at least 2 weeks time, depending.

 

Here is some info for you on getting a passport in a hurry:

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/hurry.html 

 

Edited June 1, 2019 by Going through

[Dashinka 24,493]

1 minute ago, Going through said:

Not all oath ceremonies include the option to apply for the passport right there and then.  That's the first thing you'd have to find out.

As far as expediting---it's normally a matter of just paying an increased fee...no proof of imminent travel is needed, generally, unless applying for a same-day passport at a passport agency/center.  Since you are travelling soon, may want to check and see if same-day processing is available in your area....because even expedited is going to take at least 2 weeks time.

 

 

Not if you apply at an actual passport office/agency.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies.html

[Going through 5,671]

4 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

Not if you apply at an actual passport office/agency.

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies.html

I agree---that's why I mentioned doing same-day instead, and mentioned going through a passport agency/center in my above post...OP seems to want to do expedited processing on the day of oath ceremony (if option is even available at their oath ceremony), or post office though, which may take a bit longer depending on backlog.

[Going through 5,671]

36 minutes ago, thedarkelf said:

I applied for a name change in the court, my naturalization certificate will be in my new name but my driver's license will be in my old name. Do I need to bring a copy of the court order for name change? 

Do you mean if you need to bring a copy of the previous name-change court order to your oath ceremony?  No, not required.  You will be given the opportunity to confirm the correct info/name on your naturalization certificate during the proceedings.

[anonee 8]

12 minutes ago, Going through said:

Do you mean if you need to bring a copy of the previous name-change court order to your oath ceremony?  No, not required.  You will be given the opportunity to confirm the correct info/name on your naturalization certificate during the proceedings.

 

SF is one of those places where you don't get a judicial ceremony. This means that I had to go do a name change in the courts right before my N400 interview, and make sure that my naturalization certificate will be in my new name. So I am not worried about whether my naturalization certificate will be in my new name (because it will be per the officer at my interview). What I am asking about is the future passport that I plan to get - My understanding is that I will need a photo ID to verify that I am who I am (in addition to the naturalization certificate). The problem is that my photo ID will be in my old name. I wasn't sure whether that in itself would create issues when I apply for a passport. 

[anonee 8]

21 minutes ago, Going through said:

I agree---that's why I mentioned doing same-day instead, and mentioned going through a passport agency/center in my above post...OP seems to want to do expedited processing on the day of oath ceremony (if option is even available at their oath ceremony), or post office though, which may take a bit longer depending on backlog.

Yes, this is exactly what I wanted to do. I believe SF allows me to apply for a passport at the oath ceremony. You bring up a good point: would I even be able to do expedited processing on the day of the oath ceremony?

 

To @Bill & Katya's point, my oath is scheduled to be the afternoon ~ 1 PM (which I am guessing will have delays and such?). So I also wonder now whether I'd even be able to apply for a passport after the ceremony (even if they have someone collecting passport applications, I am presuming they'd stop doing it sometime in the afternoon?)

[HRQX 4,145]

8 minutes ago, thedarkelf said:

my oath is scheduled to be the afternoon ~ 1 PM

On which date? The passport agency currently has openings available for same-day passport for Fri. June 7 onward: https://passportappointment.travel.state.gov/

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies/san-francisco.html

[anonee 8]

1 minute ago, HRQX said:

On which date? The passport agency currently has openings available for same-day passport for Fri. June 7 onward: https://passportappointment.travel.state.gov/

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/requirements/where-to-apply/passport-agencies/san-francisco.html

My oath is 12th of June, my travel is exactly 15 days from June 12, (June 27) so the online system won't let me book a date yet. 

[HRQX 4,145]

4 minutes ago, thedarkelf said:

My oath is 12th of June, my travel is exactly 15 days from June 12, (June 27) so the online system won't let me book a date yet. 

"Can't find an appointment that meets your needs? Contact Us" They are still receiving calls today for 30 more minutes. "Customer service representatives are available: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Eastern Time..."

[anonee 8]

2 minutes ago, HRQX said:

"Can't find an appointment that meets your needs? Contact Us" They are still receiving calls today for 30 more minutes. "Customer service representatives are available: Monday - Friday 8:00 am to 10:00 pm Eastern Time..."

Oh awesome. I didn't know I could do that. Thanks @HRQX

[Dashinka 24,493]

10 hours ago, thedarkelf said:

My oath is 12th of June, my travel is exactly 15 days from June 12, (June 27) so the online system won't let me book a date yet. 

In Detroit we walked in without an appointment the day after the ceremony.  We had travel plans for two weeks out but nothing booked yet.  We were in and out in about 30 minutes.

[Loren Y 2,755]

21 hours ago, thedarkelf said:

Hey folks,

 I'd love to hear from people who have managed to apply for a passport during the oath ceremony. I saw a few people claiming they skipped the line and applied at a post office. I am curious, is the line just that massive? Is there a way I can minimize the hassle during the application by doing some advanced prep work?

 

Also, a few additional questions on that front:

- I applied for a name change in the court, my naturalization certificate will be in my new name but my driver's license will be in my old name. Do I need to bring a copy of the court order for name change? 

- Do I need a copy of my driver's license or is this something they can do assuming I bring my original driver's license.

- I plan to fill out the DS 11, bring it to the oath ceremony (along with a passport size photo), plus confirmation of travel in two weeks from date of passport. Is this sufficient for me to expedite my passport?

 

Thanks!

Depends on the office or I guess where it is held. Here in Vegas I volunteer at oath ceremonies whenever I can, and they do it pretty nice here at the federal courthouse. You can get a photo with the Judge that does the swearing in, and they have tables/ booths set-up to do everything you need to. They have a passport table set-up where if you bring the form and 2 photos they will help you apply for the passport( They have forms there, but easier if you already have them filled out. They have reps from the SS office to help you change your status to US citizen in the system, etc. A pretty good set-up where you get everything done in one day, and in one place so you don't have to run around and do everything. Hopefully one day soon I get to stand in the crowd of people with my wife when she gets sworn in.

 

If you need your passport that fast, your going to have to go to a actual local passport office to get it done. go here to find your local agency... https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/hurry.html

Edited June 1, 2019 by Loren Y

[anonee 8]

25 minutes ago, Loren Y said:

Depends on the office or I guess where it is held. Here in Vegas I volunteer at oath ceremonies whenever I can, and they do it pretty nice here at the federal courthouse. You can get a photo with the Judge that does the swearing in, and they have tables/ booths set-up to do everything you need to. They have a passport table set-up where if you bring the form and 2 photos they will help you apply for the passport( They have forms there, but easier if you already have them filled out. They have reps from the SS office to help you change your status to US citizen in the system, etc. A pretty good set-up where you get everything done in one day, and in one place so you don't have to run around and do everything. Hopefully one day soon I get to stand in the crowd of people with my wife when she gets sworn in.

  

 If you need your passport that fast, your going to have to go to a actual local passport office to get it done. go here to find your local agency... https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/apply-renew-passport/hurry.html

From looking online, it appears that the oath ceremony in SF can have around a thousand people, I think I am going to try to call up on Monday and get an appointment at the local passport office the day after my oath.