Domestic Travel Immediately After Naturalization (N-400)

[ezmiller 0]

My wife just received her citizenship/naturalization after a successful final ceremony and oath ceremony. She is now a citizen but does not yet have a passport. She needs to take a domestic flight, however, before receiving her passport. We are wondering what kind of evidence she needs to present at security to fly. 

 

Has anyone been in this particular situation?

 

Presumably, it would no longer make sense to fly using her Israeli passport since her permanent resident status no longer applies. 

[MASH 172]

6 minutes ago, ezmiller said:

My wife just received her citizenship/naturalization after a successful final ceremony and oath ceremony. She is now a citizen but does not yet have a passport. She needs to take a domestic flight, however, before receiving her passport. We are wondering what kind of evidence she needs to present at security to fly. 

 

Has anyone been in this particular situation?

 

Presumably, it would no longer make sense to fly using her Israeli passport since her permanent resident status no longer applies. 

She can use her US drivers license to fly if she has one, u only need passport for international flights or not have a drivers license.

Edited August 31, 2022 by MASH

[ezmiller 0]

Does the driver's license need to be a so-called "enhanced" driver's license?

[MASH 172]

2 minutes ago, ezmiller said:

Does the driver's license need to be a so-called "enhanced" driver's license?

From what I was advd yes. 

[Mike E 11,741]

2 minutes ago, ezmiller said:

Does the driver's license need to be a so-called "enhanced" driver's license?

No.  
 

and she can use her Israeli passport. 
 

In  May 2023, the government promised (“this time for sure”) that if using a drivers license or state ID to fly domestically, the TSA will only accept a REAL ID state DL/ID

 

1. I don’t believe it.  The federal government has cried wolf on REAL ID countless times now. 
 

2. She has plenty of time to get REAL ID or if she lives in the state of Washington, Enhanced ID (EID).  EID is not REAL ID. EID is a state issued passport card, some of which license people to drive.  Washington State does not issue REAL ID.  

[arken 4,197]

7 minutes ago, ezmiller said:

Does the driver's license need to be a so-called "enhanced" driver's license?

No, a regular driving license works.

[MASH 172]

40 minutes ago, MASH said:

From what I was advd yes. 

 

36 minutes ago, Mike E said:

No.  
 

and she can use her Israeli passport. 
 

In  May 2023, the government promised (“this time for sure”) that if using a drivers license or state ID to fly domestically, the TSA will only accept a REAL ID state DL/ID

 

1. I don’t believe it.  The federal government has cried wolf on REAL ID countless times now. 
 

2. She has plenty of time to get REAL ID or if she lives in the state of Washington, Enhanced ID (EID).  EID is not REAL ID. EID is a state issued passport card, some of which license people to drive.  Washington State does not issue REAL ID.  

That is good to know, like I said this is what I was advised. But happy to see it is not the case which helps people better to do domestic flights.

[Demise 1,305]

12 hours ago, ezmiller said:

My wife just received her citizenship/naturalization after a successful final ceremony and oath ceremony. She is now a citizen but does not yet have a passport. She needs to take a domestic flight, however, before receiving her passport. We are wondering what kind of evidence she needs to present at security to fly. 

 

Has anyone been in this particular situation?

 

Presumably, it would no longer make sense to fly using her Israeli passport since her permanent resident status no longer applies. 

Driver's license or state ID, RealID got pushed back to May 2023 and I believe that after pushing it back for 20 years they'll just push it back again.

That being said, a US Citizen is only required to enter or exit US using a US passport, otherwise nothing prevents one from using an Israeli passport to fly domestically.

12 hours ago, ezmiller said:

Does the driver's license need to be a so-called "enhanced" driver's license?

There's three kinds of driver's licenses (and not all states issue all 3):

Standard (not RealID, newer ones will have "Not for federal purposes" printed on them)

RealID (required verification of legal status and address, these ones have a star on the obverse somewhere)

Enhanced (required verification of citizenship and address, also serves as basically a US Passport Card for ground and sea travel in WHTI countries)

 

Right now she can fly on either of the 3. RealID got pushed back to May 2023 (and honestly, probably will never be put into effect). After (if?) RealID goes into effect then only RealID and Enhanced Licenses will be able to be used for domestic air travel.

Edited August 31, 2022 by Demise

[jxn 86]

12 hours ago, Mike E said:

Washington State does not issue REAL ID.  

I guess it's a bit nuanced. All states now issue REAL ID-compliant driver licenses and non-driver IDs. From what I read, the Washington state offers an "enhanced driver license (EDL) or enhanced ID card (EID)," and the "EDL/EID is also an acceptable REAL ID document to use for air travel within the United States." What's strange to me is that unlike many states, the wording suggests that it is only for U.S. citizens. Happy to learn more if I might be mistaken in any of this.

[Mike E 11,741]

1 hour ago, jxn said:

I guess it's a bit nuanced. All states now issue REAL ID-compliant driver licenses and non-driver IDs. From what I read, the Washington state offers an "enhanced driver license (EDL) or enhanced ID card (EID)," and the "EDL/EID is also an acceptable REAL ID document to use for air travel within the United States." What's strange to me is that unlike many states, the wording suggests that it is only for U.S. citizens. Happy to learn more if I might be mistaken in any of this.

EID isn’t REAL ID. And yes it is only for U.S. citizens. That’s because EID is a state issued passport card.  EDL is an EID that authorizes one to operate a motor vehicle IOW a drivers license that is also a passport card.  
 

EIDs are not available to LPRs because CBP doesn’t want LPRs traveling  without  their I-551s and while DoS is happy enough to let state DMVs issue passport cards, USCIS is not happy to let state DMVs issue green cards.  
 

https://www.dhs.gov/real-id/real-id-faqs

 

“If my state issues an Enhanced Driver’s Licenses, is that sufficient for my state to be REAL ID compliant?

“State Enhanced Driver’s Licenses (EDL) designated as acceptable border-crossing documents by DHS under the Western Hemisphere Travel Initiative (WHTI) are acceptable for official federal purposes (i.e., boarding a commercial aircraft, accessing a federal facility, or entering a nuclear power plant). However the existence of an EDL is not sufficient to consider the state to be in overall compliance for purpose of determining whether a federal agency may accept a state’s regular driver’s license for official purposes. For example, a federal agency could accept an EDL issued from a state but not be able to accept a standard driver’s license from that same state.”

 

Can I use my REAL ID card to cross the border into Canada and Mexico and for international travel?

 

“No. REAL ID cards cannot be used for border crossings into Canada, Mexico or other international travel.”

REAL ID is not EID. To me there is no nuance at all, and non citizens residing in Washington state understand my point.  
 

IMHO few states comply with the REAL ID Act.  

Edited August 31, 2022 by Mike E

[Chancy 6,243]

*** Moved from US Citizenship General Discussion to What to do now that you are a US citizen ***

 

[retheem 568]

17 hours ago, ezmiller said:

My wife just received her citizenship/naturalization after a successful final ceremony and oath ceremony. She is now a citizen but does not yet have a passport. She needs to take a domestic flight, however, before receiving her passport. We are wondering what kind of evidence she needs to present at security to fly. 

 

Has anyone been in this particular situation?

 

Presumably, it would no longer make sense to fly using her Israeli passport since her permanent resident status no longer applies. 

DL works

[Cathi 5,771]

23 hours ago, MASH said:

From what I was advd yes. 

No.