Can my wife fly out of the USA on her old passport right after oath ceremony and apply for U.S. passport at an embassy abroad?

[jaysaldi 213]

In my experience, it's faster and easier to get a US replacement passport at an embassy abroad. Takes about ten days.

My wife has her N400 interview coming up in a few days. If she passes and gets sworn in as a citizen next month and has a naturalization certificate, can she fly out of the USA on her foreign passport and then apply for a US passport at a US Embassy abroad, rather than trying to get  the US passport here in the USA?

 

Is there any downside to doing this?

 

Thanks

 

 

Edited February 23 by jaysaldi

[kiwibean 48]

It seems unnecessarily risky.  Passports aren't backed up anymore - they're coming in about 2 weeks.  Why not just wait and get it in hand first?

[JeanneAdil 6,498]

1 hour ago, jaysaldi said:

In my experience, it's faster and easier to get a US replacement passport at an embassy abroad. Takes about ten days.

My wife has her N400 interview coming up in a few days. If she passes and gets sworn in as a citizen next month and has a naturalization certificate, can she fly out of the USA on her foreign passport and then apply for a US passport at a US Embassy abroad, rather than trying to get  the US passport here in the USA?

 

Is there any downside to doing this?

 

Thank

the bold part

it is not a replacementt US passport 

she is applying for the 1st time 

taking Naturalization certificate to Cambodia to do this is a bit risky 

but here are the rules to follow for US Cambodia under 1st passport drop down box

 

https://kh.usembassy.gov/u-s-citizen-services/passports/

[mam521 2,062]

US Citizens, including dual nationals, are required to leave and enter the US on a US passport.  

 

US passports are not delayed like they were last year.  They are back to reasonable processing times of a couple of weeks.  Expedited processing is even faster.  Is there an urgent NEED for her to have a US passport or are you thinking you just want it sooner than later? 

 

As mentioned above, your wife will be applying for a NEW passport, not a renewal.  

[Crazy Cat 41,845]

16 minutes ago, PVR Bound said:

Just a note from the US Department of State on the point raised by mama521...

 

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/Relinquishing-US-Nationality/Dual-Nationality.html#:~:text=Use of the foreign passport,challenges for international travelers here.

Thanks for finding that.  "Use of the foreign passport to travel to or from a country other than the United States..." 

[jaysaldi 213]

10 hours ago, kiwibean said:

It seems unnecessarily risky.  Passports aren't backed up anymore - they're coming in about 2 weeks.  Why not just wait and get it in hand first?

Thanks. What is the risk that I'm not seeing?   She fills out the form, goes the embassy with the naturalization certificate, and she's entitled to a US passport, right?

[jaysaldi 213]

9 hours ago, mam521 said:

US Citizens, including dual nationals, are required to leave and enter the US on a US passport.  

 

US passports are not delayed like they were last year.  They are back to reasonable processing times of a couple of weeks.  Expedited processing is even faster.  Is there an urgent NEED for her to have a US passport or are you thinking you just want it sooner than later? 

 

As mentioned above, your wife will be applying for a NEW passport, not a renewal.  

Thanks. We're thinking she may want to travel to Cambodia within 3 -14 days of her oath ceremony.  Hence I thought it would be easiest if I booked the flight in her maiden name which is what her Cambodian passport is under. And then she flies to Cambodia, gets a US passport at the embassy, and flies back to the USA on a ticket in her married name with her US passport.

 

Do new passports issued at embassies take longer than renewal passports?

Edited February 24 by jaysaldi

[OldUser 6,650]

23 minutes ago, jaysaldi said:

Thanks. What is the risk that I'm not seeing?   She fills out the form, goes the embassy with the naturalization certificate, and she's entitled to a US passport, right?

Risk 1. She can get stuck overseas due to slow processing times at embassy

Risk 2. What if she loses certificate? She'd have very hard, expensive time restoring it.

 

The law says she should travel on US passport, why break the law as the first thing after becoming a citizen?

[Stein 276]

Not directed specifically at the OP, but why is it we see people always seem to need to urgently travel right after citizenship oath?  Seems like there is a thread like this every week.

[PGA 240]

41 minutes ago, jaysaldi said:

Do new passports issued at embassies take longer than renewal passports?

This entire idea is pretty risky. Now, having done both (in my case renewals and first-time passports, abroad as well as within the US), it has been much quicker to do it from within the US.

[PGA 240]

14 minutes ago, Stein said:

Not directed specifically at the OP, but why is it we see people always seem to need to urgently travel right after citizenship oath?  Seems like there is a thread like this every week.

Well, I'm guessing in a lot of cases (not particularly this one), it's to tell the rest of the family, in person, to start packing because they're submitting the I-130s....😄 

[jaysaldi 213]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

Risk 1. She can get stuck overseas due to slow processing times at embassy

Risk 2. What if she loses certificate? She'd have very hard, expensive time restoring it.

 

The law says she should travel on US passport, why break the law as the first thing after becoming a citizen?

What's the process for replacing a naturalization certificate while abroad?  

 

Is it much different from traveling abroad with a green card and losing the green card?

 

I figured it would involve going to the embassy, hopefully showing a copy of the naturalization certificate, showing your Us driver's license, etc. if you have that, showing your foreign passport, and saying "Hi, you issued me a K1 visa here 5 years ago, I moved to the USA and naturalized and seem to have lost my certificate, can you get me a new one and issue me a US passport?"

 

No good?

 

I do see now that there is a form N-565 to replace naturalization certificate and that takes six months in the USA. I can't find any reference to whether US embassies abroad issue these certificates. My gut tells me there must be thousands of naturalized American citizens living in Mexico, many of whom returned to Mexico without ever getting a US passport, and who later lost their naturalization certificates and Us passports if they ever had one, and who need replacements while in Mexico.

 

I'm just not seeing any data points about what replacing a naturalization certificate and getting a passport abroad entails.

 

We all know that the "must enter/leave the USA on American passport" rule isn't enforced, but I do have some concern that the embassy could give her a hard time if she lost the certificate and/or applied for a USA passport, as they might say "If you were really American you would have left the USA on an American passport.

 

It's giving me something to think about anyway.  We live in the Houston area, can I wait until she hopefully passes the interview and gets an oath ceremony date and then book her flight for 4-5 days after that and make an emergency passport appointment for the day after her oath ceremony?

Edited February 24 by jaysaldi

[OldUser 6,650]

16 minutes ago, jaysaldi said:

We live in the Houston area, can I wait until she hopefully passes the interview and gets an oath ceremony date and then book her flight for 4-5 days after that and make an emergency passport appointment for the day after her oath ceremony?

Unless it's a life and death situation, why do you want to complicate life? As many data points suggest, if she applies for expedited passport, she should get it within few weeks here in the US.

 

If it is an emergency, maybe it makes sense postponing oath and travelling on GC, unless you think the trip will be long?

 

Follow the standard process to ensure smooth travel. Deviate from it - and you will either pay more, wait longer or both.

Edited February 24 by OldUser

[PGA 240]

1 hour ago, jaysaldi said:

I figured it would involve going to the embassy, hopefully showing a copy of the naturalization certificate, showing your Us driver's license, etc. if you have that, showing your foreign passport, and saying "Hi, you issued me a K1 visa here 5 years ago, I moved to the USA and naturalized and seem to have lost my certificate, can you get me a new one and issue me a US passport?"

Well, since you seem so set on this plan....please check back and let us know how it all works out....

[PGA 240]

15 hours ago, jaysaldi said:

n my experience, it's faster and easier to get a US replacement passport at an embassy abroad. Takes about ten days.

OMG...10 days? At an embassy abroad? Please let me know how this plan works out....