Usaph

Mother is US citizen. Father unknown on her child's birth certificate. Sounds like we're good to go then, just have her on the form as sole parent but bring enough documentation just in case. Thanks all! If I have this wrong please let me know.

My spouse immigrated from the Philippines legally, and a few years later so did her child who is a minor. No green card for the child, and we haven't applied for certificate yet. We thought passport would be best for now. The father is not listed on the child's foreign (Philippines) birth certificate and has never had any contact. I am the step parent but not legal since I haven't adopted. Can we still apply for US passport now? We can provide marriage certificate and my US passport, but we're only listing 1 parent on parental information since it says at parents birth. Is my information necessary or will just confuse everything? Anyone ever heard of a similar situation?

What was your experience, did they allow any family members as guests?

Thanks! Yes spouse will adopt but we know that will take some time. We really want our child to have the same last name as soon as possible in the US. We'll look into the name change process to see if it can be done quicker in the US while we figure out the adoption paperwork.

I immigrated to the US on a fiance visa and married a few years ago. We're working on bringing my minor child from the Philippines to the US through the IR2 process petition by stepparent. We're still waiting on the child's visa, but can we somehow change my child's last name to my married last name? Or do we need to wait until immigration is complete? Not sure what is easiest but we want to have all the same last name.

Thanks for the affirmation. Yes that is correct.

Good to know. Yes it seems likely it would fall when I'm away, so I plan to provide reasoning and evidence that this is just a one time trip to visit family and will take the oath at the next available time upon return. How long after your interview/exam did you find the oath ceremony time? Is it mailed within a few days of passing the interview? Or do I need to be concerned about missing the letter in the mail while out of the country?

Understood. Very far from it. This is the only major trip except a couple days north of the border.

Thanks for your help! It seems like it might be best to delay the oath ceremony until after the trip, although on N-445 the answer is yes to travel outside the US. I think I have good arguments and evidence it was just to visit family since it's been many years. I just didn't expect this fast of a turnaround. From what I've read it looks like several month trips or multiple trips looks like you don't have allegiance which is why they ask that question. I'll continue researching but appreciate any other insight into this. Particularly with the N445 travel question. And also regarding flexibility with oath scheduling. Basically I will provide a letter saying that I cannot attend due to visiting my parents on trip scheduled in advance with a return ticket, and I will be available after return date which I will not miss for any reason. Sound like a good plan?

Wow that sounds intense but maybe possible. Nearest for me is 4 hours so not too bad. I'll try calling them on Monday. Thanks!

Thanks. Any idea when the second oath is after the first? As this will be a month long trip.

As excited as we are to have a naturalization appointment scheduled in April, we are leaving on a trip to the Philippines very shortly after. We weren't expecting the turnaround to be so quick so we thought it would be after. Now it puts us in a dilemma. From what it looks like, as a US citizen they will not accept a foreign passport when entering and leaving the US, correct? Turnaround time for a US passport in that short of a timeframe seems impossible. Can we ask for a delay of the naturalization appointment due to this? Otherwise it's going to cost thousands of dollars to reschedule this trip. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

Has anyone let their spouse fill their N400 on your account? My account has a pending I-130 and we'd like to use my account with my name on it rather than create another account. Is this okay or frowned upon?