US passport

[akdiver 3]

I don't see the big deal with the SS, but since we sent two passport photos to with the N-400, would be nice of the DOS would take the other one and plant it in a nice shiny new US passport book, hand to you, and say, welcome to the USA.

Yeah, it does seem pretty ridiculous that they don't give you the option of paying the passport fee along with everything else, have you fill out that form along with everything else, and fast track a passport for you the moment the N-400 is approved. Oh wait - no, that would make too much sense.

In related news - I just had pages added to my passport. They said up to 2 months, but it was closer to two weeks. So, hopefully, they're catching up on full passports as well (:

[T and M 1]

At Lucy's interview, they gave her a special DS-11 and an envelope for the passport application. She could have filled this out and brought it to the oath ceremony to apply for a passport on the day of the oath. The outside of the envelope even listed and pictured the documents required (The application, photos, naturalization certificate, and a check for the fees).

The DS-11 they gave her at the interview was slightly different in the way they certified that you had sworn all the information on it was true and correct. For a standard DS-11, you raise your hand in front of the person who is accepting your application, and say that the information is true. The person taking the application signs and says you swore it was true. But if you turn the DS-11 in at the oath ceremony, everybody at the oath ceremony swears in unison that their passport applications are true, and the DS-11 says something like "sworn at the oath ceremony".

I may have some of the precise details wrong, but the point is, the passport application is slightly different. You can't use a downloaded DS-11 at the oath ceremony, nor can you take the DS-11 they gave you at the interview and use it at a regular passport acceptance facility. They were adamant about this point. We had a downloaded DS-11 prepared, but they wouldn't take it at the oath ceremony, so Lucy went to the local courthouse the next day to apply for a passport.

Some offices may handle this slightly differently, as well. I'm not sure if all offices even let you apply for your passport at the oath ceremony. If not, you can always apply at any regular passport acceptance facility, any time after you've got your naturalization certificate in hand.

This is indeed very interesting information. Once the application is submitted, either at the court house or the oath ceremony, how long will it take to be returned? Will it be returned by mail? I saw online that passport centers take 2 weeks, but perhaps courthouses and post offices take a bit longer?

[NickD 203]

At Lucy's interview, they gave her a special DS-11 and an envelope for the passport application. She could have filled this out and brought it to the oath ceremony to apply for a passport on the day of the oath. The outside of the envelope even listed and pictured the documents required (The application, photos, naturalization certificate, and a check for the fees).

The DS-11 they gave her at the interview was slightly different in the way they certified that you had sworn all the information on it was true and correct. For a standard DS-11, you raise your hand in front of the person who is accepting your application, and say that the information is true. The person taking the application signs and says you swore it was true. But if you turn the DS-11 in at the oath ceremony, everybody at the oath ceremony swears in unison that their passport applications are true, and the DS-11 says something like "sworn at the oath ceremony".

I may have some of the precise details wrong, but the point is, the passport application is slightly different. You can't use a downloaded DS-11 at the oath ceremony, nor can you take the DS-11 they gave you at the interview and use it at a regular passport acceptance facility. They were adamant about this point. We had a downloaded DS-11 prepared, but they wouldn't take it at the oath ceremony, so Lucy went to the local courthouse the next day to apply for a passport.

Some offices may handle this slightly differently, as well. I'm not sure if all offices even let you apply for your passport at the oath ceremony. If not, you can always apply at any regular passport acceptance facility, any time after you've got your naturalization certificate in hand.

This is indeed very interesting information. Once the application is submitted, either at the court house or the oath ceremony, how long will it take to be returned? Will it be returned by mail? I saw online that passport centers take 2 weeks, but perhaps courthouses and post offices take a bit longer?

We paid for expedient service $151.25 to the DOS and another $41.50 to their designated agent in our town, got the passport back in nine total days, and the certificate back in 12 days counting the day when we went in. Not even sure what regular service costs, but after all the tears and joy after the oath ceremony, sober up and learn that you are in a state of limbo, again. We grew tired of that state.

[T and M 1]

At Lucy's interview, they gave her a special DS-11 and an envelope for the passport application. She could have filled this out and brought it to the oath ceremony to apply for a passport on the day of the oath. The outside of the envelope even listed and pictured the documents required (The application, photos, naturalization certificate, and a check for the fees).

The DS-11 they gave her at the interview was slightly different in the way they certified that you had sworn all the information on it was true and correct. For a standard DS-11, you raise your hand in front of the person who is accepting your application, and say that the information is true. The person taking the application signs and says you swore it was true. But if you turn the DS-11 in at the oath ceremony, everybody at the oath ceremony swears in unison that their passport applications are true, and the DS-11 says something like "sworn at the oath ceremony".

I may have some of the precise details wrong, but the point is, the passport application is slightly different. You can't use a downloaded DS-11 at the oath ceremony, nor can you take the DS-11 they gave you at the interview and use it at a regular passport acceptance facility. They were adamant about this point. We had a downloaded DS-11 prepared, but they wouldn't take it at the oath ceremony, so Lucy went to the local courthouse the next day to apply for a passport.

Some offices may handle this slightly differently, as well. I'm not sure if all offices even let you apply for your passport at the oath ceremony. If not, you can always apply at any regular passport acceptance facility, any time after you've got your naturalization certificate in hand.

This is indeed very interesting information. Once the application is submitted, either at the court house or the oath ceremony, how long will it take to be returned? Will it be returned by mail? I saw online that passport centers take 2 weeks, but perhaps courthouses and post offices take a bit longer?

We paid for expedient service $151.25 to the DOS and another $41.50 to their designated agent in our town, got the passport back in nine total days, and the certificate back in 12 days counting the day when we went in. Not even sure what regular service costs, but after all the tears and joy after the oath ceremony, sober up and learn that you are in a state of limbo, again. We grew tired of that state.

Thanks. We'll allow 2-3 weeks. Will be applying for a passport for our newborn as well, so we'll probably do them together. And I agree that it is sometimes better to pay to speed things up. The state of limbo is not fun. We've learned to live with it by now, but as another poster noted, once we both get each other's citizenship, we will probably realize that we lived under constant stress due to the legal limbo during our first few years of marriage.

Thanks!