Photos to submit with N400

[ma2moiselle 0]

This may be a silly question, but are the 2 passport photos that you have to submit with the N400 used for your actual American passport later on? Or are they simply kept by the immigration office/government?

Thanks!!

[Stella08 0]

I think, in the long run one picture stays with USCIS and the other is going to be attached to your Naturalization Certificate. You sign both pictures during your interview. You can get different pictures when you apply for your passport.

[Lappa1 0]

That 2 photo you submitted will be used one for the naturalization certificate and one the IO will keep in their file. For passport you should have an additional photo. That's I think.

[lucyrich 20]

I agree with what's been said, and I'll add that the photo they put on your naturalization certificate is exactly the same piece of paper that you submit with your N-400. It's not scanned and reprinted, like they do with a passport, green card, or visa. So if it's important to you, I'd recommend NOT giving them an inkjet printed photo, but instead a real photographically printed picture on genuine photo paper from a photo lab. An inkjet printed picture may fade more quickly, and your naturalization certificate should last a lifetime.

After you become a citizen, getting a passport is a separate process. You'll submit a new set of two passport photos with your passport application. They're supposed to have been taken recently, so depending on how long your N-400 process is, you may not get to use reprints from the N-400 pictures. But maybe if your appearance hasn't changed much...

[NickD 203]

Wife's original conditional card photo was a 3/4 view where since then the USCIS adopted the same kind of photo used by the Department of State with precise dimensions. Since I took her photos, had to read all that in the DOS website, tells exactly how to take the photos, and other requirements like no smile, no jewelry. Wife objected to that and asked me why when she had her driver's license taken, why she was asked to smile with her usual jewelry. Just responded, I don't make the laws.

I used my lighting and a very high res digital camera and paid Walgreens 19 cents for six photos on a 4 by 6 inch photograph, using my photo cutter for precise dimenstions and Corel Photo with a grid for precise proportions. Wife didn't want the same photo for her US passport, here we go again, LOL.

While the N-400 instructions said to write her name and alien number in light pencil on the back of her photos, her IO wanted that in ink on the front, but she did that at her interview. On hers, they used a drop of glue in the center with a USCIS stamp half way on her photo and the certificate. Was tempted to do a better job, but left it, have it in a plastic liner and stored away.

While the USCIS says you can go to jail for making copies of the certificate, tell you to make copies to send that in along with new photos, and around 400 bucks in case you lose yours. Ha, also say not to photograph it, but when she was handed her certificate, was positioned in front of my wife so I got a very good shot of it, but that photo is just for us. It's almost impossible to see what the certificate looks like on the web, I searched for it with zero results.

With my wife's US passport, really doubt if we will ever use it again, but she may if and when that time comes to get SS benefits, but unlike her green card, she doesn't have to carry that with her. So it's locked up in our safe.