Not Over Yet? Nope!

[Shauneg 762]

11 hours ago, lucybelle said:

I was just thinking about this! I was thinking "we will be all done in a few months"

 

Then I remembered- passport, social security, DMV.

 

I still believe we can be fine by the end of the year. And then... TEQUILA!

Tequila!

[blue_angel_29 108]

OMG. i never did any of these,  (except register to vote bc volunteers were there) 

 

I didnt go to ssa or dmv ( i already have my DL and doesnt expire until 2019). I've been naturalized since 2015! I haven't gotten a passport either since its too expensive and i dont think ill need it any time soon.

 

Are those mandatory?

[blue_angel_29 108]

13 minutes ago, CookieCat said:

Passport is not mandatory but naturalized U.S. citizens like to have it because: 

1) most naturalized citizens travel to their country of birth for visits and/or business and therefore are required to have a U.S. passport in order to be able to return to the U.S. 

2) passport books and passport cards are much more compact to be shown as ID than the naturalization certificate

3) if a naturalization certificate is all you have as proof of citizenship and you lose it, you have to pay $555 to replace it. It costs much less to replace a stolen passport!

 

As for updating social security, I don't know if it's mandatory but it's in your interest to do it for employment reasons. You don't want confusions with the employer not knowing where you stand on employment authorization.

 

As for the DMV, it's not mandatory to update citizenship status until when my current DL expires in my state but I don't know about yours. 

 

What are instances that i would need to prove my citizenship? My naturalization certificate is hidden in my closet with my SS card. All i really have is my DL. 

 

But if it is something i need to do, of course i will. I just really assumed that after the oath, SSA and DMV should automatically be informed by USCIS? wishful thinking?

[nightingalejules 678]

13 hours ago, Going through said:

Thanks for explaining that!  I know many countries allow auto-dual, but I didn't know that for the countries that don't allow this at least have an option available for someone to apply to have their citizenship recognized as dual---that's a good thing.

 

I feel for those people who have another set of forms/processes in their home countries after obtain USC.

 

What's amusing to me, is that in Canada they won't legally recognize that I would have become a USC at all.  Going through the process to have my US-born daughter receive her proof of Canadian citizenship, I was told by two separate officials that the word "dual" really means nothing in Canada.  According to them, we're both "just Canadians".  Reassuring, in a way.  At the same time a bit globally conceited lol

Actually, that's basically the same as in the US. If you are a US citizen, that's all they care about. So:

 

10 hours ago, Going through said:

Once a person becomes dual...how is that handled when border crossing?  You know when the officer asks "how long have you been in____? What was the purpose of your visit?" questions.

 

I mean for those who plan on now spending months at a time outside of the US...let's say 6 months or more but maintaining residence in the US still...I've always wondered how those questions are answered.  

 

Crossing back into America with a Canadian passport I'm always asked "what's the purpose of your visit to the US" to which I answer "I live here, and then produce my greencard".  (And then the opposite questions when crossing into Canada from the US of how long I've been in the States)

 

But without a GC once becoming a USC, and a holder of both passports with the ability to reside in both countries and no travel limit...what am I supposed to say then?  That I live in both countries, and show both passports?

Usually, I've noticed (with my husband who is a dual citizen) that they ask "so where is home, for you?" as the first question, most of the time. Once you answer that, they ask the appropriate followup. 

 

Once you have both passports, you use the Canadian passport to cross into Canada, and the US passport to cross into the US. If you're going anywhere else, use whichever one you want. (Unless you're going to Cuba, in which case, use Canada.)

 

By the way, if you are spending more time in Canada (like 6mo or more), why wouldn't you be a Canadian resident, who has a part time home in the US - I mean, the healthcare alone...!

[USC1961 251]

14 hours ago, Going through said:

What's amusing to me, is that in Canada they won't legally recognize that I would have become a USC at all.  Going through the process to have my US-born daughter receive her proof of Canadian citizenship, I was told by two separate officials that the word "dual" really means nothing in Canada.  According to them, we're both "just Canadians".  Reassuring, in a way.  At the same time a bit globally conceited lol

Indeed, while in Canada being a Canadian means just that.  Any benefits of having US Citizenship need not apply.

 

11 hours ago, Going through said:

Once a person becomes dual...how is that handled when border crossing?  You know when the officer asks "how long have you been in____? What was the purpose of your visit?" questions.

 

I mean for those who plan on now spending months at a time outside of the US...let's say 6 months or more but maintaining residence in the US still...I've always wondered how those questions are answered.  

 

Crossing back into America with a Canadian passport I'm always asked "what's the purpose of your visit to the US" to which I answer "I live here, and then produce my greencard".  (And then the opposite questions when crossing into Canada from the US of how long I've been in the States)

 

But without a GC once becoming a USC, and a holder of both passports with the ability to reside in both countries and no travel limit...what am I supposed to say then?  That I live in both countries, and show both passports?

When crossing borders into the USA you show your US passport.  When going into Canada your Canadian passport.  Then you just answer the questions honestly.  Good luck!

[Going through 5,668]

6 hours ago, nightingalejules said:

Actually, that's basically the same as in the US. If you are a US citizen, that's all they care about. So:

 

Usually, I've noticed (with my husband who is a dual citizen) that they ask "so where is home, for you?" as the first question, most of the time. Once you answer that, they ask the appropriate followup. 

 

Once you have both passports, you use the Canadian passport to cross into Canada, and the US passport to cross into the US. If you're going anywhere else, use whichever one you want. (Unless you're going to Cuba, in which case, use Canada.)

 

By the way, if you are spending more time in Canada (like 6mo or more), why wouldn't you be a Canadian resident, who has a part time home in the US - I mean, the healthcare alone...!

Most likely it will be an even split between both countries, maintaining residences and paying taxes in both.  Get the best out of both healthcare systems too.

[Andrea&Henry 311]

Is not such a hard process to be quite honest, compare to what we had to do in the past...this is a walk in park

 

I became US citizen may 2016 and by june I was ready with vote registration, SSN and with passport in hand. My country allows dual citizenship so nothing to do there.

I'm not a frequent traveler so the TSA thing is not something I feel like doing it.

 

My only advice is not only try to register to vote somewhere else because the people waiting outside the oath ceremony are not the most reliable one. I thought I was registered to vote only to found out I couldn't vote on November because I was actually not registered.

 

[vjstk 3]

If you change your name as a part of your naturalization process, be ready for 2-3x amount of paper work. I still haven't  figured out all the pieces. Car, Mortgage, Employer etc.

[Hopeful2004 70]

3 hours ago, vjstk said:

If you change your name as a part of your naturalization process, be ready for 2-3x amount of paper work. I still haven't  figured out all the pieces. Car, Mortgage, Employer etc.

Yikes!! That'd be me. 

[JoannaV 173]

18 hours ago, CookieCat said:

That's how it is for WI, I don't know about Virginia...Here's the link for your state: http://www.elections.virginia.gov/registration/how-to-register/index.html#Second

I didn't know that your citizenship had to be updated first with DMV before registering to vote... I always thought updated address and valid driver's license was all that was needed to register to vote. Sounds like you couldn't have registered right after oath either way then?

What's vegetarian fair lol

No it doesn't have to be updated first, but I guess that just was the way the officer told me? Because in my state when you apply for a driver's license there is a box asking if you are a US citizen and a box asking if you want to register to vote, so maybe that was the more straightforward way to tell someone, rather than tell them that they need to download a form from the internet, or go to some other location...I guess everyone can remember the DMV. I'll probably grab a form after the oath and then either do that or do it online.

Lol like there are always people registering voters at various city festivals, including the vegetarian festival. But I don't know what that means, maybe that means they help you fill out the form and they mail it? I have no idea.

 

I'm trying to figure out if you can apply for your first US passport at an overseas consulate. You know, in case you have to travel out of the US in an emergency without having obtained one. But it seems it might be better to do whatever is necessary to obtain that first.

 

Random rabbit trail, here's a question and answer from a DOS site:

"It states on my U.S. birth certificate that is it illegal to make a copy. What should I do?

If you choose not to submit a photocopy, you may submit a second certified copy of your birth certificate. We will keep this second certified copy for our records."

I love how they slightly sidestep the question.

[charmander 692]

17 hours ago, JoannaV said:

I'm trying to figure out if you can apply for your first US passport at an overseas consulate. You know, in case you have to travel out of the US in an emergency without having obtained one. But it seems it might be better to do whatever is necessary to obtain that first.

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies/citizenship-and-dual-nationality/dual-nationality.html

 

Towards the bottom: " Most U.S. nationals, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States.", so you have to use the US passport to leave United States as well. We should also note it says "most" not "all", which indicates there are exceptions to this rule. I am not sure emergency travel is covered under these exceptions, but I can't imagine consulate would give a US citizen hard time if they had to travel for instance to attend a funeral of a loved one.

[MyJourney 276]

This is a useful and interesting topic, but in all fairness it has nothing to do with "progress reports".

[JoannaV 173]

5 hours ago, charmander said:

https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal-considerations/us-citizenship-laws-policies/citizenship-and-dual-nationality/dual-nationality.html

 

Towards the bottom: " Most U.S. nationals, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States.", so you have to use the US passport to leave United States as well. We should also note it says "most" not "all", which indicates there are exceptions to this rule. I am not sure emergency travel is covered under these exceptions, but I can't imagine consulate would give a US citizen hard time if they had to travel for instance to attend a funeral of a loved one.

That was always my impression, but all this talk focused on the need to get back into the US made me wonder if the leaving of the US wasn't as big a deal as I thought... Thank you for reaffirming that requirement.

[Bugs 455]

Done with the passport business.  Now on to the SSA and DMV lol.

[Frage 67]

On 7/18/2017 at 10:11 PM, blue_angel_29 said:

What are instances that i would need to prove my citizenship? My naturalization certificate is hidden in my closet with my SS card. All i really have is my DL. 

 

But if it is something i need to do, of course i will. I just really assumed that after the oath, SSA and DMV should automatically be informed by USCIS? wishful thinking?

Not mandatory but since I was used to carry my GC with me, I got the passport card to have with me. Honestly I think I'll never need it unless I do travel by land or sea.