N-400 Interview and International travel plans

[maracuyámor 1]

Hello,

 

My wife has been scheduled to have her interview for the Civics and English test in early April. We do not anticipate any issues as her English is great and she's been studying a lot for the Civics test, so she will more than likely pass.

 

Our concern is that we are planning on traveling to celebrate some major accomplishments that came from years of hard work and we would like to buy plane tickets for some rest and relaxation in the Caribbean. She has an El Salvadoran passport that she's used for international travel in the past when she was a permanent resident. If she passes her interview as well as her English and Civics tests in April, will her El Salvadoran passport immediately be no longer valid for international travel upon passing the interview and the tests? We wanted to travel in May as we have the whole month off from work at that time. I would think that this must happen all of the time and there must be some type of extension or window that still allows international travel for immigrants that were previously permanent residents and have just recently passed their interview for citizenship. I assume as of now she cannot apply for a U.S. passport considering she's still a permanent resident and if she passes her interview in April, she would not receive a U.S. passport in time for international travel in May, so this creates an issue for us. We need to buy the plane tickets soon before the prices get any higher (and if there's no definitive answer on this, I suppose I should buy the plane tickets with a refundable option in case she will not be able to travel internationally). Could anyone please provide some advice in regards to this? Thank you!

[TNJ17 1,329]

That’s not how it works. Getting US citizenship does not affect her other passport. As long as it’s not expired she can travel with it. She’s not required to use her US passport to travel anywhere unless she wants to. Unless there are any country specific restrictions she will be able to have two passports. After she gets her naturalization certificate, she’s gonna have to apply for a US passport and how long that would take is gonna depend on the post office you use to apply to and their timelines. You can book your trip for whenever you want and she can use her old passport to travel there without issues. 

[Liam2021 551]

Assume she become US citizens in late April, but she must apply for US passport  to go back to USA.

[Enigma11561 336]

13 minutes ago, H&T said:

Assume she become US citizens in late April, but she must apply for US passport  to go back to USA.

Interesting. As an LPR using her Salvadorian passport she can travel and re enter the U.S. After the oath ceremony the green card is turned back in. And even though she may have her citizenship papers, she has no passport. And her papers do not permit re entry. You need to wait for her passport. However, I believe you can have the passport expedited for a small additional fee.You can check his online.

Edited March 12, 2018 by Enigma11561
misspelling

[maracuyámor 1]

4 hours ago, Dee elle said:

Until she has her oath ceremony she remains an LPR, not a US citizen. She continues to use her El Salvador passport for international travel. 

Her citizenship of her home country will not be affected by her becoming a US  ctizen

unless El Salvador does not allow her to become a citizen of another country and requires her to renounce her citizenship of birth. 

Once she goes through the oath ceremony, she can then apply for her US passport. 

This is good information to know, thank you! From what I understand, the oath ceremony usually takes place at least several weeks after passing the interview and tests. Is this correct? The interview is in early April and we plan on traveling for at least a week in mid-May. If the oath ceremony were to take place during our planned trip, could we reschedule for the next available oath ceremony? Regardless, if her passport from her home country is valid for several more years, none of this should matter I would imagine as she could just user her El Salvadoran passport.

[nightingalejules 678]

 

1 hour ago, maracuyámor said:

This is good information to know, thank you! From what I understand, the oath ceremony usually takes place at least several weeks after passing the interview and tests. Is this correct? The interview is in early April and we plan on traveling for at least a week in mid-May. If the oath ceremony were to take place during our planned trip, could we reschedule for the next available oath ceremony? Regardless, if her passport from her home country is valid for several more years, none of this should matter I would imagine as she could just user her El Salvadoran passport.

Yes, it seems like the smart thing to do (if the oath ceremony were scheduled just before or during the trip) would be to postpone the oath ceremony (when she'd have to turn in her green card) until after the trip. Then, travel on the El Salvadoran passport (and green card), return, and then do the oath, get the US passport (as well as her current passport, and on future trips she can use either passport to go wherever she's going, and the US passport to return to the US.