NC replacement/SSA lost my documents

[Eternati 13]

Hello everyone,

 

Here is my quick story. I became a citizen on March 18th, obtained my Naturalization Certificate + name change form. I applied to get a passport first, and received it precisely in 2 weeks after applying. Next step for me was updating of my SS record to get a new drivers license. I was very hesitant to send the originals of my documents to SSA, and my worst fear turn out to be true - they lost my documents. It has been 3.5 weeks since I applied for SS citizenship status/name change, and I haven't received anything from them, and neither had I seen any changes reflected in my SSA.gov online account. I finally talked to the person this morning, and they told me, that my documents were scanned almost 3 weeks ago, but SSA "forgot" to plug it in the system upon receiving, so it was done while I was on the line. They said I should receive my new SS card within two weeks, but when I asked about my documents, they said "oh, they were sent back to you on April 19th". Today is May 10th, and I obviously had not received anything. SSA clerk said I should inquire from the post office, but they cannot provide me with a tracking number "Just tell them the date when the documents were mailed". Obviously the lady at the post office looked at me like this O_O and said she cannot help me since I don't have a tracking number.

With that said - did anyone have to go through the NC renewal, and more importantly, if you were able to make SSA/USPS/whoever else lost the documents pay for it? The replacement fee is $550, and I am not looking forward to pay this amount. Plus they also lost my military ID (I chose to send that one over the original of my drivers license). 

[ImmiGeek 59]

Sorry to know that.

There are some lessons like this thought me to risk the NC ONLY for Passport and hide it after that, for life.

In my notes(find the link in my signature), I have clearly described why and how to use the Passport ONLY (even you can use Passport CARD instead of Passport book) for SS records updates by hiding your NC for life. 

Did you keep the photo copy of your NC? 

SS usually covers the cost of your replacement if they have lost it. They have to 

1) Either send you the original NC

2) Or Give you the valid tracking number to track it down

3) Or else Cover your complete NC replacement cost(goes around $700 including paperwork etc).

[Eternati 13]

16 hours ago, ImmiGeek said:

Sorry to know that.

There are some lessons like this thought me to risk the NC ONLY for Passport and hide it after that, for life.

In my notes(find the link in my signature), I have clearly described why and how to use the Passport ONLY (even you can use Passport CARD instead of Passport book) for SS records updates by hiding your NC for life. 

Did you keep the photo copy of your NC? 

SS usually covers the cost of your replacement if they have lost it. They have to 

1) Either send you the original NC

2) Or Give you the valid tracking number to track it down

3) Or else Cover your complete NC replacement cost(goes around $700 including paperwork etc).

Thanks for your response! Would you mind sending a source you're referring to when talking about SSA reimbursing the cost of the fees? I honestly could not find anything rather than forums and 3rd party websites talking about it. I just called SSA once again and they said they cannot provide tracking information and there is absolutely nothing that they can do for me. 

Yes, I do have copy of my NC, and yes, I am aware that I should have ordered a passport card as well in order to send to SSA, but unfortunately I only found this advice after submitting my paperwork for the passport book only. 

[Ontarkie 13,913]

The Post office lost my certificate (temporally) along with a few others that were being sent in bulk to the Passport agency. Call them talk to them it's possible like mine they fell behind a bucket and because we kept (there was 13) kept at them someone found them. 

 

Good luck I hope it's found. 

[NEW CITIZEN 151]

Interesting, I just received my NC back from SSA.

Shipped back UPS 2 day with tracking in a hard envelope.

 

[Eternati 13]

17 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

The Post office lost my certificate (temporally) along with a few others that were being sent in bulk to the Passport agency. Call them talk to them it's possible like mine they fell behind a bucket and because we kept (there was 13) kept at them someone found them. 

 

Good luck I hope it's found. 

Did you have a tracking number for the post office? Because my post office said they can do literally nothing without it. And SSA said "we don't save this information. It was mailed to you, figure it out, have a nice day".

17 hours ago, NEW CITIZEN said:

Interesting, I just received my NC back from SSA.

Shipped back UPS 2 day with tracking in a hard envelope.

 

UPS or USPS? My branch said they used USPS. But I guess it depends on the branch itself?

[Ontarkie 13,913]

1 hour ago, Eternati said:

Did you have a tracking number for the post office? Because my post office said they can do literally nothing without it. And SSA said "we don't save this information. It was mailed to you, figure it out, have a nice day".

UPS or USPS? My branch said they used USPS. But I guess it depends on the branch itself?

No I did not. 

 

I'm so surprised the passport office is not trying to track them down too. Maybe call them again ask talk to someone else and see if they can help since you are getting no where with the passport office. 

[ImmiGeek 59]

On 5/11/2021 at 7:57 AM, Eternati said:

Thanks for your response! Would you mind sending a source you're referring to when talking about SSA reimbursing the cost of the fees? I honestly could not find anything rather than forums and 3rd party websites talking about it. I just called SSA once again and they said they cannot provide tracking information and there is absolutely nothing that they can do for me. 

Yes, I do have copy of my NC, and yes, I am aware that I should have ordered a passport card as well in order to send to SSA, but unfortunately I only found this advice after submitting my paperwork for the passport book only. 

I too dont have the first hand proof that SSA would pay for the lost certificate. Sorry.

[NEW CITIZEN 151]

On 5/12/2021 at 8:00 AM, Eternati said:

Did you have a tracking number for the post office? Because my post office said they can do literally nothing without it. And SSA said "we don't save this information. It was mailed to you, figure it out, have a nice day".

UPS or USPS? My branch said they used USPS. But I guess it depends on the branch itself?

United Parcel Service

[Scandi 3,970]

When I called my local SSA they explained SSA only returns your documents with UPS with tracking for safer handling, never USPS. Sorry that didn't happen in your case. From your post it seems SSA isn't responsible for it getting lost since they already shipped it, must be a USPS issue? Either way, good luck trying to get either of them to admit to losing your certificate, they'll just blame each other and you likely won't get anything out of it. 

Either your certificate shows up later, or you simply have to pay to get a new copy if you really want one. 

[MrKo 60]

Not sure if this makes you feel better, but it may still arrive eventually... My NC spent over 1 month on the road when sending back from passport office. The postmark was dated over a month ago before it eventually showed up in my mailbox, so there's still hope. Before I received it, I seriously thought about what to do in case it's really lost: nothing! I was not planning to apply for a replacement, because 1) it costs a lot (money & time-wise), 2) I did not see why I'll ever need to use it again in the future when I already have my passport. Unlike Canada (DISCLAIMER: I love Canada) where you can't use a passport as the only proof for citizenship ("a Canadian passport is only a prima facie proof of Canadian citizenship" - Wikipedia), your US passport is a strong proof of your US citizenship and you do not need anything else additionally to prove your citizenship unless in some rare situations (e.g. applying for a federal job that requires you to present an NC). This is not to belittle the frustration that you're going through, and of course YMMV. Good luck and with all this being said I still think you WILL receive it back.

Edited May 15, 2021 by MrKo

[Marimar04 22]

I applied for my new/ updated SS card on April 8th. I got it yesterday in the mail but I'm still waiting for my passport. When I called last week they told me that I will get the passport back this week and  the card the following week. I'm afraid my passport got lost but I don't know how much longer I have to wait to call back again or to apply for a new one.

[Marimar04 22]

I just got my passport back today after 8 weeks. The envelope was big and unsealed so I'm glad it didn't fall out of it. I have just to update my driver's license but I will do it before it expires in December.

[LampPost 1]

After how long do we get our supporting documents back?

 

I received my passport with typo in name 14 days back but still waiting for my certificate of naturalization back, so I can apply for a new passport to fix the typo. Any idea after how long people are getting back their certificate of naturalization from the passport agency once they receive the passport? My the passport was expedited.