reloman

IMHO, the only drawback I see (apart from what it says on the USCIS website) is that when you leave the US, the flight check-in asks to see your GC.

Your wife will have surrendered it on the day of the ceremony. So, as far as the airline sees, your wife hasn't got any documents.

Somebody will probably correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I see it.

That's a good point. But we will have one way tickets, and asking to see the green card is for reentry, right? Or is the airline checking for overstay?

First of all no one is going to ask her to surrender her Thai passport for anything. Only the Thai govt. can do that. We just traveled to Thailand twice in the last couple months. In both cases, my wife entered the U.S. on her U.S. passport, and entered Thailand on her Thai passport.

As far as getting her U.S. passport, we did it here in the U.S. and it took about 2 weeks to get the passport in the mail. It took a week after that to get the Naturalization certificate back. You have to give them the original. It sounds like you're in a hurry to get back to Thailand ASAP, but if you could wait a couple weeks, she'll have her U.S. passport. If not, it comes in the mail. Have someone at the address forward it to you via Fedex to Thailand.

That was my original plan, to leave the US on July 11th after the oath ceremony and submitting the passport application by mail. Then have the passport mailed to Thailand. The guy that bought our house is a good friend, and will happily overnight the passport to Thailand. But many here are saying we have to have the US passport in hand before we leave. I'm drawing a blank on where we'll get hung up using the Thai Passport to exit US/enter Thailand, other than not following the rule of law to the T. We've always booked travel with her Thai Passport and reentered the US with her green card. Why would it be different with the passport?

Hello. My wife passed her citizenship interview today, yeah!! Now let me give some background before I pose my question:

We are moving to Thailand, and have been planning our departure for months. We've sold everything and have just been waiting for the N400 process to be completed. Right now, staying with relatives, and very anxious to make our move. The N400 was scheduled for June 2nd, but was then cancelled by USCIS. uggghhhh, delay. Later rescheduled for 6/23. After my wife's interview, the IO officer was able to get us the next available Oath Ceremony on July 11th, 2014. My understanding is we will receive the Certificate of Naturalization on Friday, July 11th, after the Oath Ceremony. I'd love to have a flight to Thailand booked on July 11th, but what to do about the passport? A traditional passport application can take weeks to process. An expedited passport can be achieved by visiting the nearest passport agency, which is Washington DC, and we could exit the US from there. But this would mean at least 6 nights in a Washington DC hotel (expensive) US Embassy.

Now on to my questions:

The US Embassy-Bangkok website says they can process applications for US Citizens, and that the Certificate of Naturalization will suffice as proof of citizenship. I called the 800 US State Department Passport number to double check, and asked if my wife could travel on her Thai Passport and make US Passport application once in Thailand, and they said that she must travel on a US Passport since will be a US Citizen on July 11. I'm sure that is the correct "official" response. Now I know that she will be "asked" to surrender her Thai Passport on becoming a US Citizen, but she will not be doing that. And, I know lots of US/Thai citizens carry two passports. So, could she leave the US with her Thai Passport and apply for a new US Passport at the US Embassy-Bangkok? If so, how will that impact our return to the US? People carrying two passports, do they leave the US with one passport and return with the US passport? How does that work?

Thank you!

Hello, We've just submitted my wife's I131 application, and we're wondering when we can expect the biometrics appointment. We're going through the Raleigh office which usually has pretty quick turnaround times, and we've requested the I131 be picked up in Bangkok, Thailand. My wife has her permanent residence card, but we'll be traveling outside the US for almost two years, hence the I131. I'd like to book tickets, any idea when we might have biometrics appointment?

thanks!

ETA: My wife barely speaks English, mostly because I'm lazy and talk to her in Thai most of the time. She passed the test just fine, but she studied a lot for it.

Thanks Karee. Good to know others in the same boat were able to pass. Thanks to everyone for chiming in, VJ to the rescue...again!

We are a year and a half away from filing, but I understand your wife's trepidation about taking an exam in English. For us it is not the lenghthy travel but the ability to claim Social Security in Thailand.

I am not sure what your wife's stumbling block is - a helpful resource is the Seattle Public Library's citizenship guides, especially the Thai translation of the '100-question' civic exam:

http://www.spl.org/audiences/literacy-and-esl/citizenship-help#booklets

and their introductory video to the interview process:

http://www.seattlechannel.org/videos/video.asp?ID=4681

It might also be helpful to play the audio version of the questions on the USCIS on a MPEG player set to random play while walking. If you can't convert the CD versions to MPEGs (Windows Media Player will do the job) send me a message and I will forward them to you.

Steve

Thanks so much! I can't wait to show her the video tonight!

Hello, thank you for your time.

My wife is taking the citizenship test next month, and we have real concerns that she will not pass the test. To put it in context, it took over 20 trips to the DMV to get her driver's license. I've been trying to encourage her to study for the civics test, but she only gets frustrated and says that she doesn't really care if she becomes a US Citizen. She's had a green card for 6 years, and is content with that. However, her last trip back home, Thailand, was almost 6 months in length and they gave us a hard time coming back in to the US. Knowing that our next trip, which begins in June, will be one year in length, I've been hoping she would take more interest in studying for N400 civics test, but no luck. We've already applied for the N400 and completed biometrics. Can you stop the process and get a refund at this point? Our next option is to get an I131 reentry permit. Does anyone know an alternative to spending almost $500 for an I131? Before you reply with "the test is easy" or "just study for the test", please understand that it is likely she will not pass the test. Like many Visajourney members, I married my wife and brought her here not fully comprehending the scope of what we were undertaking. 7 years on, we are very happy together, and truly in love. But, we also understand her limitations when it comes to taking a test in English. Any advice on how we can travel abroad for extended periods is appreciated.

Thank you.

John.