JourneyFromA2

There is another form (I-508) he will need to fill out to explain his A visa status and duties, and to also renounce his diplomatic status.

Similar to what I had to go through.

1 hour ago, Rick_rick said:

Thanks for the input. I’m currently not in college. I used enhanced Drivers license ( special drivers license you can use for land border crossing between US-CAN).

 

I’ll give it a try again and see if they stop me for same thing. 

Why not apply for a US passport or passport card?

What is it with the confusion?

OP said he/she reported to his/her school when status changed from F1 to LPR. And now OP just recently became a USC and didn’t state if he/she was still in school or not. 
 

Also, CBP wouldn’t have let OP back in had OP claimed USC when in fact not, even with a valid LPR card. 

The question was if this was normal to be always asked if you were a prior F1 visa holder. 

And answered, albeit, not directly but more of a suggestion. 
 

Either. But, unless you wrote your entry in prints and are very legible, I would just print the filled out pdf and then sign. 
you don’t need the instructions printed. 

I was in the same boat and everything I had were still valid. There really is no time constraint in updating your status.

Most important is going to be your passport. This will give you a backup proof that you are now a US citizen, in case you misplace your NC.

First thing that is not resource intensive on your end is to schedule the appointment with USPS to get your US passport. Submit your application, your photos (some USPS has the option to take your photo as well), and your Certificate of Naturalization (original). Set and forget, until you get the certificate and your passport back.

Next is your driver's license or social security.

If your driver's license is still valid, I would leave that alone until you need to renew.

For social security, fill out the application and put in a piece of paper that you just need to update your citizenship. Depending on your local office, they may ask you to come in or mail in your passport and other proof along with the application. You should call your local office and find out what the process is. 

Unless you need to claim social security benefits immediately, there is no pressing time on when you should update this.

14 hours ago, Blondie26 said:

My Oath ceremony went well, I am officially a United States Citizen.

Congratulations. I’m so happy for you!

 You might be one of the last ones of September 2020 filers. 

Speaking from a personal experience here:

My sister was adopted and got her US citizenship when my step-father got his citizenship and my mother got het green card. 
My step-father has passed away and my mother had gotten her citizenship, since,

So, now mom is trying to settle up all affairs here before moving back to her home country to retire and one of the thing was to make sure my sister was taken care of. She then found out that my sister’s passport had expired and lost her passport before she turned 21 last year. In December, my sister applied for a renewal so she could go to Indonesia with her, but for whatever reason, the application was returned and she was asked to supply proof of citizenship. Now we are all scrambling to get her N600 filed. 
 

Take this story with a grain of salt. 

5 hours ago, doshi8000 said:

Just innocently/harmlessly curious; why do people change names?

Marriage, usually. But there are also many other reasons, like just wanting a new name, etc.

Glad it worked out in the end. Congratulations!

On 4/29/2022 at 10:40 AM, mdantas said:

Hello!

 

I live in Brazil and my fiancee is currently in the US. He just sent the papers to the USCIS and is coming to Brazil so we can spend a few months together. 

I would like to add him to my health plan as a benefitiary so he could use it in his time in Brazil, but to do that I need to be either legally married or in a stable union. 

I won't get married of course, but I was wondering if this stable union thig could mess up our process? I know that US immigration doesn't recognize this kind of process but still, I'm not sure if it's worth a try.

 

Thanks in advance!

K1 might use this as denial.

If it's just insurance, your fiancée can buy international insurance from here that will cover him for Brazil.

15 hours ago, americanirish87 said:

Does anyone know if family is allowed at the oath ceremony taking place at the Federal Courthouse (Dirksen Building) 219 S Dearborn? 

I was able to have my wife with me. I was told that I could have 2 people with me. 

10 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

It won't be an issue, taking a spouses last name does not require an actual court/judge to do it. Since all she wanted to do was assume her husband's name she just shows her marriage certificate as her proof of name change. It's just cheaper to wait until  ROC or Naturalization to change it during the process. Most don't realize the name change can happen at ROC and wait until Naturalization.

 

Even if nothing comes in the mail your marriage certificate is your legal document to take on your husbands last name. You will submit that when you apply for the passport. 

This is correct, it wouldn’t be an issue when changing your name to take on spouse’s last name. All you will need is proof of citizenship and marriage certificate. My wife and I married in 2015 and she didn’t change her last name until 2019. 
 

Like everyone said, get your passport first along with a passport card. Then use the passport to change your name with social security. 
 

The social security card may be a longer process. If you have an issue with a social security agent being adamant with whatever script they’re reading from, I might even suggest going through the process of changing your name first because of marriage. And then go through the process of changing citizenship status after that. 

20 hours ago, Guido51 said:

hi everyone, my case says online

 

"Estimated time* until case decision: approx. 6 days"

 

but i didn't receive any interview date or anything after biometrics.

have i missed a letter? what does this "6day mean"? i just don't want to miss an interview or anything like that without knowing.

 

thanks if anyone can help.

As for the being over 6 days, sometimes they miss the deadline and not update the status online. 
 

However, you will see an update online if a letter has been mailed to you. 

50 minutes ago, MGMA said:

Very good thread. I am on a different boat, I lost my DL and does not want to get a replacement in the old name, then apply for a new one in the new name. DMV will only renew with new name if it matches SSN. Now what are my options? 

 

Can I just send my passport + name change order? Or do I still need to send DL? I am in Seattle. Anyone have recent experience? 

afaik your DL is only a form of identity. If you had your passport, that’s enough of an identity to get your SS. Along with your name change doc, you should be good to go. 
 

Here is a good link you can use to see what documents you will need: https://www.ssa.gov/ssnumber/ss5doc.htm

On 11/22/2021 at 2:03 PM, JourneyFromA2 said:

Just went thorough the same thing:

 

11/08/2021:  Mailed letter, passport card and SS-5 form to Fort Wayne, IN SSA office

11/15/2021:  Received passport card back via USPS

11/20/2021:  Received letter from Fort Wayne, IN SSA stating that I should receive my new card in 2 weeks (letter dated 11/17/2021)

I checked SSA's site and in the "Request a Replacement Social Security Card" section shows that it is currently being updated and new information should be available after November 25, 2021.

 

 

 

 

11/26/2021: Received actual card in the mail

I think I’m all set. what a relieve. Also a relieve knowing that if something should happen to me, wife is set to receive as I’ve already accumulated my 40 points. 
 

What a journey it has been. 

FYI: the letter from SSA stated that I can only request up to 3 times for card replacement and 10 times in my lifetime.

Just went thorough the same thing:

11/08/2021:  Mailed letter, passport card and SS-5 form to Fort Wayne, IN SSA office

11/15/2021:  Received passport card back via USPS

11/20/2021:  Received letter from Fort Wayne, IN SSA stating that I should receive my new card in 2 weeks (letter dated 11/17/2021)

I checked SSA's site and in the "Request a Replacement Social Security Card" section shows that it is currently being updated and new information should be available after November 25, 2021.

On 10/15/2021 at 10:54 AM, bing10 said:

So I just finished the process of updating the SSA. Thanks to @seetsuh for documenting it so well. I used the exact same letter template and process as outlined earlier in the thread.

Here's my full timeline:

 

09/27/21: Mailed letter, passport card & SS-5 form to Columbus Ohio SSA office
10/01/21: Received Passport card back (by UPS)
10/08/21: Online status changed to "Updating information" *
10/14/21: Received letter (from Columbus SSA) saying new SSN card has been ordered and should receive within 2 weeks
10/15/21: Online status changed to show that I'm a US citizen *
10/15/21: Received new SSN card (from Baltimore SSA)

* - A useful way to check that SSA has correctly updated your information is by logging in to the online site, and click 'Replace your Social Security Card', once they have updated the citizenship status, it will allow you to order a new card, otherwise it reports that you are not a US citizen. I checked this a couple of times a day after mailing the documents to see when it had been updated.

How it is displayed before the update:

 

How it is displayed during the update:

 

 

How it is displayed after the update:

7 minutes ago, rodeo said:

Is your passport processing expedited?

Yes, it was and I also paid for next day shipping back for my passport book.

7 minutes ago, seahawk24 said:

Just making sure i understood you correctly, its taking up to 4 weeks from application being approved to get the naturalization certificate. i hope they mail mine sooner. 

That's how mine was. Here's a recap:

Sent application via USPS on June 15.
Check cashed and application received on June 22.
Application approved on July 22.
Received my passport book on July 24. 
Received my passport card on July 26.
Received my certificate back on August 13..

6 minutes ago, seahawk24 said:

Does anyone know how long it is taking for the certificate to show up after  your application was approved? 

 

Between approval and receiving the passport book, receiving the passport card, and then receiving the certificate back, total, it was about 4 weeks.

5 minutes ago, marrow39 said:

Does anyone know if you can send a certified copy of your Naturalization Certificate to apply for a passport or it must be the original? Thanks

Must be the original per requirement by DOS.

13 hours ago, millefleur said:

Used to do bookbinding and if you put crumbled/bent paper under heavy weights (such as heavier books, etc) and just leave it there for days, it should straight it out if it's just bent. If it has actual folds not sure if it would help.

I’m not worried. It looked like that it was bent just before it was stuffed into my mailbox so it wasn’t too creased. 

On 7/27/2021 at 8:25 AM, JourneyFromA2 said:

Received my passport book on July 24. 

Received my passport card on July 26.

Currently waiting for my NC to come back from DOS.

Received my NC back today, August 13.

It was bent by in a Manila envelope and USPS folded it to fit in the mailbox, since there wasn’t any note on the outside to not bend/fold. 

The postage came from South Carolina.

1 hour ago, leymanai said:

Couldn’t find official source but here’s a Reddit link: 

 

Interesting.
Based on that, my locator number was 34 = Charleston. However, my passport book was sent from Tucson. 
I’ll check when I get my NC back to see where it came back from. If it’s different then maybe the application and printing locations are different. 

2 hours ago, leymanai said:

Alright, thanks. Just was wondering if anyone even receiving those. They did say on their website that they started printing new versions but I guess it solely depends on state and office 🤔 

Where do you see this?

On 7/31/2021 at 10:08 AM, leymanai said:

Did any of you received new generation passport? 

Nope.