jaysaldi

In my experience, it's faster and easier to get a US replacement passport at an embassy abroad. Takes about ten days.

My wife has her N400 interview coming up in a few days. If she passes and gets sworn in as a citizen next month and has a naturalization certificate, can she fly out of the USA on her foreign passport and then apply for a US passport at a US Embassy abroad, rather than trying to get  the US passport here in the USA?
 
Is there any downside to doing this?
 
Thanks
 
 

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

Update: I took everyone's advice here and had my wife apply for passport at the passport office the day after her ceremony and she got the passport the next day

My wife had her oath ceremony at the M.O. Campbell educational center yesterday March 27. 1300 new citizens. Friends and family allowed. It's a small basketball arena. Friends and family sit in the upper deck, new citizens sit in the lower section.
 
Her letter said to arrive at 8. We got there at 7:20. Plenty of parking. At 7:30 or so they started letting people in. Friends and family through one line to the upper seats, new citizens to the check in lines and lower seats. Then they would have the new citizens get out of the seats row by row and do more checking in and whatnot.
 
The actual ceremony started at 10 am when the judge showed up. 45 minutes of judge talking and then a lady giving a speech. Lots of emphasis on voter registration.
 
Ceremony ends and then new citizens have to line up again to get their certificates.
 
My wife got out at 11:30 a.m.
 
Call me jaded but I think this ceremony is best avoided. It was a 45 minute drive there and then 2.5 hours of waiting for the ceremony to start and then the ceremony itself is pretty boring and it's not like your family member is getting singled out for an award.
 
The M.C. said a few times "We do this every month on Wednesdays." I don't know if that means the last Wednesday of every month, or the fourth Wednesday of every month.  Someone posted back in the thread about a ceremony on March 6 I think, which would suggest they are more often than once a month.  My wife's interview was Feb. 28, so I'm sure it was too late for the March 6 cutoff.  
 
But anyway, if someone is naturalizing through the Houston office, and you want to guess when your oath ceremony will be, I think 3-5 weeks after your interview and on a Wednesday is a pretty good guess.
 

My wife had her oath ceremony at the M.O. Campbell educational center yesterday March 27. 1300 new citizens. Friends and family allowed. It's a small basketball arena. Friends and family sit in the upper deck, new citizens sit in the lower section.
 
Her letter said to arrive at 8. We got there at 7:20. Plenty of parking. At 7:30 or so they started letting people in. Friends and family through one line to the upper seats, new citizens to the check in lines and lower seats. Then they would have the new citizens get out of the seats row by row and do more checking in and whatnot.
 
The actual ceremony started at 10 am when the judge showed up. 45 minutes of judge talking and then a lady giving a speech. Lots of emphasis on voter registration.
 
Ceremony ends and then new citizens have to line up again to get their certificates.
 
My wife got out at 11:30 a.m.
 
Call me jaded but I think this ceremony is best avoided. It was a 45 minute drive there and then 2.5 hours of waiting for the ceremony to start and then the ceremony itself is pretty boring and it's not like your family member is getting singled out for an award.
 
The M.C. said a few times "We do this every month on Wednesdays." I don't know if that means the last Wednesday of every month, or the fourth Wednesday of every month.  Someone posted back in the thread about a ceremony on March 6 I think, which would suggest they are more often than once a month.  My wife's interview was Feb. 28, so I'm sure it was too late for the March 6 cutoff.  
 
But anyway, if someone is naturalizing through the Houston office, and you want to guess when your oath ceremony will be, I think 3-5 weeks after your interview and on a Wednesday is a pretty good guess.
 

My wife interviewed in Houston on Feb 27 2024 and was approved on the spot. Within two days he myuscis account showed oath ceremony date of March 27.  Letter arrived in mail a week later

My wife interviewed in Houston on Feb 27 2024 and was approved on the spot. Within two days he myuscis account showed oath ceremony date of March 27.  Letter arrived in mail a week later

The other thing I meant to mention is that my wife's citizenship interview consisted only of the reading/writing/civics test. No questions about our marriage, her 380 days spent outside the USA in the last three years, no looking at the tax returns, bank statements,  proof of my own US citizenship, our marriage certificate, her passport, etc.   
 
It was just reading, writing, civics, done.

September 19 2023.  Interview notice was mailed on January 11, 2024. Interview date February 27, 2024.

My wife had her interview at Gears Road yesterday. Everything went smoothly.

We arrived 15 minutes before her appointment time. You check and they give you two numbers to listen for. The first number is to get called to a window for biometrics.  

This took about 30 seconds for her number to be called, even though the waiting room had a lot of people waiting.  Then 10 minutes after she finished the biometrics they called the second number to go to Door 1 for her interview.

She was back there about 10-15 minutes.  They tested her on reading and writing and asked her some of the civics questions. It sounds like they may non-randomly choose easier questions from the 100 question prep book. Like they didn't ask who authored the Federalist papers and who is your Congressional representative. They asked the easier stuff.

She passed and they said she'll get a letter in the mail about her oath ceremony.

Thanks. What is the risk that I'm not seeing?   She fills out the form, goes the embassy with the naturalization certificate, and she's entitled to a US passport, right?

Ah, we live in Montgomery County, a 45-60 minute drive from downtown Houston. My wife's interview is next week in Houston. I just assumed the oath ceremony would be in Houston too.

when is your oath ceremony?

i think what's more likely is that Mexico's published rules are strict -- "no extension letters" -- but their immigration officers are lax. 
 
Some airlines follow their letter of the law it seems because of the "possibility" of being fined if Mexico denies entry to the traveler.  Some don't.

 

I'm surprised the US immigration lawyer who prepared/reviewed this submission used or approved the language of "formal engagement ceremony" and "celebrate our bond and commitment." 
 
I just would have said "engagement party" or at most "engagement ceremony."  The words "formal" and "bond" were unnecessary and would tend to do more harm than good, in my opinion. 

When I saw "ceremony to celebrate our union" i thought  "Noooooo. You had an engagement party to celebrate your engagement."
 
Repeat that until you get it down cold. Engagement party. To celebrate your engagement. 
 
There has been no "union" and will be no "union" until you marry in the USA, got it?
 
Don't refer to her as "my wife" anywhere at any time from now until you marry.
 
Do not use or show any photos of her in a wedding dress.
 
I see your attorney has already filed the K1. Did he or she include the wedding dress photos?  Perhaps you should discuss with your lawyer concerns you've read that you are now "too married" for a K1 visa.
 
I don't think your K1 application is as doomed as some other posters here do. Engagement ceremonies are common in some Southeast Asian countries and if you DON'T have an engagement ceremony the consular officer may wonder if you are truly engaged.  I believe that some of the examples involving people deemed "too married for a K1" were from countries where engagement ceremonies are not common.
 
If you can present this as an engagement party I think you're fine. But I agree with others that your description of this "union ceremony" and the bridal dress photos may be somewhat problematic.

When I saw "ceremony to celebrate our union" i thought  "Noooooo. You had an engagement party to celebrate your engagement."
 
Repeat that until you get it down cold. Engagement party. To celebrate your engagement. 
 
There has been no "union" and will be no "union" until you marry in the USA, got it?
 
Don't refer to her as "my wife" anywhere at any time from now until you marry.
 
Do not use or show any photos of her in a wedding dress.
 
I see your attorney has already filed the K1. Did he or she include the wedding dress photos?  Perhaps you should discuss with your lawyer concerns you've read that you are now "too married" for a K1 visa.
 
I don't think your K1 application is as doomed as some other posters here do. Engagement ceremonies are common in some Southeast Asian countries and if you DON'T have an engagement ceremony the consular officer may wonder if you are truly engaged.  I believe that some of the examples involving people deemed "too married for a K1" were from countries where engagement ceremonies are not common.
 
If you can present this as an engagement party I think you're fine. But I agree with others that your description of this "union ceremony" and the bridal dress photos may be somewhat problematic.

When I saw "ceremony to celebrate our union" i thought  "Noooooo. You had an engagement party to celebrate your engagement."
 
Repeat that until you get it down cold. Engagement party. To celebrate your engagement. 
 
There has been no "union" and will be no "union" until you marry in the USA, got it?
 
Don't refer to her as "my wife" anywhere at any time from now until you marry.
 
Do not use or show any photos of her in a wedding dress.
 
I see your attorney has already filed the K1. Did he or she include the wedding dress photos?  Perhaps you should discuss with your lawyer concerns you've read that you are now "too married" for a K1 visa.
 
I don't think your K1 application is as doomed as some other posters here do. Engagement ceremonies are common in some Southeast Asian countries and if you DON'T have an engagement ceremony the consular officer may wonder if you are truly engaged.  I believe that some of the examples involving people deemed "too married for a K1" were from countries where engagement ceremonies are not common.
 
If you can present this as an engagement party I think you're fine. But I agree with others that your description of this "union ceremony" and the bridal dress photos may be somewhat problematic.

When I saw "ceremony to celebrate our union" i thought  "Noooooo. You had an engagement party to celebrate your engagement."
 
Repeat that until you get it down cold. Engagement party. To celebrate your engagement. 
 
There has been no "union" and will be no "union" until you marry in the USA, got it?
 
Don't refer to her as "my wife" anywhere at any time from now until you marry.
 
Do not use or show any photos of her in a wedding dress.
 
I see your attorney has already filed the K1. Did he or she include the wedding dress photos?  Perhaps you should discuss with your lawyer concerns you've read that you are now "too married" for a K1 visa.
 
I don't think your K1 application is as doomed as some other posters here do. Engagement ceremonies are common in some Southeast Asian countries and if you DON'T have an engagement ceremony the consular officer may wonder if you are truly engaged.  I believe that some of the examples involving people deemed "too married for a K1" were from countries where engagement ceremonies are not common.
 
If you can present this as an engagement party I think you're fine. But I agree with others that your description of this "union ceremony" and the bridal dress photos may be somewhat problematic.

When I saw "ceremony to celebrate our union" i thought  "Noooooo. You had an engagement party to celebrate your engagement."
 
Repeat that until you get it down cold. Engagement party. To celebrate your engagement. 
 
There has been no "union" and will be no "union" until you marry in the USA, got it?
 
Don't refer to her as "my wife" anywhere at any time from now until you marry.
 
Do not use or show any photos of her in a wedding dress.
 
I see your attorney has already filed the K1. Did he or she include the wedding dress photos?  Perhaps you should discuss with your lawyer concerns you've read that you are now "too married" for a K1 visa.
 
I don't think your K1 application is as doomed as some other posters here do. Engagement ceremonies are common in some Southeast Asian countries and if you DON'T have an engagement ceremony the consular officer may wonder if you are truly engaged.  I believe that some of the examples involving people deemed "too married for a K1" were from countries where engagement ceremonies are not common.
 
If you can present this as an engagement party I think you're fine. But I agree with others that your description of this "union ceremony" and the bridal dress photos may be somewhat problematic.