EternalForeigner

2 hours ago, Coco&Kitten said:

Wow, your case went relatively fast, Congratulations!!

Thanks! I was pretty fortunate indeed. I applied for a passport on the same day but it’s still in process. So let’s see how long that takes. 

2 minutes ago, Coco&Kitten said:

Any updates anybody from Denver?  Still waiting for approval after my interview.  Already 120 days have passed, I contacted Senator Bennet and they are checking on my case.  It seems Denver has gotten very slow...

I think I'm the last person in Denver to report on their case. You can check my post above (it's in another thread).

And which locator number did you have?

Applied on the 17th too, expedited, but still in process. 

I’m sure there are others here are going to be much more helpful than me, but if by chance your documents went to the New Orleans office, that could explain the lack of updates. Though that wouldn’t make a ton of sense since your documents were sent earlier and they should’ve been in status by now even if they went to New Orleans. 

So far I’ve only read about one person who posted on Reddit saying he got the new passport but he didn’t detail anything or post proof of it. I can’t seem to find that post either. 

3 hours ago, feeling_hopeful said:

Wife applied last Saturday, and it's in status with locator 34 - I'm trying to figure out what the 34 means.  Is there a list somewhere?  I'm sure it means a location, but does it affect wait times?  

Mine is 34 and it indicates Charleston, South Carolina. No idea yet if some offices are quicker to process than others (someone can enlighten us on any patterns they may have noticed). There's a list somewhere in the thread but I don't recall which page it was on. But here it is and another one I found elsewhere:

The only instances I've anecdotally encountered where a SSN changes included a few people I knew who had one when they were on student visas, but when they applied for asylum and granted it, they were given completely new numbers. Otherwise if a SSN is issued unrestricted with a green card, that's the one you'll keep even when granted citizenship.

16 minutes ago, tu2008 said:

They did not offer that option to me. There is no tracking number on the receipt. I paid for express return. Ok I will wait. Thank you!

That was me experience, too. Though I applied on Aug 17 and it changed to “in process” on the 20th. Check cashed on the 23rd. Perhaps it’ll be a couple more business days for the status change to happen. 

43 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I've noticed that tends to happen with larger pieces of mail. Seems like it doesn't fit in the scanner the use for informed delivery.

Which documents have you received from them for now?

10 minutes ago, millefleur said:

I tried to submit the Missing Mail form here: https://missingmail.usps.com/

But apparently for express packages you have to wait 7 days first. Just posting this here in case this situation happens to anyone else.

That’s absolutely awful and I hope you can get it quickly. 

I completely forgot to update you that the online registration went fine without needing to update my status at the DMV. 

1 hour ago, millefleur said:

Funnily enough the email updates didn't work at all for me. I think @SusieQQQ had the same issue. Glad they are working for some though!

 

So, mine did the same thing: changed from Approved, to Shipped, then back to Approved. Thankfully I saved the tracking number before it changed back to Approved. Tracking isn't working yet, but when it does I'll update here with which city it shipped from.

 

 

Seems like that’s what’s going to happen with me because I didn’t get an email whenever it changed from unavailable to in process. 

8 hours ago, noname1234 said:

is border opened?

Yes. You still need a negative covid test 72 hours before arrival, to have proof of full vaccination (14 days need to have passed by from the second dose) and download the ArriveCAN app and fill it out accordingly before undertaking the journey. 

15 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

the post you responded to was in the context of talking about using a passport for domestic travel, though…I just think that’s an unnecessary risk in case of document loss.
 

Even if you show a passport for an international destination it does not have to be “the passport which you are officially using to leave the US”. The point being there is no one in the US at exit who asks to see that.  

Ah I didn’t notice that bit. And it seems very clear now. Thank you and everyone else for your thoughts and sharing your experiences. 

7 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Maybe that was the case before it took 3 months to get a new passport. I'd rather risk losing my DL while traveling than my passport because of the replacement hassle, especially if I'd potentially want the ability to travel out the country at short notice. Some have suggested getting a passport card for this reason, which kind of makes sense i guess, but it never occurred to me because i have traveled countless times inside the country on a DL and never once got an eyelid batted... not even sure what kind of things would need to happen for them to pull you for additional screening on a domestic flight?

I've never tried going through TSA with my DL if my boarding pass had an international destination so I always thought (wrongly as it turns out) that I had to show a passport since it's an international destination lol. I say this knowing the difference between TSA/exit control/airlines and which documents they demand you see and for which purpose.

A hearty congrats!

11 minutes ago, HRQX said:

They get that info from the airline travel reservation: https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/documents/pnr_privacy_3.pdf

 

Since you are a US citizen it doesn't matter what data is transmitted through the PNR.

I knew US citizens shouldn’t get their travel info recorded, which is why I wondered if that stays the same even if a US citizen presents a non-US passport when checking in or going through security. 

16 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

She presents both passports and if they ask, a marriage certificate.  She had a few questions the first time after getting her US Passport, but no one at Russian Border Services bats an eye now.

That wouldn’t be an option for me because Saudi Arabia doesn’t allow dual citizenship in most cases, though it does allow it for those who have another citizenship by birth in that country or through a non-Saudi parent. Though it’s “don’t ask don’t tell” and not strictly scrutinized like China and India. 
 

My dual citizen friends are US-born but they still don’t show their US passport to match the boarding pass when going through Saudi exit controls despite the name spelling being different and I’m surprised at how this works for them. But it won’t be a big deal for me because both names match exactly. 
 

I had wondered about going through TSA because as a former international student and permanent resident my departures from the US were always recorded on the I-94 system despite there being no exit controls. And I don’t think Saudi requires advance passenger info (APIS) like the US and other countries do, but I think Bahrain does (I primarily fly there) and I want to play things safely if I travel to either because they share info. So I know I can just present my Saudi passport all the way from checking in at the airport in the US up until I arrive in Saudi or Bahrain. Because of the I-94 departure recording I was wondering if there was a difference in which passport I presented to TSA. Unless it was the airline that gives the US government the departure data to be recorded on an I-94. 
 

I had contemplated slightly adjusting my last name on my official US documents but I thought it might not be worth the hassle lol. 

7 hours ago, Dashinka said:

When my wife travels, she always presents the passport with the name on her tickets (her passports do not show the same name).  In general, that is the US passport as we found it easier to get the tickets with that name and only use the Russian passport when entering and leaving Russia.

How does it work with Russian exit immigration though if the boarding pass has the name on the US passport but of course you’d be presenting a Russian passport with a different name?

Aug. 17: Applied for US passport, expedited processing, 1-2 express delivery, barcoded application from online wizard.
Aug. 20: Online status changed to “in process” with 34 locator number. 
Aug. 23: Check cashed. 

1 minute ago, HRQX said:

INA § 215(b) no longer has an associated penalty: http://isaacbrocksociety.ca/2013/05/01/the-history-of-the-requirement-that-u-s-citizens-only-use-u-s-passports-to-enter-the-u-s/ "The punishment for violating the law?"

Doesn't matter which of your passports you present to TSA. Essentially, it's up to you.

That's what I thought. A dual citizen friend of mine said it's ok, and I saw a couple of webpages where people said the same:

I asked other dual citizen friends and they said it was ok and I saw some answers here, but I'd like to get some VJ insight.

https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/106330/leaving-the-us-with-a-foreign-passport-and-entering-with-a-us-passport

https://travel.stackexchange.com/questions/157373/how-to-lawfully-leave-united-states-without-a-united-states-passport-for-united

I still wanted to get some insight on VJ. This friend and others also have different transliteration and spellings of their names on their two passports, yet it's not a hassle in terms of traveling as they claim, which is a bit odd to me.

I know by law dual citizens must enter and exit the US with their US passport. But I'm wondering if this means one has to physically present their US passport to TSA when going through security if taking a flight out of the country (especially if you're planning to present the non-US passport at the destination). I know there's no exit immigration controls, but does the requirement to "exit" using a US passport mean just needing to take it and carry it with you so you can later come back, or does it have to be used at TSA and the like? And is there actually a difference for TSA procedurally in terms of which passport you present to them? I know travel records are kept for non-US persons.

7 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

What were you charged for on your USPS receipt? From what I’ve picked up here, the shipping services are separate from the expedited, and some USPS offices assume you’ll ask for what you want and don’t tell you what the different options are, some offer you the options, and others (like mine) assume that if you ask for expedited you want the whole shebang, and she just automatically added express mail there and 1-2 day shipping back - it was all listed and charged for on the receipt (well the shipping back was on the passport agency check not Usps). She stamped a big orange (or red?) “expedited” stamp on the envelope, so I do believe it goes into a separate pile once it reaches the passport agency.

 

I agree that if you don’t have urgent travel needs of some sort it doesn’t necessarily make sense to pay extra for expedited, especially now that the time difference between regular and expedited seems to be shrinking again (though this also partly seems to be luck of the passport agency draw). My daughter’s was the only passport we applied expedient for, because we had a travel agent in another country awaiting passport details before being able to finalize some high season bookings on a bucket list trip and didn’t want to jeopardize those. (Hoping COVID doesn’t jeopardize it either, at this rate who knows what December travel is going to look like…)

 

 

 

 

 

 

I don't have "urgent" travel per se, though I am hoping to go on a short trip in October, which is why I'd like to have a passport by then. Plus, I have GAD and so any type of anticipation in terms of something like this (wanting to keep my documents valid and in check) makes me agonize exponentially. But in terms of your question, I was only charged a $35 processing fee and $15 for passport photos. Nothing in the receipt about priority/express mail or a tracking number. So I'm glad it's "in process" as of yesterday.

1 hour ago, marrow39 said:

On my interview the only extra question I would say they asked on the Have you ever questions was What does the Oath of Allegiance mean?

That's what I was asked, too!