Citizenship Interview & International Travel

[sureshrk19]

Hi,

I have citizenship interview scheduled for June 10th and I have planned an international trip towards the end of June. The trip is planned long before and I can't change it.
There is a lot of confusion around the interview, oath, and next steps. It looks like the oath process is different for each center. Some centers allowing the oath on the same day as the interview and some are scheduled for later.

• Is it legal to travel internationally after oath on my old passport (non-US passport)?
• Can I request an oath delay if the center is planning to do a same-day oath process?
• US passport process takes up to 7-11 weeks, is it legal to hold the current passport until I get the US passport?

Any help in this regard will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Suresh

[newacct]

The key question is what is your existing nationality, and will that nationality be automatically lost when you voluntarily acquire US citizenship.

Also, it is possible to get US passports quicker by applying at a passport agency if you have urgent travel within 2 weeks.

[sureshrk19]

Thank you newacct

Currently, I hold Indian citizenship/passport.
As per my knowledge, I need to submit an Indian passport after receiving US passport. I will check with India consulate if they can provide some information.

[newacct]

According to Indian law, you automatically lose your Indian citizenship when you voluntarily acquire a foreign nationality. So even if you still have an unexpired Indian passport, you cannot claim to be an Indian citizen anymore and cannot use that Indian passport to enter any countries.

[okccanary]

As far as I understand but I could be understanding wrong, As soon as you become a US Citizen you have to leave and re-enter on a US Passport when travelling internationally. Therefore you will be unable to fly internationally until you receive your US passport. After Oath my passport took 5-6 weeks but I didnt pay extra for anything. I've seen people who paid to extradite take from 2-4 weeks. You can also take the extreme route where you can book an appointment that will print your passport that day but i believe you have to be travelling internationally within 2 days. You also have no say where this appointment would be. My sister-in-law did this route but had to pay $100s more as she had to fly to a completely different state and had to stay overnight as well as the passport costing more for the rush job.

Your best bet would be at the time of your interview to tell the agent that you are planning on travelling abroad in a few weeks and would it be possible to push the oath ceremony until you come back. (Would not be surprised if they ask you about your travel plans before you even say. I know they asked me if I had any plans within the next month of the interview). I wouldn't see this as being a problem unless you were leaving the country for months and even then it shouldn't be.

[aashraffali]

Let me put in a simple and straight way...

1) 100s and 1000s of people are waiting for the Interview date and if you already got it means, DON'''T ever think to reschedule etc, just go with the flow, attend the interview, attend the oath, wait for the passport etc

2) As you know the interview date, please book appointment with USPS now itself and who knows if you are lucky, interview and oath will be on same day and within few days you can apply passport in USPS. if not, just reschedule the USPS appointment

3) as soon as you completed the OATH and get the Naturalization certificate, you will return your Greencard on the office itself, so you will be returning back to home without GC in hand.

4) You can fly to India in Indian passport [ just a small penalty like $100 if they found it], however, without GC, how will you come back and your USA passport also will be in the process.

5) Last but not least, due to covid, many of us havent travelled to our home country and missed lot of happy and sad moments too... why cant you just postpone for just one month and get all these process completed and fly happily without any worries and come back with a happy memory from India... Have nice Dosa/Briyani etc etc...

All the best brother and let me know if my reply helped you to plan/picturize something

[newacct]

As soon as you become a US Citizen you have to leave and re-enter on a US Passport when travelling internationally. Therefore you will be unable to fly internationally until you receive your US passport.

It is technically "unlawful" for a US citizen to leave the US without "bearing" a US passport, but this provision is largely meaningless. The US has no exit checks, so there is nobody to stop you from doing it, and there is no penalty if they later discover that you did it. You can later apply for a US passport abroad, and they are not going to deny you a passport or otherwise penalize you for not having had a US passport when you left the US. Even if you show up at a US land port of entry without a US passport but with proof of US citizenship, they have to let you in and they cannot penalize you.

However, in this person's case, their other nationality is lost so they technically have no passport that they can are supposed to be able to use to travel other than a US passport.

[okccanary]

It is technically "unlawful" for a US citizen to leave the US without "bearing" a US passport, but this provision is largely meaningless. The US has no exit checks, so there is nobody to stop you from doing it, and there is no penalty if they later discover that you did it. You can later apply for a US passport abroad, and they are not going to deny you a passport or otherwise penalize you for not having had a US passport when you left the US. Even if you show up at a US land port of entry without a US passport but with proof of US citizenship, they have to let you in and they cannot penalize you.

However, in this person's case, their other nationality is lost so they technically have no passport that they can are supposed to be able to use to travel other than a US passport.

Fair enough did not know that! But i'm risk averse so just thinking about doing that gives me an anxiety attack

[SouthBay2019]

Hi,

I have citizenship interview scheduled for June 10th and I have planned an international trip towards the end of June. The trip is planned long before and I can't change it.
There is a lot of confusion around the interview, oath, and next steps. It looks like the oath process is different for each center. Some centers allowing the oath on the same day as the interview and some are scheduled for later.

• Is it legal to travel internationally after oath on my old passport (non-US passport)?
• Can I request an oath delay if the center is planning to do a same-day oath process?
• US passport process takes up to 7-11 weeks, is it legal to hold the current passport until I get the US passport?

Any help in this regard will be highly appreciated.

Thanks,
Suresh

• Make sure to tell your IO that you have an immediate trip coming up (to visit family) and ask if they can do a same day oath ceremony
• Buy a fully refundable airline ticket for 2 days after your oath ceremony date of maybe June 12th (in case you have same date oath ceremony)
• Once you are done with your oath and have your NC, call Passport center and tell them you have a trip coming up in 2 days and need the "same day passport". Check out passport agency offices near you. Worst case, you may have to go to a center which is not near you (may cost you $$s).
• They may or may not ask for proof of your travel. If they do, then show them your ticket.
• Cancel your fully refundable ticket
• Enjoy your trip

[sureshrk19]

I had my interview today at SFO center.
I explained the situation to the officer and requested to postpone the oath process. The response was positive.

In general, they are handing over the citizenship certificate and oath appointment right after the interview. In my case, they issued a letter indicating the outcome (pass) of the interview. They will send an oath invitation for a later date.

[howardellis]

I had my interview today at SFO center.
I explained the situation to the officer and requested to postpone the oath process. The response was positive.

io games

In general, they are handing over the citizenship certificate and oath appointment right after the interview. In my case, they issued a letter indicating the outcome (pass) of the interview. They will send an oath invitation for a later date.

Congratulations for passing this interview