Oath ceremony and india travel

[meenzhere]

Hi
I had applied for USA citizenship and got through the interview and got the Oath ceremony letter also. Unfortunately i have to go to india after one week of my Oath date. Tickets are booked.
My doubts are:
1. Do i have to postpone the Oath ceremony and come back from India after two moths and take it ?

2. Can i attend the Oath ceremony and get the certificate they give me as a usa citizen( green card will be taken back by them) and since i have a valid Indian passport , can i travel to India with these documents and come back from India and apply for Usa passport?

3. Can i use the Citizenship certificate like my green card and travel to India and come back to Usa within 2 months and apply for Usa passport?

4. I'm totally confused and don't want to miss the Oath ceremony and also my trip cannot be postponed as tickets are booked?

Let me know your suggestions and problems i may face because of postponing the Oath ceremony?
Thanks
Mee.

[Dtrain]

Hi Meenzhere
My suggestion is, don't miss the ceremony you can still travel with your indian passport and return with your Naturalization Certificate.

[nwctzn]

Any US citizen entering or leaving the US must be in possession of a US passport. Traveling with the naturalization certificate and your Indian passport is not an option.

Here is what you can do: Attend your oath ceremony. Since you already know your oath ceremony date, schedule an appointment at the passport agency nearest to your location.

You can choose an appointment day following your oath ceremony. You can apply for an expedited passport at the passport agency showing proof of immediate travel which you have since you already purchased the tickets. They will issue your passport the same day or the following.

Long story short: Attend your oath, get the expedited passport, and then travel. Do not leave without a US passport.

[nwctzn]

Hi Meenzhere
My suggestion is, don't miss the ceremony you can still travel with your indian passport and return with your Naturalization Certificate.

This suggestion is not correct. Any US citizen entering or leaving the US must be in possession of a US passport. Traveling with the naturalization certificate and your Indian passport is not an option.

He can get an expedited US passport at a passport agency after the oath ceremony. The passport agencies issue same-day passports if you have immediate travel. He cannot travel with an Indian passport and the naturalization certificate. He should get a US passport immediately after the oath.

--

[osweiti50]

I fully agree with NWCTZN statement, however here is my feedback:

1) Don't put off your Oath Ceremony
2) have your ticket, get your naturalization certificate, call the Passport Agency and get an appointment for one day passport Issuance application filing (this is required by them, that is what I personally did and get my passport at the same day).
3) Get your US passport and travel with it. As NWCTZN said it is against law for a US citizen to travel abroad w/o US travel document.

That is my advice...good luck.

[Dtrain]

Hi nwctzn
I always respect your replies in this forum, but unfortunately this time i have to disagree with you 1000X, and I'll tell you why I'm 1000X sure, simply because there is a live example that he did the same and all was fine.

I even remember the guy at the airport counter telling him, make sure when you return to bring the naturalization certificate with you or if not they will not let you enter. Anyway, that is what I know, however my input or yours will not change his/her decision. Yes the regulation is to get a passport but it doesn't say you will be denied entry if you show them your Naturalization Certifcate on returning. FYI, he can also apply for a passport in the US Embassy in his/her country if he/she wishes, again even that was done by a living example and everything went fine.

Again I'm definately not with you on your reply, I beleive he/she needs to do whatever he/she wants depending on the emergency of going to India, unless it's something that's gonna change his/her whole life forever.

Gracias

[Raju595]

Travel between Interview and Oath Ceremony

Just to add few points to the suggestions given above.

--> The post that says "My suggestion is, don't miss the ceremony you can still travel with your indian passport and return with your Naturalization Certificate" is incorrect on atleast two counts.

Once you take the Oath you are a citizen of USA and you can not travel on Indian Passport. Even if you somehow are able to exit US, you will not be able to come back because you will NOT have the GC with you.

Also the Naturalization Certificate is not a travel document.

The suggestion to attend the oath ceremony, get a US passport and travel does not address all of the issue.

Here is my take:

--> As far as possible, attend the oath ceremony --> Apply at Dept. of State for an expedited US Passport (you should get it in a day or two (I presonally got it in 3 days).

--> The actual issue is after getting the US Passport --> How to get an Indian Visa / PIO / OCI card to travel to India --> (a) I do not know if there is an expedited lane for PIO / OCI card (b) Can you go to Indian Consulate and get a same day tourist Visa?

--> If nothing above works then you are back to the same question of whether you can postpone your Oath Ceremony --> From searching on net I can see that this is an accepted practice with USCIS. Read on this subject / talk to USCIS and take a decision.

[nwctzn]

To clarify which US law I was referring to:

According to Section 215 of the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1185), it is illegal for a U.S. citizen to enter or leave the U.S. on anything other than an U.S. passport.

The law is pretty clear.

--

[wonkystats]

Old thread but it is a complicated situation which I am sure some people face every now and then. Even if you get the same day US passport there is no guarantee to get an e-Visa before travel starts. This is not legal advice but here is one way to go through this process:

1. Apply and get same day US passport
2. Travel on Indian passport to India
3. Get a visa for a third country, like UAE, which does not require visa for US citizens. Get it on Indian passport obviously.
4. Exit India by showing the visa to that country, get the exit stamp. On landing in that country use the US passport to gain entry and then fly from there to US

Obviously this is breaking a bunch of laws and I would NOT recommend anyone doing this unless there is a strong reason and they are willing to face the consequences.