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I don't know if this is the right place for this; if not, I hope someone can redirect me. My husband is a NZ citizen who just passed his civics test for U.S. naturalization and was told he'd get a letter in a couple weeks about taking his oath a few weeks after that. We're figuring he'll take his oath and get his naturalization certificate around September 22, say, at which point he'll give up his green card and apply for a U.S. passport. Of course, federal government being what it is (and my husband being an inveterate Eeyore about most things), we're also considering it may happen some time after that roughly estimated date. (Then again, he thought it would take a year for him to get his interview/civics test appointment, and it turned out to be more like a month.) The issue is a trip to Japan on November 10, which we planned and paid for last month, before the naturalization stuff started rolling in. He's prepared to expedite his U.S. passport if necessary--we have an in-person office a half-mile away that'll handle photos and everything--but if worse comes to absolute worst, can he travel there and back on his NZ passport?
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Aug 22, 2023 21:09
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| # ? Apr 27, 2024 13:42 |
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Hirayuki posted:] Ask when he does his interview. For a less authoritative answer: The bigger issue is actually the ESTA because the airline checks that and won’t know his citizenship status. If his green card is taken away but he doesn’t yet have his passport, then it will be a bit of a doozy since a green card holder can’t normally get an ESTA, although you can try and maybe the system doesn’t check. At US immigration on the way back they will scan his NZ passport, see he is a US citizen, and be annoyed at him for not using his US passport. He’ll then explain he hasn’t gotten it yet and they’ll shrug and scan him through or, theoretically, send him for a second round of discussions with the back office. I know several people this has happened to - people with kids born with US Birth citizenship but then who got the passport one time, moved back to Europe, and then didn’t want to have to pay $150 and deal with passport renewal hassle every 7 years when they go back to the US, so they just get yelled at every time instead and enter on European passports. Now I’m not sure how they dealt with the ESTA thing, but my MIL’s best friend just did that with her son so I guess they figured out a solution. Having no green card or ESTA is, surprisingly, the far bigger problem than having no US passport while standing in front of US immigration. Saladman fucked around with this message at 05:33 on Aug 23, 2023 |
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Aug 23, 2023 05:30
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Ah, ESTA! That makes sense. It's nothing he's ever had to worry about, since he got his green card several years before ESTA was even a thing. I can see that that would raise some flags. Thankfully, the question is likely moot, since he logged onto the USCIS portal and discovered his oath ceremony is only two weeks away!  I'm confident that he can get that passport in two months, even if we do have to pay for expedited service. And if not...well, he'll just have to be yelled at by agents again, but it won't be the end of the world. I'll make sure he has his naturalization certificate on him, which isn't a substitute for a U.S. passport or ESTA, but has to help him argue his case for being allowed to get home. Thanks for the advice!
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Aug 24, 2023 16:25
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