I just received my citizenship interview notice (filed N-400 in SF in July 2003, fingerprinted in Sep 2003, interview scheduled for Feb 2004). Now my question: Will I be able to travel abroad after the interview (do I get to keep my green card until I receive my US passport)? And how long does it take for the oath ceremony after the interview. My file is being processed in SF, Cal. Thanks.

Do you mean interview Feb'05?

Sorry, got my years wrong. Applied and fingerpringed in 2004, interview in Feb 2005.

It depends on where you do your interview. Please mention your local center.

Some places have interview and oath for citizenship dates close. I would wait for citizenship before travel, because you can travel with US passport.

If you have not scheduled your travel date, maybe you can wait until you are actual USC, just to be on the safe side. Thats what I would do.

Thanks for the information. My local center is San Francisco. Do you know what the typical wait is between the interview and oath ceremony for that particular center? Thanks.

I tried to do a search for your center, came up blank, but to be on the safe side, and I hope someone else can say if they know better, I think WITHIN A MONTH of interview success would be a rough estimate for the time you will take your actual oath.

The green card is taken from you on the same naturalization/oath ceremony day and you get the naturalization certificate at the ceremony and from there you can stop by the US Post office and apply for the passport.

Note that not all post offices accept passport applications, so you need to visit the US state department website (www.state.gov) and go to PASSPORT APPLICATION to see your nearest post office that accepts these applications. Or call your nearest post office to find out.

The passport system is very system. My soon to be ex-wife got hers in 2 weeks yet she did not even expedite it!

The system treats you different after you are done with USCIS. USCIS is the only remaining stone age (precambrian-Neoproterozoic) structure.

FYI: You can pay $60 extra to expedite your passport, so that you get it within 2 weeks. Regular waiting period is 6 weeks.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: JohnDoe,

They usually have passport applications at the oath ceremony. There will be a small gap where you don't have a green card and you don't have a US passport. During that time, your proof of status will be your naturalization certificate.

If you do travel after the interview but before the oath ceremony, you will need to report the out-of-country travels on the day of your oath. They need to know all of the times you were out of the country (even though you've already been interviewed). Probably a lot easier to just wait until you have the oath ceremony and get your new passport before travel.

i wont be surprised if your interview will be rescheduled. I have my N-400 also in SF and my itnerview got rescheduled twice. The SF office is running behind big time.
My case is dated March 3 2004 and I was fingerprinter in April; got the interview notice for Oct, it got cancelled, and then I was scheduled for Dec and it got cancelled as well. Last week i got another appointment letter for Feb. I am not making plans anymore.

Sorry to hear that. Keep me posted. I'll let you know if my interview is changed. I keep my fingers crossed;-)