TRAVEL OUTSIDE USA AFTER APPLYING FOR US CITIZENSHIP

**safariland1** · 02-13-2008, 05:20 PM

Can a P/R travel outside the USA after applying for citizenship,or must one wait until after the Swearing In Ceremony first,then travel on a US Passport?...Tks.

**Rough Neighbor** · 02-13-2008, 05:29 PM

Short travels wouldn't normally be a problem because almost everything in the process could be rescheduled. But why do you want that? So, if you really need to go urgently, you should be flexible enough to return on a short notice, right?

**Sprint_girl07** · 02-13-2008, 06:39 PM

Hi safariland1,

How long ago did you apply for citizenship?
Have you got an appointment fixed yet or still waiting?

**safariland1** · 02-14-2008, 08:44 AM

Tks...
someone told me that after applying for Citizenship I wouldn't be able to travel outside of America until after the Swearing In Ceremony,so I just wanted to clear this up with you guys,who REALLY know!
I will apply in April this year,so,no,I don't have an appointment set yet.
If I did travel it would only be for a period of about 3 weeks.
Thank you guys so much,this is a great forum.

**Sprint_girl07** · 02-14-2008, 09:02 AM

safariland1

You can still travel even after you have applied for Citizenship. Once you have applied it can take a long while. In my State it can be a year before you get to Naturalize.

The only time I would say not to travel is once you have been accepted and waiting for the certificate, as you will need to obtain a US passport and travel with that.
When you obtain the passport you have to apply in person too as it will be your first one.

You have a Green card, you are free to travel and it does not affect your Citizenship while you are waiting.

**bbnx** · 05-14-2009, 07:52 PM

Im currently employed outside of the states. I have already done the interview on May 5th and my application is now being recommended for approval. The person who interviewed me said that I will most likely make it for the ceremony on 27th of May. Which is the week after next week. so I will have to travel back to the states again for the oath ceremony the week after next week if i receive the letter.

my questions are:

1) When will I most likely receive this letter? since the ceremony is only a week away if the interviewer was right.

2) Can I still travel after the ceremony? that is i was told that you could apply your passport right after the ceremony with your certificate but then you have to return to them so they will mail it to you officially along with your passport. But they will take back your green card. so if i do that, can i still travel out of the states w/o the green card, and have the passport mail to me oversea or have my friends bring it to me after its mail to my US address? or I will have to make another trip back to apply for the passport after receiving the certificate in mail?

3) how long does it take to apply for an passport? is there any express process? like a day or 2?

4) if i receive the certificate in mail, and wait till the next time to apply for the passport, will i have trouble entering to the states w/o holding the certificate?

sorry i am very confused about this and the circumstance is kind of unique. i work in Asia now, so it is also hard for me to call customer service at a right time to ask them all about these questions.

your help will be very much appreciated! thanks

**Tak** · 05-14-2009, 09:40 PM

You can not enter US if you travel without green card and before collecting your passport.

Check Passport Agency in your city where you can go same day you get your Naturalization Certificate and apply and get the passport same day. If you are travelling to a Country which requires visa from USCs, you should also get visa before leaving the US.

In order to make all above happen, prepare passport application, photos, money orders for passport fee one day before your Naturalization ceremony. Usually, ceremony will be done by 1 pm if it is in AM hours.

**bbnx** · 05-14-2009, 11:42 PM

i applied in San Diego. I am currently living in Singapore, and i do not need the US green card to travel back here.

So is it possible if i send in my passport application in at the ceremony, and leave the country even if they took away my green card, and have my friend bring my passport to me after it's mail to my US address?