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I became a naturalized citizen and, as a result, my Green Card was taken during my interview. I've applied for a passport and was told it would take up to 6 weeks for processing.

I already had plans to travel months before my interview (already arranged everything) but now I have no green card. I'm not sure if going to a country that is on the US travel ban will affect anything.

I cannot wait for the passport. Is there anything I can do?

Ari Brodsky
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Noah
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3 Answers3

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Exit the US on your other passport, as there are no exit checks.

On the return, fly to Canada with your naturalisation certificate (the universal airline database, TIMATIC, clearly states it's accepted instead of a passport, but do be prepared to have to point it out to the check-in staff), and enter the US by land.

From TIMATIC regarding Canada:

Passport Exemptions:

  • Nationals of the USA with a recommended proof of citizenship such as a:

    • US birth certificate; or

    • US certificate of citizenship; or

    • US certificate of naturalization.

Crazydre
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  • So you're saying Canada accepts US naturalization certs as ID, but the US does not? Could you quote chapter and verse from Timatic? – lambshaanxy Jan 06 '19 at 22:44
  • @jpatokal Correct, I'll edit. – Crazydre Jan 06 '19 at 23:51
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    If you believe the US CBP's webpage—and I don't see why you wouldn't—US citizens require an enhanced driver's license, enhanced tribal card, trusted traveler card, or military ID to enter the USA via land or sea. If the OP doesn't have any of these things, they should expect (at best) a very long delay at the border while their identity and citizenship is verified. – Michael Seifert Jan 07 '19 at 00:56
  • @MichaelSeifert the rule that US citizens are allowed to enter the US trumps all other regulations. Hence has OP has nothing to worry about. – JonathanReez Jan 07 '19 at 01:34
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    @JonathanReez The naturalisation certificate has a photo to boot – Crazydre Jan 07 '19 at 01:42
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    @JonathanReez they have nothing to worry about as far as having the right to enter. But spending potentially days in border detention while border security searches for confirmation that you really are a US citizen isn't my idea of nothing to worry about. – jwenting Jan 07 '19 at 09:13
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    @jwenting CBP definitely has your fingerprints on file if you're a recently naturalized citizen. This plus the naturalization certificate means you'll breeze through the border. No one is getting detained for days. – JonathanReez Jan 07 '19 at 09:36
  • @JonathanReez indeed, the detention is more likely to last minutes or possibly hours if the traveler unlucky, but as far as I can tell it's got to be at a land border. An airline wouldn't board a passenger with a non-US passport and a US naturalization certificate. The requirements for Canada that accept a naturalization certificate also clash with US law, but the airline might not know that, or perhaps won't care about it since the law isn't enforced. – phoog Jan 24 '19 at 13:48
  • @phoog Airlines have to get it right or they face heavy fines. So for a flight to Canada, a US naturalization certificate is fine (though one would likely have to point the check-in staff to TIMATIC), but flying onwards to the US is not possible – Crazydre Jan 24 '19 at 13:59
  • @Crazydre the US has a law that requires US citizens to have a passport (or a designated substitute) when leaving the US by air. It seems that airlines are not currently required to enforce that law, but they could be in the future (in fact, CBP's planned implementation of biometric entry and exit screening for US citizens suggests that they might be required to do so in the relatively near future). This would prevent travel in these circumstances regardless of Canada's requirements. – phoog Jan 24 '19 at 15:20
  • @phoog According to TIMATIC, that restriction only aplies when flying to a WHTI state (or rather, it only pops up when a WHTI state is selected as the destination - excluding the French Caribbean) – Crazydre Jan 24 '19 at 15:53
  • @Crazydre isn't Canada a WHTI state? – phoog Jan 24 '19 at 15:54
  • @phoog Of course, just saying that, according to TIMATIC (though I'm not 100% sure as to its accuracy), it doesn't universally apply – Crazydre Jan 24 '19 at 15:54
  • @phoog I take it OP wishes to fly from the US to a non-WHTI state, and then return to the US. Per TIMATIC, they can fly from the US to e.g. Europe with whatever they have, if accepted for the destination, but on the way back, they must first fly to Canada if not holding a passport, as Canada accepts the naturalisation cert for entry – Crazydre Jan 24 '19 at 15:56
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One more option: The US does not have exit immigration, so you can leave the country on your old passport to travel. When your new US passport is ready, authorize somebody else to pick it up and have them FedEx/UPS it to wherever you are overseas.

The obvious concern with this plan is that if your US passport is delayed for any reason or lost in transit, you're stuck overseas until you can procure a new one. Depending on your nationality, you might be able to fly to Canada and cross the land border with documents proving your US citizenship, but this would be a significant hassle.

All things considered, contacting the passport office to see if they can expedite your existing application would be a much better way to go.

lambshaanxy
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Passport services can get delayed by USA government shutdowns because various agencies have to coordinate to verify your identity and not all of them are fee-funded.

Ideally, you should have either filed expedited or gone to a walk-in passport office and pleaded for emergency same-day service. But it might be too late for that although you should try phoning the passport office to see if you can upgrade to expedited.

I think your next best bet is to hope that they at least send your naturalization certificate back as soon as they scan it. Then with that you can go to a same-day passport office and get one made same-day.

A more risky, strategy is to travel out with your former country’s passport, apply for an ESTA, and then when coming back into the USA show your naturalization certificate at US immigration and expect a nice haranguing at secondary while they yell at you for pulling a shenanigan. You can also try entering through a pre-clearance airport in Abu Dhubai, Ireland, or Canada — or through the land border in Canada or Mexico. USA Immigration can yell at you and detain you while they check your status but they can’t deny you entry so you’ll get in, eventually.

Note: there’s evidence here on se of dual citizens getting ESTA. You should declare your us citizenship on the esta application in any case.

RoboKaren
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  • travel out with your former country’s passport and then when coming back show your naturalization certificate at US immigration Not possible unless it’s a visa free passport – Augustine of Hippo Jan 04 '19 at 06:46
  • I plan to do a ''country hop'' I will fly in to one country and then take a bus to another (which is the one on the list of travel bans). Visiting sick grandfather but no direct flights into the country. I'm sure I will be interrogated on way back. (has already happened to close friends and family) – Noah Jan 06 '19 at 17:50
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    @HonoraryWorldCitizen However the naturalisation certificate will work in Canada – Crazydre Jan 06 '19 at 20:57
  • Note that currently there are no US pre-clearance facilities in the UK. There are, however, two in Ireland. – Michael Seifert Jan 07 '19 at 00:45
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    @Crazydre it seems that the naturalization certificate would only work at the land border. Someone has posted here saying that she was prohibited from flying to the US from Canada with a valid ESTA for her non-US passport. – phoog Jan 07 '19 at 03:42
  • @phoog TIMATIC is for air travel, so you can enter Canada by air too. As for entering the US, yes, that has to be done by land – Crazydre Jan 07 '19 at 03:51
  • @MichaelSeifert I suspect preclearance officers would require a US citizen without a US passport to get an emergency passport. See for example https://travel.stackexchange.com/a/66152/19400. I suspect that this is because of 8 USC 1185(b). Crazydre: yes, I misunderstood your previous comment somewhat. – phoog Jan 07 '19 at 04:14
  • "fee funded": I suspect that government employees providing fee-funded services are also not getting paid during the government shutdown. Do you have any evidence to the contrary? – phoog Jan 24 '19 at 13:51