11/08/2022   English German

  Edition # 145  
San Francisco, 11-08-2022


Figure [1]: In this flimsy envelope, the passport came by regular mail.

The Evans Avenue Post Office is pretty on top of things when it comes to passport applications. So we made an appointment there. I had gone to the post office's online portal right after our naturalization in early February to make an appointment, but I could only get one at the beginning of March for both of us. Somehow it's always like this with us that there are suddenly delays when we apply for something. Even our green card had gone very slowly at the time, and the retention application and American citizenship had dragged on forever. And even with the passport application submitted in March 2022, it was said that it could take up to 16 weeks for the applicant to get the passport in their hands, but up to 12 weeks if they paid an additional fee to speed up the process. Gulp, that made our hearts sink a bit, because when we were naturalized, our green card had been taken away and we had to send in the ORIGINAL naturalization certificate for the passport application. Until we would receive the new passport, we were basically left high and dry and couldn't leave the country (that is to say, you could leave the country but not come back in).

When applying for a passport for the first time, the applicant must appear in person. A passport renewal can later be done by mail without showing up in person. Starting in 2023, the passport can also be renewed online, but no new passports are issued this way. To apply for a passport, the form DS-11 must be filled out. The form needs the usual things like name, date of birth, address, social security number, place of birth, name and date of birth of your parents, marital status, profession, height, eye and hair color. There is a field on the form where travel plans with dates can be given to speed up the process. Then it must be proven that one is an American citizen. This can be done through a birth certificate, an already existing American passport or, as in our case, through the naturalization certificate. In addition, we still needed another document to identify ourselves. Typically, this is the driver's license, which we showed to the post office clerk. The application also had to be accompanied by a copy of the driver's license. Of course, a photo is also needed. We first tried to take the passport photo ourselves, but eventually gave up in frustration because there are so many regulations to follow. We then went to a store on Clement Street, the second Chinatown of San Francisco. The friendly owner put us in front of a white canvas in the middle of the small store, while other customers bought lottery tickets, shot the photos with his SLR, developed them on the spot and in less than 10 minutes we had our photos in hand.

Figure [2]: With this brochure enclosed, the passport arrived by regular mail.

During our appointment at the post office, we handed in all the documents properly and the lady at the counter went through them all and praised me for filling out everything so nicely, and we had all that was required with us. We also had to swear and sign the form in her presence, and then she punched a staple through our naturalization documents and attached them to the application. My heart almost stopped, stapling through an original document! Most of the time was then taken up by paying the fees. The post office charges $35 per person initially. Then $130 per passport goes to the agency that issues the passport. That's the "State Department" in the US. Then we each paid the express fee of $60 so it would go faster. Then there's the postage if the applications and passports are to be sent back and forth faster, $18.32 per person. By the way, we had to pay the State Department in an old-fashioned way with checks, which were also attached to our applications.

Figure [3]: The flyer explains that the passport and original document can arrive separately.

We had specified our travel plans and paid the extra fees, and amazingly this seemed to have expedicted the process. Within three weeks we had our new passports in the mailbox. First my passport came in the regular mail and then Michael's. The naturalization certificate is sent back separately to minimize the possibility that two important documents are lost at the same time. Both come with regular mail, not registered mail. It took another ten days for the certificates to return, and we were somewhat nervous in the meantime. But in the end it all worked out. The American passport then has to be signed. It seems to happen quite often that this is forgotten. Every time we fly to Germany, the flight attendants say that US citizens have to present their signed passports to the German immigration officer. If the signature is missing, they're not allowed to enter Germany, as they're not allowed to sign right there in front of the officer.

Now we come back to the interesting question, which passport to show when one has two of them? It depends what the airline or the immigration officer of the respective country wants to see. First, it is relatively logical that you mustoshow the passport of the country you want to enter. So when we enter Germany, we show our German passport. When entering the USA, we show the American passport. Since you also have to pass through border control when leaving Germany, as a German citizen, one has to present the German passport. However, when checking in for a flight bound to the United STates from Germany, the airline agent wants to check your papers for entering the USA, so one shows the US passport there. In August we traveled to the U.S. for the first time with our new American passports and everything went great.

Greetings from San Francisco:

Angelika and Michael

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