7 things to do after becoming a US citizen

What are the top seven things that you must do once you become a US citizen?

Well, immediately after taking your oath of citizenship, you should carefully inspect your certificate of naturalization to make sure that all of the information on there is correct. Once you get home, you should make several copies and make digital copies to store in your computer and on your phone. But your work isn't done there—there are still some other important steps that you should take to ensure that your life as a US citizen does not meet any interruption.

The first thing that many people recommend is to get your US passport. This has the obvious benefit of allowing you to travel internationally to almost 90 different countries without a visa. But there is one really important reason why you absolutely need to have your US passport once you are a citizen for international travel: once you obtain your US citizenship, you are not allowed to use the passport of any other country when you come back to the US after an international trip abroad. This means that even if your original country allows you to have dual citizenship and you already hold the passport of another nation, once you naturalize and become a US citizen, you must obtain a US passport in order to re-enter the United States as a US citizen. Also, during your oath ceremony, you will have turned in your green card when you naturalize, and you couldn't use your green card to travel anymore anyway, since you are now a US citizen.

Besides the practical benefit of allowing you to travel internationally with more ease and the necessity of using it to return to the US, a US passport will also serve as an easier form of identification instead of your certificate of naturalization. It's small enough to fit in your pocket or your purse, and you can use your US passport instead of the certificate when dealing with various organizations. That said, it's not exactly tiny, and it's not exactly free either. The book is 5 in by 3 and 1/2 in, and it's a lot bigger than other forms of identification. Moreover, it costs money to apply for your US passport—it costs $130 for the application fee and a $35 fee for the acceptance, bringing it out to a total of $165.

If you want something even smaller than a passport, you can also apply for the passport card. A passport card is the same size as a driver's license or a credit card, and it only costs $65 to apply. But it will not allow you to travel internationally. Within the US, it is just as valid as a US passport. If you have the funds, you can apply for both for a cost of $95. Regardless of whether you decide to apply for one or both, you have to apply for this in person—you are not allowed to file for this online or by mail. Most people will frequently apply for their passport at either a US passport agency or at the local post office.

You will also want to prepare certain documentation, such as:

1. Your original certificate of naturalization
2. Two black and white photocopies of your naturalization certificate
3. A passport photo in good quality, meeting the requirements as dictated by the US government
4. A fully filled out and prepared Form DS-11

You can check online to find the nearest passport acceptance facility to you. I'll include a link in the description below. My advice: apply for your passport as soon as you can, even though the local processing time is currently listed as being between 6 to 8 weeks, with an option to expedite your processing for an additional fee of $60, which theoretically reduces your processing time down to 2 or 3 weeks. Also, none of this includes the additional 4 weeks it may take to actually ship your passport to you. In reality, passports are taking up to 6 months to process these days.

Next, the other thing that many people recommend is to update your Social Security card. You may already have a Social Security card that you received either as a green card holder or even prior to getting your green card. However, this Social Security card will have the language upon it that it is only valid with DHS work authorization. Future employers of yours may have an issue when they see this and may be very confused, and you may be unable to obtain employment with this old language on your card. Unfortunately, just because you have now obtained your citizenship, it does not mean that the card itself will be updated by Social Security.

If you would like to update your Social Security card in order to have this restrictive language removed from its face, you will have to make an affirmative application to the Social Security Administration. It's also important to apply to update your records with the Social Security Administration once you become a citizen because your Social Security number is tied to your records and to your Social Security benefits, and you want to make sure that everything is recorded properly for your future.

After your oath ceremony, wait at least 10 days to allow USCIS to update their internal records of your naturalization. Then log into ssa.gov and scroll down to where it says Update Citizenship or Immigration Status. Keep clicking to answer a few basic questions that you will be asked. You may be informed to visit your local Social Security Administration office and bring with you the following:

1. One proof of your identity
2. One proof of your current citizenship or immigration status
3. One proof of name change, if you have updated your name

Your certificate of naturalization is proof of all three of these. Moreover, if you do update your name, you will also receive an official record of your name change at your citizenship ceremony. Make sure to bring the original copies with you to your appointment. If you have a birth certificate, bring that along as well, because while the Social Security Administration will allow one document to serve two purposes, you are supposed to bring in at least two documents. The last document you will need is the SS-5, which is the application for a Social Security card. I'll include a link to that in the description below as well. Once you have all of your documentation ready, the next step is to find your local office. Go to secure.ssa.gov, where you can enter your zip code and find your local SSA office.

A lot of people ask: should I get my passport first or update my Social Security card first?

 My answer: it depends on your situation. If you are planning on starting a new job after becoming a citizen, it might be more beneficial for you to update your Social Security card first. Why? Because if you decide to obtain your passport first and you used your original certificate of naturalization in the process, and your new employer asks you for your work authorization, then you may not have access to your original certificate until the US Department of State sends it back to you with your passport. It is not unheard of for there to be passport delays, which could mean that you may not have proper proof of authorization to work for a very long time. Also, when you mail in your certificate of naturalization in order to get your passport, there is always a chance that it may get lost. If it does get lost, then you would have to pay $555 for a replacement certificate and wait up to a year for this to be replaced.

Updating your Social Security record, on the other hand, can be done in person. You do not need to let your certificate of naturalization out of your sight. Once it’s done, getting the passport is the last thing you might need to do, so losing the certificate may not be as scary. That said, there might be some circumstances where you might want to get your passport first—the most obvious one being that you cannot use your foreign passport to enter the United States any longer once you're a citizen. Since you are no longer a green card holder, you must have a US passport to re-enter the US.

Coming up next, I'm going to explain one of the most important things you can do as a US citizen. 

Okay, here is one of the other most important things you can do once you are a US citizen: register to vote. Voting is not required of you; however, it is a responsibility and a privilege when you are a US citizen, and every American should take this responsibility seriously. Part of what makes America so great is the political freedom it grants to all individuals. If we take this freedom for granted and don't take steps to elect our leaders, then our democracy loses its power and we lose our voice.

Please make sure that you are registered to vote. Make sure you are educated on the issues and the candidates and vote when election day comes. Don’t just vote in the federal elections—sometimes your local and state elections can be just as important, if not more. Make sure you vote for your local representatives, city councilmen, and all local positions as often as you can. You may have already been registered to vote at your ceremony; however, you can check to see whether you are properly registered by going to vote.gov, selecting your state from the drop-down menu. The next page will tell you how to register to vote and when the voter registration deadlines are.

Another thing that you might be in a hurry to do is sponsor family members. Now that you're a citizen, you can sponsor your parent, your child under 21, your child over 21, your siblings, and, of course, your spouse. Your parents, your spouse, and your children under 21 years of age are considered immediate relatives, which means that they will have no wait time other than the normal processing time in order to get their visa or green card through your sponsorship. Sometimes their green card can come in as little as 10 to 14 months. This is considerably faster than if you were to sponsor them as a green card holder. By the end of last year, the average wait time for a visa to become available for the relative of a green card holder was found to be around 25 months—about twice as long. Depending on the beneficiary's relationship and country of origin, the wait time could even be as long as decades.

In addition to shorter wait times, citizens also have the privilege of being able to sponsor their married children and siblings in the family preference categories, whereas a green card holder is not allowed to petition for these categories of relatives at all. If you have been waiting to sponsor your family members, once you're a citizen, now is the time to do so because wait times can be so incredibly long.

But what if you already sponsored certain family members when you were a legal permanent resident? Will USCIS automatically update their category? Unfortunately, USCIS will not automatically update their category to reflect that they are now the relative of a US citizen. Instead, this is something you have to do manually yourself. To make the request to update your petition for your relative, send USCIS a letter informing them of the change in your citizenship status, with a copy of your naturalization certificate and a copy of the receipt for your family's I-130. Then mail everything to the USCIS location processing your application. If you're not sure which location that is, you can call the USCIS customer service hotline at 1-800-375-5283 to find out. You can also check the address listed at the bottom of your I-130 receipt notice. For more information about sponsoring your relatives, go to uscis.gov, click US Citizens. I’ll include a link in the description below.

This next step is for those of you who have children. If one or more of your children are under 18 at the time that you become a US citizen, they may automatically acquire US citizenship through you, as long as they are also here inside the United States and living as a permanent resident. They must also be within your legal and physical custody. If they are inside the US, unlike you, they will not be given an automatic certificate of naturalization, and you will need to take affirmative steps to file for proof of their US citizenship.

You can either get them a certificate of citizenship (different from the certificate of naturalization) or a US passport, or both. A certificate of citizenship is almost the same thing as a certificate of naturalization and is given to those who become citizens through their parents or through adoption. You can file for your certificate of citizenship by filing Form N-600 and submitting it to USCIS along with the required documentation and fees. The current fee is $1,170 per child, which is why many people choose to get their children a passport instead. However, in many cases, a passport is not always considered sufficient proof of a person’s citizenship. The most foolproof  would actually be the certificate of citizenship for your kids.

The certificate of citizenship will never expire, unlike a passport. It can be used for certain applications, such as applying for Social Security benefits, a state-issued ID, a job in the future, or financial aid. However, the certificate of citizenship will not allow your children to travel. If you have upcoming international travel planned, getting a passport for your kids will be the most prudent thing to do.

Next, if you changed your name during your naturalization ceremony, you will also want to update your license at your local DMV. You’ll want to do this after updating your Social Security record because the DMV will verify your information with the SSA before approving any name change. Once you have an updated license and Social Security record, you can use both of them to update your name anywhere else.

The process for updating your license varies state by state, as do the required documents. To find instructions specific to your state, visit usa.gov/state-motor-vehicle-services, and choose your state from the drop-down menu. I’ll include a link to that below. Once you have updated your name with the Social Security Administration and received your new driver’s license, you have everything you need to update your name elsewhere. Some important places to consider are your bank, credit card companies and lenders, insurance companies, utility companies, schools, your employer, your landlord or mortgage holder, and the IRS.

After this, you have officially completed everything you need to do after becoming a US citizen. All that is left is for you to enjoy your life and achieve your dreams as an American.

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