 |
| Consular Office in Washington, DC |
I thought I could apply to be a dual citizen around March 2020, few months after becoming an American citizen. Closure of offices and pandemic made me decide to delay my application to be a Filipino citizen again. To have a good start of 2021, I’ve decided to apply in January since I did hope that everything will be better within a year.
Instructions and form for dual citizenship application can be found in their website: https://philippineembassy-usa.org/dual-citizenship-application-by-mail Process:1. Download and fill up dual citizen application. Mail the required documents to the assigned Philippine Embassy/Consular Office.• Mailed the application package January 4.o I’ve tried getting ID pictures at CVS and Costco, but both didn’t provide photo services that day. I’ve downloaded an application from Apple’s App Store. I’ve subscribed to ‘Passport Booth’ for free trial for three days, and took my dual application package ID with that application. I did it by myself since I have the selfie ring light with tripod. It took me less than 15 minutes to get the photo that I liked. My younger brother helped me out in printing the pictures since he has the photo printer. I’ve saved $4.99 from Costco and $14.99 from CVS.• Received a text/SMS notification – February 9 - It took around four weeks to be delivered in DC due to the riot that happened lastJanuary 6. My package application reached New Jersey before returning to DC area.• Waited for a month, there’s still no updates - I sent a follow up email for the status on March 11.• Received the approval of application through email March 11• Scheduled an appointment March 14 in April for 11am while dual oath taking ceremony 2PM. Scheduling was quite challenging since it took me some time to set an appointment. An applicant can only schedule 30 days in advance. If the next 30 days are in the weekend, then available appointments will appear during weekdays.
Prior Oath Taking Ceremony, I’ve prepared the following:a. Full tank
i. I’ve decided to drive from Maryland to DC since my parents would come with me. Paying a parking fee was cheaper than all the commute from riding a Metro in DC. Driving also saved us time and from being exposed to others in public during pandemic.
ii. I’m not familiar to the gas stations, so it’s better to make sure my car had enough gas to drive.
b. Charge Apple watch for the steps next day and iPhones
i. I and my parents planned to go around the parks in DC while waiting for the oath taking ceremony in the afternoon
 |
| Parking |
c. Research where to Park/made reservation and what to do while waiting for 2PM appointment
i. I’ve downloaded ‘ParkMobile’ App to reserve a spot at 1400 16th St. NW, Washington, DC 20036 (Resources & Conservations Center) and paid $13.95 for 5 hours and 30 minutes even we didn’t stay that long.
ii. I’ve prepared an itinerary for the day, but we didn’t do everything due to sudden change of oath taking ceremony schedule.
d. Check the weather
i. It helps to prepare what you need for the day if umbrella or raincoat is needed.
e. Things to bring:
• Face mask & Sanitizer
• Ballpen
• Selfie Sticko For sightseeing
• stuffs needed for 11AM appointment
• Original naturalization certificate
• Original USA Passport and previous Philippine Passport
We thought we would spend the entire day at DC, so we planned to do the following during Oath Taking day:
- Attend a mass
- Sightseeing in DC
Feedback:
• Great job for customer service since the staffs responded timely via email.
• The staff will give forms for voter’s registration upon entry to the building. It’s a good time if you
haven’t registered yet to vote. While waiting for my documents to be verified, I’ve submitted
the form and did the biometrics for voting.
• My original oath taking ceremony was scheduled in the afternoon. Fortunately, they told me
that I could join the ceremony after the verification of my documents.
• Bring extra ID pictures just in case it gets lost during/after verification of documents.
• It would be great if they will allow the applicants to apply for passport after oath taking. Others
are not around in DC area. Same day services of oath taking and passport application should be
an option. I had to wait for another 30 days for my passport application.
If you have any question or tips/comments/suggestions, feel free to post it down.
No comments:
Post a Comment