N-600 Pending.. Should I apply for US Passport?

[shaco1993]

Hello all,

My dad naturalized when I was 17 or 18 and my paper work was never done. I am 23 now and I filed for N-600 on May 2017 but it is still pending. They sent me a notice that I was missing some documents and I turned them in last week. I read that I can apply for US Passport directly but my dad lost his naturalization certificate when he applied for his US Passport (cert never came back in the mail). I do have a photocopy of his cert and I wonder if I can get my US passport?
I need to get out of the country by June for a month but my Green card expired this month and with the whole government shutting down I'm really worried.

Thanks for the advice

[newacct]

Hello all,

My dad naturalized when I was 17 or 18 and my paper work was never done. I am 23 now and I filed for N-600 on May 2017 but it is still pending. They sent me a notice that I was missing some documents and I turned them in last week. I read that I can apply for US Passport directly but my dad lost his naturalization certificate when he applied for his US Passport (cert never came back in the mail). I do have a photocopy of his cert and I wonder if I can get my US passport?
I need to get out of the country by June for a month but my Green card expired this month and with the whole government shutting down I'm really worried.

Thanks for the advice

They need originals of your documents when you apply for a passport (the originals will be mailed back to you later), so a photocopy won't work.

It is true that as you are a US citizen, you can normally apply for a US passport directly, without needing a Certificate of Citizenship, but I don't think there are any easy options in your case if your dad's certificate is lost. He can (and should) apply to replace his certificate, but that will take many months too.