Not sure if this is the best subreddit to ask.
I’m a US Citizen, not by birth but by naturalization.
My US passport was stolen, I got an emergency one, came back to the US, and now have to apply for a new official one.
To do so they require proof that I’m an American citizen. I could give my naturalization certificate, but if I’m not mistaken that costs $550, which is a pretty penny, and so I’m paranoid that either the post office is gonna lose it or the passport people will lose it.
I still have my expired US passport. It was punctured a hole or everything. Would that count as proof that I’m an American citizen for the purposes of getting a new passport? Or since it’s expired it’s no longer valid even as proof of citizenship?
6 comments
Generally expired IDs can’t be used for anything
[Here are the accepted documents according to the State Department](https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/passports/how-apply/citizenship-evidence.html)
Do you have a local place like a library or post office where you would normally apply for a passport (a passport office)? They’d be a lot more qualified to answer than reddit.
If you’re in the US currently, contact your US House Rep or US Senator’s constituent services office. They should have some near you in your district/state. They can help communicate with federal agencies, who tend to be very slow to respond to individual requests.
Per their website:
>You do not need to obtain a Certified True Copy if the U.S. government asks for a copy of your certificate for official U.S. government business. You may use a normal photocopy of your certificate for legitimate U.S. government business. For example, when you apply for a U.S. passport, you must submit the original Certificate of Naturalization, and you should also submit a normal photocopy that has not been authenticated.
From https://www.uscis.gov/tools/how-do-i-guides/us-citizens/how-do-i-obtain-an-authenticated-copy-of-a-certificate-of-naturalization
Yes. I renewed my US passport 2 years ago with my expired US passport