5d ago

YSK: Do you have documents to prove you are a US citizen? If not, here's how

YSK: How to document that you are a US citizen

https://www.usa.gov/prove-us-citizenship

The most common way to show that you are a US citizen is to show a passport. However, only about 50% of US citizens have a passport.

An alternative to a passport is a Certificate of Citizenship.

Certificates of Citizenship and Naturalization show proof that someone is a U.S. citizen. The website https://www.usa.gov/prove-us-citizenship shows how you can get or replace these documents.

Prove your citizenship: born in the U.S. with no birth certificate. If you were born in the U.S. and have no birth certificate, learn how to get documentation to prove you are a U.S. citizen.

Prove your citizenship: born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent. Prove your U.S. citizenship without a birth certificate if you were born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen.

56 comments

ICE is not asking people for proof of citizenship. They are pulling up in unmarked vehicles, wearing masks, and grabbing people off the street.
I agree you should make sure you do have proof. But don't expect it to stop armed masked thugs if they roll up for you.
- I know it is possible for some people to get a second, valid passport if they travel often enough, so that they can travel when one is being renewed, or if they travel between countries where a visa stamp from some other country might deny them entry.
  Maybe "I look brown so ICE may confiscate my passport without due process" can now be a reason to get a second valid passport ....
  
  Elsewhere in a comment someone mentioned Passport Cards. iirc they're only valid for travel to Mexico and Canada, but they are proofs of citizenship, and you can have a card as well as a passport.
Not to discount this helpful and important information but, for the people you're trying to direct this to, I genuinely don't think it matters. This administration has thrown out habeas corpus and due process. And they have done this because a substantial portion of the population voted in favor of kicking people out who don't look like them. It's called Nationalism. And with that comes Fascism.
The core identity of the United States is disintegrating by public opinion. The one thing that brought pride to generations of Americans is being driven out and replaced with the same reasons people had left other countries in favor of the US. It's gut-wrenching.
So, yeah, get your papers but don't let it fool you into believing it protects you.
Hah - also funny to look at "only about 50% of US citizens have a passport" to understand exactly why we've turned into Nationalists.
- I think only 50% of people have passports is because most people can't afford to travel and a bunch of them that do just wanted to visit Canada or Mexico
  
  Until 9/11 we could visit Canada and Mexico with a drivers license or birth certificate and 3/4 of the time only the driver has to show theirs and just vouch for the whole car.
  We drove through southern Ontario probably 20 times in the more 80s alone.
  
  Which is also why "self deport" is such a scam. Even were it moral to tell anyone to do that, how are they supposed to board a plane to go to another country without passport or visa?
- Yeah any citizenship proof would come out of due process. Without it, its just whoever they want to not be a citizen. Fame is about the only thing that might help you.
Just don’t be brown. That’ll keep you safe for a couple of years.
Then be white but only ever say nice things about the glorious leader. You’ll be good for another year. Oh, you may need to be a publicly avowed ‘christian’ too.
Then continue to be white and christian, and be sure to be a card carrying, tribute paying member of the party of the glorious leader.
- That sounds very patriotic. Thank you!
With no more due process, an ID and proof of citizenship do not matter at all. They're not checking ID's before hauling people away. And given ICE is going around masked and without uniforms there is no way to verify their authority either. I absolutely loath violence to a point, and that tipping point is the safety of the people in my family and community, regardless of their citizenship. If a group of unidentified masked gunman are attempting to kidnap someone, the only truly patriotic American response is to defend their liberty with all necessary force. Given the murder happy training of our law enforcement, that will obviously result in tragic deaths. But that, protecting the people (all the people, not just citizens) from a corrupt government, is the fundamental justification for the 2nd amendment, always has been.
- It's going to be pretty hard for people to fight for their rights when their stuck in a prison in El Salvador. With no due process, people will get shipped off before they have a chance to plead their case.
LOL
You think it is about citizenship do you? That’s cute.
Just be white. That’s all. This is ethnic cleansing, and it will get a lot worse over the coming months.
Also, your elections were rigged. You’re living through a hostile takeover of your country. If election laws didn’t matter, and national security breaches didn’t put him in jail, you really think this has anything to do with legality?
They are just using the belief of the masses in law against themselves, the same way we all believe a dollar has “gold backing”.
The moment we stop believing, is the moment we will be free.
Edit: If you’ve wondered why everything looks like a coup since he got in, perhaps it is because it is one.
https://lemmy.world/post/31401705
https://youtu.be/AaKFx5rxdmA
https://smartelections.us/
https://electiontruthalliance.org/
- Being white certainly helps, but they are also detaining white people now:
  https://www.cbsnews.com/news/jasmine-mooney-canadian-detained-ice-us-mexico/
Tl;dr: get a passport. If you have a passport, get it out right now. Look at it. Hold it. Is it expired? How many people do you think have a passport but have no idea where it is? Don't be one of those folk
- I keep mine in my work backpack at all times. That bag sits next to my desk when I work at home, next to my person when I'm in the office, and converts to my go back when I go on vacation. It's with me almost always. I'm a white guy who can trace his family back to ellis island, so my risk is significantly lower that many others, but I'm also very outwardly critical of Nazis, so it's not no risk.
  
  Im not sure having it on you is the best way to go unless you have two.
  
  Personally, I would rather just get fucked up by ICE rather than comply with the “papers please” state. Who knows, maybe I’ll even end up in the news.
  
  There. Your great grandpa made a spelling mistake on his citizenship application. Off to El Salvador you go!
- This. Especially if you're a naturalized citizen. The certificate of naturalization is expensive and hard to replace. It should not be your only id. Keep it in a safe place.
  If you are a permanent resident, you should already know that you must carry your card on you at all times. That is more important now then ever.
  Note that you will need to mail the original certificate to the authorities to get your passport. You will get it back after a couple of weeks, but in the meantime you will have nothing, unless you paid to get a certified copy. It is a large piece of paper that cannot be folded, so it's not practical to carry around.
  While you're at it, get your driver's license updated with the federal id. Make sure the BMV records reflect your status. Register to vote. In other words, document your citizenship in as many ways as possible.
  During my recent travels I carried a photocopy of my naturalization document plus my passport. I was not asked for it, but my reasoning was that if they took my passport I at least had something. I also had a physical notebook with important info in it, i.e., not just in my phone.
- many people havnt renewed thier passport in decades, so they likely have to reapply all over, and its the wait time for appts can be weeks to months away
  
  Best time to plant a tree
I call BS on 50% of citizens having a passport. No way is it that high.
- I don’t know… A LOT of people I know got their passports over the past year or so. Many of them have zero intentions of traveling abroad.
  So it could be that high… still 50% seems but plausible if people are doing what a lot of the people I know are doing
- I did a search on it. You get different numbers. Some sources say 45% to 50%.
  
  Are those numbers for passports only, or do they include "passport cards" which are only good for Canada and Mexico?
Get this: The filing fee for a Certificate of Citizenship is $1,335.
The advantage of a Certificate of Citizenship over a passport is that it does not expire (I believe this is correct).
The passport fee is $130.
- And a passport is only good for ten years. So if you're planning to be around more then 110 years (and not leave the smoldering remnants of the USA), the Certificate of Citizen is the smart money move.
- that's much more than ours in EU. are they gold plated?
Papers? Do you have papers?
- No papers? Enjoy your stay at Camp South Sudan.
lol doesn’t matter.
Glory to Arstotzka!
What about a “Real ID” drivers license?
While a regular license makes no claim about citizenship, id expect “Real ID” to only be obtainable by citizens
- That’s what I was thinking and wondering too
- Yet if you’re homeless living in your car you cannot get one which means you cannot go into the social security building
- Real ID proves legal presence in general iirc. E.g., permanent residents can get Real IDs
Wait, you don’t have ID cards in the US?
- No, the closest thing to an ID card in the US is either a drivers license (which does not prove citizenship, any legal resident can get one) or a Passport (which does require citizenship by review of birth certificate).
  Any US citizen who does not have a Passport (or Certificate of Citizenship/Naturalization) has no document proving their citizenship. A very high number of US citizens have no documentation to show their status as citizens.
- As others say, ID has always been issued by states and is usually a drivers license, but also
  until recently there was not standard security, so IDs that are not “Real ID” compliant have different standards
  some states explicitly do not ask about immigration status. It’s better to have all drivers licensed and insured than for immigrants to drive unlicensed and uninsured
  
  some states explicitly do not ask about immigration status. It’s better to have all drivers licensed and insured than for immigrants to drive unlicensed and uninsured
  Interesting, that makes sense. I don’t think it’s possible in my country (France) for foreigners to take their driving test without a valid residence permit.
- ID cards are issued by the state, not the federal government.

56 comments