What shall one do after becoming a US citizen?

Question

In the spirit of What shall one do after receiving a green card?, I wonder: What shall one do after becoming a US citizen?

One step is getting the US passport (not compulsory but useful in some cases eg if one wishes to travel). What else?

Do you mean literally receiving the passport book? Or after becoming a US citizen? You don't technically need the US passport unless you want to travel internationally. — littleadv, Sep 13, 2022 at 2:16
@littleadv good point, I'll broaden the question to be becoming a US citizen. — Franck Dernoncourt, Sep 13, 2022 at 2:18
@littleadv indeed, my first reaction to the original question was "take a trip," but that wasn't long enough for an answer. — phoog, Sep 13, 2022 at 20:34
The question and answers so far seem to assume the person held a green card before becoming a citizen (or first received documentation that one is a citizen). But if for some reason the person never held a green card, he/she will want to look through "What shall one do after receiving a green card?" — Gerard Ashton, Sep 14, 2022 at 13:34

littleadv · Accepted Answer · 2022-09-13 02:29:00Z

Generally during the naturalization ceremony you'll get some flyers from the USCIS and other agencies listing what they suggest you do.

Things that come to mind:

Register to vote (may be possible directly at the ceremony)
Order a passport and/or passport card (also may be possible directly at the ceremony, sometimes the passport office will send representatives to larger ceremonies)
Update your citizenship status with the SSA. It is important, both because you'll get an unrestricted SS card, if you haven't yet when you got your green card, and more importantly because citizens don't have residency restrictions for some of the SSA benefits as opposed to permanent residents.
Update your Global Entry registration (if you signed up). You can do this next time you travel through an airport with a Global Entry office or going through the CBP inspection.
Have a party to celebrate the fact that you don't need to deal with the USCIS ever again.

Things you've probably done when getting your green card, but should do now if you haven't:

Depending on how and when your eligibility to work was verified by your employer, you might need to update them. Most likely you've already updated them that you have a green card, but in case you haven't - you should update them that you're no longer on a visa.
If you don't have a Real ID from your State - get one now.

Never have to deal with the USCIS again? That's assuming they don't apply for any of their relatives. — Loren Pechtel, Sep 13, 2022 at 2:50
"citizens don't have residency restrictions for some of the SSA benefits as opposed to permanent residents": would it matter if one didn't update the card right away, but only at the point of becoming eligible for a residency-restricted benefit, perhaps decades later? — phoog, Sep 13, 2022 at 20:38
@phoog probably not since you're a citizen and that's what matters, but you know how American bureaucracy can be sometimes... — littleadv, Sep 13, 2022 at 21:08

phoog · Accepted Answer · 2022-09-12 18:47:26Z

1

After becoming a US citizen, you probably want to register to vote. You can do this before or after receiving your passport.

answered Sep 12, 2022 at 18:47

phoog

21.3k2 gold badges18 silver badges61 bronze badges

Add a comment |

2 Answers 2