Urgent question regarding eligibility of n-600 filing date

T

TinTin619

New Member
Dear community,

Background:

we have a somewhat odd immigration story. I am a naturalized US citizen living abroad on my husband's military orders. My children became LPRs on Dec 28, 2021 by activating their "Greencards". We flew back soon after their POE in the stateside and returned to Germany. My husband retired on Jan 1, 2022 out of active duty.
They became US citizens under INA 320 §1431 (a) and (c). (Second marriage, my children are my husbands step-children but on military orders and SOFA status)

We stayed in Germany as my husband was then offered a job as a government (DoD) contractor (not employee). It was supposed to start 8 weeks after retirement. At the same time, we returned to Germany and filed for the children's US passports which they both got back within a few weeks.

However, I filed on behalf of my children their n-600 on Jan 7th, 2022 right after returning back from activating their LPR status waiting for my husbands new job to start at the same duty station. My question is a real concern of mine:

We were filing the n-600 for my, now, US citizen children in-between jobs while my husband transitioned from active duty service to becoming a contractor. The filing regulations did say one needed to be in the present in the US to file but I had assumed that this would refer to the day the children naturalised (which was DEC 28th, 2021) and the n-600 would merely confirm their US citizenship status.

Now I am having sleepless nights because I am very concerned we may have filed too late or too early and I have messed up my children's possibility to ever have a US citizenship certificate because we were no longer on military orders on the date filed. We were, however, on military orders the kids became citizens, if that makes any sense.

Does anyone have any insights? We are in line for an interview and I wonder I totally messed up everything and made a huge mistake and if so, if there is any solution or remedy.

Timeline:

DEC 28, 2021 - Activating LPR status while on military orders as dependents stationed overseas
JAN 7, 2022 - filed n-600 while no longer on military orders but still overseas
JAN 7, 2022 - US Passport applications for both kids
March, 2022 - US Passports received
OCT 2023 - interview scheduled message on USCIS account
 
I am so very sorry about my delayed answer BUT the n-600 filing instructions say so UNLESS they refer to the date/time the kids automatically naturalized. Meaning the day they automatically received citizenship, they were under military orders. The day we filed the n-600, they were no longer under military orders (but waiting for my husband to start working as a government contractor).

If you are claiming U.S. citizenship after birth, but before you reached 18 years of age, the law in effect when the last qualifying condition was met is the law that applies to you. Generally, the conditions are listed below.
These conditions must be met before you turn 18 years of age:
  1. Your parent must be a U.S. citizen;
  2. You must be the biological child of that U.S. citizen parent;
  3. You must be lawfully admitted to the United States for lawful permanent residence; and
  4. You must be living in the United States in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent.
 
We have been waiting for more than two years to get their N-600 cases adjudicated - our field office is San Diego. I reached out to the Congressman, USCIS multiple times and both cases are stuck on ready to be scheduled for an interview for the past few months. I am considering to hire an immigration lawyer or do I have any other option?
 
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