Became citizen after I-130 approved but before consular interview

mendozaulises78

mendozaulises78

New Member
Hi,
I was a permanent resident when I applied for immigration for my wife and son.
Concurrently I applied for US citizenship to see if that would speed up the process.
Long story short, my petition was approved, and NVC scheduled my wife/son interview in Ciudad Juarez. The interview was scheduled for this week (today) and the appointment was made one month ago as per NVC instructions.

But I also got my citizenship interview 2 weeks ago, and I became a US Citizen. I updated my status with the NVC but today when my wife went to deliver the documents to the Ciudad Juarez consulate they told her we may need to reapply for my son because now I'm a U.S. citizen?
Is that the case? I thought becoming a citizen would only help speed up the process, not delay it and causing two trips to ciudad Juarez :=)
Nothing is definitive now, this is what the person receiving the documents told her but she hasn't had yet the consular interview. But I am worried they will reject the visa upon the grounds I am now a U.S. Citizen and need to reapply for them with my new status.
Has anyone ever had this situation?
 
Yeah, you now need to file a separate I-130 for your son because your wife's category moved from CR1 to IR1 when you became a USC, which unfortunately does not allow for derivatives. If only you had waited a while before becoming a USC, both your wife and son would have been able to complete the process under the CR1 category. Your wife can complete the process as is, but it will be without your son.
 
mendozaulises78 said:
Hi,
I was a permanent resident when I applied for immigration for my wife and son.
Concurrently I applied for US citizenship to see if that would speed up the process.
Long story short, my petition was approved, and NVC scheduled my wife/son interview in Ciudad Juarez. The interview was scheduled for this week (today) and the appointment was made one month ago as per NVC instructions.

But I also got my citizenship interview 2 weeks ago, and I became a US Citizen. I updated my status with the NVC but today when my wife went to deliver the documents to the Ciudad Juarez consulate they told her we may need to reapply for my son because now I'm a U.S. citizen?
Is that the case? I thought becoming a citizen would only help speed up the process, not delay it and causing two trips to ciudad Juarez :=)
Nothing is definitive now, this is what the person receiving the documents told her but she hasn't had yet the consular interview. But I am worried they will reject the visa upon the grounds I am now a U.S. Citizen and need to reapply for them with my new status.
Has anyone ever had this situation?
Click to expand...
Unfortunately yes, as sm1smom has said. Your wife’s petition will upgrade and she would have gone faster if she had been still been waiting, but the upgrade is to IR1 which doesn’t allow derivatives. So your wife will still get her immigrant visa but you will need to file a new petition for your son. It’s a pity that this wasn’t explained as given the interview was so close already it probably would have made sense to delay your oath ceremony, unfortunately that’s hindsight now.
 
Sm1smom said:
Yeah, you now need to file a separate I-130 for your son because your wife's category moved from CR1 to IR1 when you became a USC, which unfortunately does not allow for derivatives. If only you had waited a while before becoming a USC, both your wife and son would have been able to complete the process under the CR1 category. Your wife can complete the process as is, but it will be without your son.
Click to expand...
From F2A to IR1
 
Thanks. Yes that is so unfortunate. Do you know if this is change is recent?
I had no idea this could have happened. Had I known that , then I would've certainly delayed the ceremony.
And here I was thinking that having the oath ceremony performed the same day that my citizenship interview was done, was a good thing :(
Had the process followed is normal course I would not be in this situation.

Now on a second question, I read that if my son is admitted legally to the U.S. I could apply for the N-600 directly? He has a tourist visa and has visited me several times. So assuming they let him in on that tourist visa do you think I should apply for the N-600 under the Citizenship act of 2000? Or do you think I should rather reapply for the immigration petition?
 
mendozaulises78 said:
Thanks. Yes that is so unfortunate. Do you know if this is change is recent?
I had no idea this could have happened. Had I known that , then I would've certainly delayed the ceremony.
And here I was thinking that having the oath ceremony performed the same day that my citizenship interview was done, was a good thing :(
Had the process followed is normal course I would not be in this situation.

Now on a second question, I read that if my son is admitted legally to the U.S. I could apply for the N-600 directly? He has a tourist visa and has visited me several times. So assuming they let him in on that tourist visa do you think I should apply for the N-600 under the Citizenship act of 2000? Or do you think I should rather reapply for the immigration petition?
Click to expand...
No, it’s been like this always, and unfortunately you are not the only person to discover this too late.

it won’t work on a tourist visa because for your child to automatically acquire citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act, one of the conditions is that he must be a lawful permanent resident -so he needs that immigrant visa. The conditions are:
The child must meet the following requirements:
• Have at least one American citizen parent by birth or naturalization;
• Be under 18 years of age;
• Live in the legal and physical custody of the American citizen parent; and
• Be admitted as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence.
 
mendozaulises78 said:
Thanks. Yes that is so unfortunate. Do you know if this is change is recent?
I had no idea this could have happened. Had I known that , then I would've certainly delayed the ceremony.
And here I was thinking that having the oath ceremony performed the same day that my citizenship interview was done, was a good thing :(
Had the process followed is normal course I would not be in this situation.

Now on a second question, I read that if my son is admitted legally to the U.S. I could apply for the N-600 directly? He has a tourist visa and has visited me several times. So assuming they let him in on that tourist visa do you think I should apply for the N-600 under the Citizenship act of 2000? Or do you think I should rather reapply for the immigration petition?
Click to expand...
This is what I found in N-600 FAQ

Generally, you cannot automatically acquire citizenship after birth through your parent if you have not been lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the U.S. However, a parent or legal guardian may be able to apply for naturalization for you under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act if you are under 18 years of age and temporarily present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission, which includes a lawful admission in non-immigrant status. Please refer to Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322 for more information.
 
mendozaulises78 said:
This is what I found in N-600 FAQ

Generally, you cannot automatically acquire citizenship after birth through your parent if you have not been lawfully admitted for permanent residence to the U.S. However, a parent or legal guardian may be able to apply for naturalization for you under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act if you are under 18 years of age and temporarily present in the United States pursuant to a lawful admission, which includes a lawful admission in non-immigrant status. Please refer to Form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322 for more information.
Click to expand...
Form N600-K /ina322 applies to children who are ordinarily resident with (in the physical and legal custody of) a USC parent outside of the US. If you are planning to reside permanently outside of the US then this can work.
these are the requirements:

A child who regularly resides outside the United States is eligible for naturalization if all of the following conditions have been met:

  • The person is a child of a parent who is a U.S. citizen by birth or through naturalization (including an adoptive parent);
  • The child’s U.S. citizen parent or citizen grandparent meets certain physical presence requirements in the United States or an outlying possession;
  • The child is under 18 years of age;
  • The child is residing outside the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent, or of a person who does not object to the application if the U.S. citizen parent is deceased; and
  • The child is lawfully admitted, physically present, and maintaining a lawful status in the United States at the time the application is approved and the time of naturalization.
not that it really matters in practice as the end outcome is the same, but under INA320 (cca) the child automatically acquires citizenship, and under INA322 the child naturalizes.
 
Thanks a lot SusieQQQ sm1smom for your help.
I will analyze my options carefully and consult with a lawyer. The person who received the documents gave my wife a document that explained my son's new application could be treated as an "exceptional circumstance" but it doesn't say what to do, hopefully tomorrow if they approve my wife's visa they will tell her what the procedure is for my son. I don't want to do anything that could cripple my son's status in the long run. I already waited 3 years for the original process to finalize, I just hope it doesn't take another 3 to get my son's immigrant visa.
 
mendozaulises78 said:
Thanks a lot SusieQQQ sm1smom for your help.
I will analyze my options carefully and consult with a lawyer. The person who received the documents gave my wife a document that explained my son's new application could be treated as an "exceptional circumstance" but it doesn't say what to do, hopefully tomorrow if they approve my wife's visa they will tell her what the procedure is for my son. I don't want to do anything that could cripple my son's status in the long run. I already waited 3 years for the original process to finalize, I just hope it doesn't take another 3 to get my son's immigrant visa.
Click to expand...
I‘ve just had my Kids kicked off as well. Applied for my wife and kids on 11/01/23 and became citizen on 10/24/24. Now I have to re apply for my 2 step kids. Hace you started the prices for your kids and what did they tell you wife regarding the “exceptional circumstances“?
 
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