My wife and I just got naturalized and have our American passports, but my (minor) son has the British one only, until his N-600 completes. We need to take a trip to the UK before his papers go through, so I am wondering if he can use his British passport to come back to the US. I understand that because of our new US citizenship now he too is a US citizen, but is it illegal for a US citizen to enter on a non-US passport? How shall I do this?
Can British-American enter US on British passport?
- Thread starter zs1234
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cafeconleche
Registered Users (C)
Your son doesn't really need his naturalisation certificate. He needs only yours and his birth certificate to get a passport. Try and use those to get a same-day passport from a passport agency. Find one close to where you live. I think you'll get some heat if you try to bring your son in on a British passport.
The above advice is correct.
Filing N-600 is entirely optional and you son does not need to wait for N-600 approval to get a U.S. passport. You son is already a U.S. citizen under the Child Citizenship Act (I assume here that he is under 18 and has a green card). You can apply for an expedited passport for him at a post office or schedule an appointment at a passport agency where you can get a passport issued in one-two days. As I remember, both parents need to be present when an application for initial passport for a child is submitted.
The only advantage in filing N-600 and getting a certificate of citizenship is that, unlike a U.S. passport, a certificate of citizenship does not expire and need not be renewed.
Regarding your original question, technically, it is illegal for a U.S. citizen to enter the U.S. using the passport of another country.
Please, could you clarify the situation about your son? In other post you said you have a US born child, is this the same for which you applied for N-600. For the child citizenship act to be applicatble the child has to have a Green Card. Children who get derivative automatic citizenship through the child citizenship act of 2000 can apply for a passport without needing to the N-600. N-600 provides you with a no-expiration, originating document as proof of US citizenship, plus it creates a record of citizenship with USCIS. All that said, when possible, a US passport is easier and faster and cheaper to obtain.
No, that is not enough, you should read the above replies more carefully. Your son must also have a Green Card first since this is a requirement of the Child Citizenship Act in order for him to qualify for derived citizenship. Then he will be able to get a U.S. passport.
Go to post office with your spouse, your son, his UK birth certificate, his original Green Card (no photocopy) and your wife's naturalization certificate. You can fill out the passport application and take it with you. You might need to schedule an appointment with the post office (some accept walk-ins some don't).
Check this:
http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/minors/minors_834.html
The specific case for your son is not described in the webpage, but it is in the application itself. Lots of people get confused by this, as they don't see the Green Card/Naturalization certificate of parent option.
I assume your child meets all conditions of the child citizenship act of 2000, which he seems to do:
* 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.
I guess you should read more carefully!
