Children under 18 and citizenship

W

Wosa

Registered Users (C)
My youngster will still be 17 when his mother (my wife) takes the oath on Aug 31. His 18th birthday is at the end of November. I was stuck in name check and my interview is scheduled for Oct 3. The USCIS notice for the oath ceremony says to bring a child if a child is party to the application and also says no children are allowed. I know it is obligatory for their notices to be confusing but this one takes the cake.

Question --
Will the child become a citizen when his mother takes the oath?
OR
Will he have to wait until both his mother and I are citizens?
AND
Does he have to attend the oath ceremony?
AND
What paperwork needs filing for his proof of citizenship.

I know you guys will have straight answers for me.:confused:
 
Wosa said:
My youngster will still be 17 when his mother (my wife) takes the oath on Aug 31. His 18th birthday is at the end of November. I was stuck in name check and my interview is scheduled for Oct 3. The USCIS notice for the oath ceremony says to bring a child if a child is party to the application and also says no children are allowed. I know it is obligatory for their notices to be confusing but this one takes the cake.

Question --
Will the child become a citizen when his mother takes the oath?

OR
Will he have to wait until both his mother and I are citizens?
AND
Does he have to attend the oath ceremony?
AND
What paperwork needs filing for his proof of citizenship.

I know you guys will have straight answers for me.:confused:
Click to expand...

If your child has a green card the option that will apply is the one I highlighted in green (I hope you're not color blind ;) Your child doesn't need to attend the oath ceremony, but I think it would be nice as he will become a citizen at the time your wife takes the oath. You can apply for a certificate of citizenship with form N-600 it is $460 dollars now, so it doesn't come cheap. It is not mandatory, he can obtain a passport with his birth certificate, green card and your wife's naturalization certificate. Here in San Jose they allowed to bring young children into the naturalization area. I don't know how the ceremony is performed in your area, perhaps he could go to the guest area if they don't allow him to be in the naturalization area. Again, I am not sure how they organize the ceremony over there. Congratulations for your wife and good luck to you.
 
Thanks

Thanks, that is the way I read the statute. However there seems to be a hundred and one other interpretations.
 
Hi Wosa,

I know people often say it isn't mandatory to get the Certificate of Citizenship, but I would urge you to apply for one (for your 18 yr old). This is due to the fact that a permanent record of their citizenship is created once a certificate is issued. So your son will have his own record, rather than a passport which is tied to a parent's citizenship. So if your child ever loses his certificate or passport, it is easy for the government to track his citizenship status. Also, a certificate does not expire and can be used for all legal purposes - much like a birth certificate. I know the passport can be used in some instances, but not all. For example, if the passport has been expired for a number of years - it is null and void for use as proof of citizenship.
 
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