Citizenship for my children

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taco

Registered Users (C)
I am a naturalized US citizen. I now live abroad.
I have two children, aged 12 and 16. They live with my wife and me. And they were both born abroad.
Neither they nor my wife have ever been LPR in The US.

I naturalized in 2007.

Are my children US citizens?
If I apply for Certificate of Citizenship N-600, do we have to be physically present in The US? Do we have to stay in The US until we receive a reply on the N-600?

Or can I apply for passports for my children? And can that be done from abroad?

Thanks for a great web site.
 
They're not US citizens, as they were born before you became a US citizen, and they never were LPRs.

But they can obtain citizenship via N-600K (not N-600), which is for children of US citizens living abroad.

Unlike N-600 which is for proof of citizenship that already exists under the law, with N-600K they won't have citizenship until the N-600K is approved. And the N-600K process must be completed before they're 18 years old. Then after N-600K approval they would be eligible for US passports.
 
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Thanks for prompt answer, Jackolantern.

What if I entered The US and immediately applied for LPR for them. Would they then become US citizens immediately?
 
My apologies for being a slow learner on this matter.

Do I have two options?

1.) File N-600K. Stay abroad, wait for the interview and then travel to The US when this comes up?

2.) Enter The US. File I-130 for my children. They will then instantly become LPR and at the same time US citizens?
 
They would not instantly become LPRs when you file I-130 for them. I-130 only initiates the green card process; they would have to complete the entire green card process until approval and move to the US to become LPRs. Then upon residing with you (not merely visiting) in the US as LPRs, they would become citizens if they're still under 18 at the time.
 
taco said:
I am a naturalized US citizen. I now live abroad.
I have two children, aged 12 and 16. They live with my wife and me. And they were both born abroad.
Neither they nor my wife have ever been LPR in The US.

I naturalized in 2007.
Click to expand...
How exactly did you naturalize if you have never been an LPR in the U.S.?
Did you live in the U.S. at some point (in any status) and for how long?
Are any of your parents U.S. citizens? If yes, have they lived in the U.S. and for how long?

Same questions for your wife.

Depending on the answers to these questions, your children may or may not be eligible to file N-600K.
See INA 322A for an explanation who is eligible to file N-600K. There are some U.S. physical presence requirement for the child's U.S. citizen parent or grandparent that need to be satisfied in order for the child to be able to file N-600K.
http://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/SLB/HTML/SLB/0-0-0-1/0-0-0-29/0-0-0-10018.html
 
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Thanks for responses.

I received my LPR through the "Green Card Lottery." I was LPR for 15 years and living in The US for most of this time.
My wife and children were never LPRs. They lived in a neighbouring country.
I am the only one in our families who are a US citizen.
 
taco said:
Thanks for responses.

I received my LPR through the "Green Card Lottery." I was LPR for 15 years and living in The US for most of this time.
My wife and children were never LPRs. They lived in a neighbouring country.
I am the only one in our families who are a US citizen.
Click to expand...

Then it looks like your children do qualify for N-600K, and that's probably the easiest route for them to get U.S. citizenship.
You'll need to prove that you have been physically present in the U.S. (at any point in time and in any status) for at least 5 years, with at least 2 of those years after you turned 14. y.o.
Note that the N-600K process needs to be completed before your children turn 18, so you should not wait too long.
 
Thanks, baikal3.

I am impressed by your knowledge and quick response. You and Jackolantern have been most helpful.

One last question.
My daughter aged 16 wants to study and thereafter live in The US.
I will move back to The US as soon as the right job offer comes along.

Are there any strings attached to the N-600k process as far as intentions of when and if, one intends to live in The US?
 
taco said:
Thanks, baikal3.

I am impressed by your knowledge and quick response. You and Jackolantern have been most helpful.

One last question.
My daughter aged 16 wants to study and thereafter live in The US.
I will move back to The US as soon as the right job offer comes along.

Are there any strings attached to the N-600k process as far as intentions of when and if, one intends to live in The US?
Click to expand...

Future intentions do not matter, but it is important that the N-600K process be completed before she actually moves to the U.S.
To qualify for N-600K the child must be residing abroad.
But after getting her N-600K approved and receiving a certificate of citizenship, she can move to the U.S. any time she wants.
 
On the N-600K application form:

Part 4. "Information about the child's U.S. father or mother."

(E) Dates of Residence and/or Physical Presence in the United States.

Is it enogh to state the date I became a resident and the date my residence ceased and show documentations at the interview proving this?
Or do I have to enter everytime I entered and exited the U.S?
 
If the period of residence was long enough, with only short trips out, just list the entire period and mention you made a few trips. Make an estimate of how long the trips were.
 
taco said:
On the N-600K application form:

Part 4. "Information about the child's U.S. father or mother."

(E) Dates of Residence and/or Physical Presence in the United States.

Is it enogh to state the date I became a resident and the date my residence ceased and show documentations at the interview proving this?
Or do I have to enter everytime I entered and exited the U.S?
Click to expand...

You have to list enough to satisfy the requirement that you were physically in the US for at least 5 years, including 2 years after your 14th birthday.
 
Should I submit supporting documentation with the application or bring them to the interview?
 
You need to send all the supporting documents with the application. Send only copies, but bring the originals to the interview.

For N-600 and N-600K, once they schedule the interview it means they've already printed the certificate and they're 99% decided to officially approve the case, and the interview is just a formality to check the original documents and resolve one or two possible remaining doubts in their mind. So they need all the relevant documentation before the interview.

Make sure you send proof for more than the required 5 years. They can be very nitpicking with what they accept as proof, and it is likely they will reduce or reject some of your evidence, and you may need to send proof for 8 or 10 years just to get them to accept 5. For example, if you send school records they'll only count 8 or 9 months per year, because you could have been abroad in the summer break (unless the records show that you also attended summer school). And they may reject employment records if the job could have been done outside the US (e.g. a project manager can do their job almost anywhere in the world even if employed by a US company, but a high school teacher for a US school obviously has to do their job in the US).
 
Thanks for very helpful and to the point answers, Jackolantern.

For a big part of my time, I have worked as a flightcrewmember onboard a US aircraft flying for a US airline flying worldwide.
Can I use this time as a resident or will it counts toward time abroad?

Thanks again.
 
taco said:
For a big part of my time, I have worked as a flightcrewmember onboard a US aircraft flying for a US airline flying worldwide.
Can I use this time as a resident or will it counts toward time abroad?
Click to expand...

They'll reject that unless you can prove your exit/entry dates. And they'll only count the time you spent in the US between international flights.
 
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