Eligibility for the N-600?

A

Anonymous106

Registered Users (C)
Hi there. I'm a 19-year-old with a permanent resident card. I am currently trying to apply for citizenship under my father, who was naturalized before my 18th birthday. If I'm not mistaken, this does mean I am eligible, right? I was told that even though I'm 19, I can still apply for citizenship under my father (through the N-600) because he obtained citizenship before my 18th birthday. That being said (and given my assumption is correct), I'm currently filling out the N-600 through the USCIS website, and I'm a little stuck. On the first page, of Part 2: Information About Your Eligibility, which should I check off? I am assuming it can't be

[B. I am a US citizen parent applying for a Certificate of Citizenship on behalf of my minor (under 18 years of age) BIOLOGICAL child],

because I am now 19. So I was assuming I should check

[A. A US citizen father or a US citizen mother],

because my father was the one who obtained citizenship before my 18th birthday, while my mother was naturalized later. There's also the the 4th option of option A, [An alien parent who naturalized.] Sorry, I know it's a rather trivial question, but I'm worried that the wrong option will eliminate my eligibility right off. Later on in the N-600 form, you also have to enter the date your parents were naturalized, so I would clearly indicate that my father was naturalized a few days before my 18th birthday... So I'm hoping selecting one of option A is not going to be an issue.

This is, of course, assuming that I CAN still apply for citizenship through the N-600, even though I'm 19, because my father was naturalized before my 18th birthday... This is what we were told when we visited a USCIS office on Long Island.

I really appreciate the help. Thank you in advance!
 
Were you living in the US with a green card, at some point in time between your father's naturalization and your 18th birthday, and living at your father's residence with your father having legal custody of you at that time? Your father naturalizing before your 18th birthday is not sufficient by itself.

[An alien parent who naturalized.]
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That's the correct one for your situation. Two of the other options are for people who were born to a US citizen parent(s).
 
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I came to the US two months after my birth in South Korea. Since then, I've never traveled out of the country. Not once. I know that's hard to believe. I've also never left the custody or household of either of my parents... Even now I commute to college. I hope that clears it up a bit. So am I now eligible? Thanks for the response about the Part II question!
 
Were your parents still married and living together when your father naturalized? If yes, custody is presumed for both, but you should provide prove of that with their marriage certificate and some evidence that they were living at the same address (e.g. driver's licenses, bills with their names on them).

If not, you'll need to provide court papers showing who had custody.

If the custody requirement is satisfied, and you had your green card before your 18th birthday ("came to the US" at 2 months old doesn't mean with a green card -- could have been any other status), all indications are that you are eligible for the N-600, and the effective date of your citizenship will be backdated to when your father naturalized*.


*or when your green card was approved, if it was approved between his naturalization and your 18th birthday, but that seems very unlikely as you said he naturalized a few days before your 18th birthday.
 
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I think you should choose the option that says An alien parent(s) who naturalized. I wouldn't worry too much. They will study your application and see under which article of the law you have become a citizen. Remember that a few things have to line up for you to have obtained citizenship through your father's naturalization. Some of them you comply, like him having naturalized before you turning 18, but you also had to be in the legal and physical custody. It seems from your explanation that you probably comply and have obtained citizenship by operation of law (Child citizenship act of 2000) and N-600 is the right way of obtaining a certificate of citizenship. You can also apply concurrently for a US passport. You'll need your father's naturalization certificate, your birth certificate, your green card, pictures, ... Whole details can be found on the passport application itself.
 
Thanks everyone. But I have one final question. I left "Part 5. Information About Your U.S. Citizen Mother" completely blank because I'm filing this under my father, who was the one that was naturalized before my 18th birthday, not my mother. Therefore I technically can't file it under her, correct? Or should I just fill it out anyway since leaving it blank makes it seem like I live only with my father or something? Also, to answer the part about whose custody and household I was under, the thing is, my parents never separated/divorced/lived separately for any length of time at all. I was never under any custodial conflict or separation between parents, and in addition, they've never had any previous marriages/annulled marriages/separations of any period of time. So when my father was naturalized, I was under their joint custody, physically and legally, as normal. I also clearly indicated that my father's current spouse is my mother and that they've lived in the same household/address since they were US residents, as they also do now. I guess I caused confusion because I mentioned that my mother got naturalized later than my father and that I was filing under my father. It is only because my father was naturalized before I was 18 and my mother was delayed until a little after; they both filed roughly around the same time.

So do I leave Part 5 blank, or should I fill it out? Really appreciate the help everyone, thank you.
 
Anonymous106 said:
Thanks everyone. But I have one final question. I left "Part 5. Information About Your U.S. Citizen Mother" completely blank because I'm filing this under my father, who was the one that was naturalized before my 18th birthday, not my mother.
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Correct, you should leave part 5 blank. This is explained in the header of part 5 of N-600 itself and on page 7 of the N-600 instructions.

By the way, when exactly did you receive your green card?
 
I got my Permanent Resident Card in 05/12/1992. It expired on 06/05/2002. I then had it renewed and the new expiration date is 10/21/2019.
 
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