Filing for Children below 15 after getting Citizenship.

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nelsonyiga

Registered Users (C)
I would like to request some information of what steps to take after becoming a citizen to file for young children.
I need to prepare documents for my children so I can file for them as soon as I become a citizen and also wanted to know what hardships does one get. Tried looking for the thread on here but failed to find it. Any help, links will do.




08/05/05-Green Card approval Temp-Marriage based
08/12/08-Permanent Green Card received. I-175 approved
02/20/08- Send in N-400
02/26/08-returned not time to file
04/15/08-send back N-400
04/20/08-returned not time yet
06/04/08-send N-400 back for filing
06/10/08-Notice received
06/15/08-Finger Print letter received
06/24/08-finger print taken
12/04/08-start calling whereabouts of file
02/20/09-Advised to call USCIC- "told it takes 14 months due to record" II IO
03/14/09-Get notice of acknowledgement of call.
03/26/09-Get Interview Letter
05/29/09-Goes for interview "missing bills and court doc, Marriage based"
05/30/09-send in Documents
06/15/09-make infopass to find out "gets grilled by supervisor for Separation and Illegitimate child" Deny allegations and get sent home with N-14 to bring letter from wife and birth certificate.
07/04/09-gets letter to go submit name change. Given till 08/26/09
Goes next day.
07/05/09-Meets with second IO checks cert. and realizes it was my sons! No need to name change so he promises to submit to Supervisor for approval.
07/26/09-Is maturity date for letter name change.
08/01/09-OL received in Mail.
08/16/09-Oath Date, Houston Campbell Center.
 
Children who are under 18 years, have a green card and are living in the US with their parents will automatically become US citizens when one or both parents become naturalized citizens. You can apply for a passport for the children at the same time when you apply for yours. All that you need for their passport is:

1. Parent's naturalization certificate,
2. Child's original green card,
3. Child's original birth certificate showing parents names,
4. Filled out passport application with fees.

A visit by both parents and children to a US post office or passport agency is required.

Many people advise to obtain a certificate of citizenship for their children from USCIS. It costs $460 and requires an application (form N-600) and personal interview with USCIS. It also takes several months to an year to get it. It is not mandatory to get a certificate of citizenship since a passport is considered valid proof of US citizenship and you would get a passport anyway.
 
What nkm-oct23 wrote is exactly correct. In all likelihood your children have already become U.S. citizens when you got naturalized.
(See more info about the Child Citizenship Act at
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1312.html)

In that case you can indeed already apply for U.S. passports for your children. I would suggest doing that first.

Although filing of N-600 is optional for your children, I would still recommend that you do it (after you get U.S. passports for them) if you can afford it.
Then they would get a certificate of citizenship from USCIS which is a permanent document with no expiration date confirming their citizenship. There might be some circumstances, now or later, when they'd need a certificate of citizenship and it is somewhat more difficult to obtain it when your children become adults (basically because it may be harder for them at that point to obtain documents proving that they were in your legal and physical custody when you were naturalized). For example, currently the state of Texas, in order to obtain a driver's license there, requires that people who became citizens after birth present a naturalization certificate or a certificate of citizenship. See the thread
http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?t=284525&page=2
 
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