Forrm N-600 issue help please

David6156

David6156

New Member
Good day respectful people;

i am a U.S citizen and been in the states since 2009 till the current time, my 3 children live in Baghdad-Iraq, i tried to apply for their certificate of citizenship through Form N-600, one week ago i received a letter from USCIS to have them do their biometrics in Nashville TN while they live outside the US and i can’t bring them to the US because i am on my deployment overseas currently and also they don’t have the U.S passports, they have expired Green Card.

i tried to call the USCIS and they told me that i should if submitted the form N-600K instead of N-600, now i am trying to get a refund for the payments i made because i believe the USCIS officer made a mistake by assigning the biometrics in Nashville TN WHILE I PUT The physical address as (Baghdad-Iraq) so since they saw the physical address as (Baghdad-Iraq) they should not assign the Biometrics to be done in Nashville TN.

Do you think there is anyway i can get a refund? Please help me out guys

Thank you so much in advance
 
No you will not get a refund due to your failure to read the instructions before filing the N600 forms for your kids. USCIS did not make a mistake, you did! If your children “live in Baghdad”, you shouldn’t have filed an N600 for them. One of the requirements for filing an N600 clearly states:
“You must be living in the United States in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent.”
Your children did not meet that requirement and hence did not qualify to file an N600.
 
Sm1smom said:
No you will not get a refund due to your failure to read the instructions before filing the N600 forms for your kids. USCIS did not make a mistake, you did! If your children “live in Baghdad”, you shouldn’t have filed an N600 for them. One of the requirements for filing an N600 clearly states:
“You must be living in the United States in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent.”
Your children did not meet that requirement and hence did not qualify to file an N600.
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I reaaly appreciate you for the quick respond and may God bless you and your family , but do you think i have to file the N-600K now ?
 
David6156 said:
I reaaly appreciate you for the quick respond and may God bless you and your family , but do you think i have to file the N-600K now ?
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If your children qualify under the conditions of n600k to acquire citizenship- yes. They clearly are not eligible for n600. I am not sure your children do meet the requirements for n600k though, do they also have a USC parent who they live with in Iraq or are you actually also with them there? You may meet the requirements for armed forces members? iSee the requirements on the first page of the instructions https://www.uscis.gov/sites/default/files/document/forms/n-600kinstr.pdf
 
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The difference between N-600 and N-600K is not about whether the children are in the US. The first difference is whether the child is currently a US citizen or not. N-600 (application for a Certificate of Citizenship) can only be filed for someone who is already a US citizen. (This includes someone who was automatically a US citizen at birth, born abroad, or someone who was a permanent resident under 18 living in the US with a US citizen parent, who automatically becomes a US citizen under INA 320.) N-600 does not make someone a US citizen -- they must already be a US citizen beforehand. (And of course as a US citizen, they can also apply for a US passport at any time, at any age, no matter if they are in the US or not, and without needing to have obtained a Certificate of Citizenship.) The line from the instructions of N-600 you quote is about the conditions that must be met at some point in the past for the child to have automatically become a US citizen.
If you are claiming U.S. citizenship after birth, but before you reached 18 years of age, the law in effect when the last
qualifying condition was met is the law that applies to you. Generally, the conditions are listed below.
These conditions must be met before you turn 18 years of age:
1. Your parent must be a U.S. citizen;
2. You must be the biological child of that U.S. citizen parent;
3. You must be lawfully admitted to the United States for lawful permanent residence; and
4. You must be living in the United States in the legal and physical custody of your U.S. citizen parent.
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It does not mean that those conditions need to be met now. If those conditions were met in the past (since they have expired green cards, they must have been in the US in the past; but there is not enough information to determine whether the conditions were met), then the child is already a US citizen, and can file N-600 for a Certificate of Citizenship at any time afterwards, even if they are over 18. I don't see anything in the N-600 instructions that says the person must currently be in the US, although the need to do biometrics in the US does seem to indicate that applicants who are abroad would need to get a US passport first. I don't understand why you haven't already applied for US passports for them.

On the other hand, N-600K applies for the INA 322 naturalization process for children under 18 who are not already US citizens, who are residing outside the US with no plans to move to the US. They must enter the US as a foreigner in nonimmigrant status (typically, B2 visitor status) to attend the interview and take the oath before turning 18. This process obviously cannot apply to someone who is already a US citizen (who cannot be in nonimmigrant status), nor to someone who has a green card unless it is abandoned and they get a nonimmigrant visa. The reason why this only applies to children who have no plans to move to the US is that getting most nonimmigrant visas requires nonimmigrant intent; if you intend to move a child who does not already have US citizenship to the US, then the correct route would instead to petition them to immigrate to the US, i.e. they would get an immigrant visa, immediately become a green card holder upon entering the US, and, if still under 18, immediately also become a US citizen upon entering the US due to INA 320.

So the first thing you need to determine is whether your child is already a US citizen. If the child was living in your custody in the US with a green card at any point after you became a US citizen and before the child turned 18, then your child is already a US citizen, and you cannot apply N-600K for your child. You should instead get US passports for your child. Your child can do the biometrics for the N-600 once they get to the US (though it is not necessary for your child to have a Certificate of Citizenship; their US passport is sufficient for most things).
 
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Apples and oranges comparison IMO. The response being critiqued had nothing to do with if the children are already USC or not. Neither was it looking at if the children were eligible to file form N600K. It was a direct response to OP’s claim about USCIS making a mistake by scheduling their kids’ biometrics in the US when the children are not living in the US. The response points out OP was the one who made a mistake by filing the N600 form considering the children did not are not currently residing in the US.
 
Sm1smom said:
The response points out OP was the one who made a mistake by filing the N600 form considering the children did not are not currently residing in the US.
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How that was a "mistake"? I don't see anything that says people who are not residing in the US cannot file N-600.
 
@David6156 - to clarify the discussion here - when did you become a citizen, and where were your children living at the time? If not with you in the US at that stage (I’m presuming not or you would probably have at that stage, as most do, applied for US passports immediately for such children) did they at any point thereafter move to live with you in the US?
 
SusieQQQ said:
@David6156 - to clarify the discussion here - when did you become a citizen, and where were your children living at the time? If not with you in the US at that stage (I’m presuming not or you would probably have at that stage, as most do, applied for US passports immediately for such children) did they at any point thereafter move to live with you in the US?
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Dear SusieQQQ


1.My son used to reside with me in the US back when I received my citizenship in 2015 this is how I applied for his US passport, so does that mean he is now a US citizen?

2. Prior to receiving my citizenship, my oldest daughters lived in the US for two years, but their mother had to return them to their own country. Since the USCIS requested that they complete their biometrics in the US while they are already living abroad, I am currently attempting to file the N-600K instead of the N-600. And for the same reason, I'm attempting to figure out how to withdraw so I may withdraw the N-600 AND apply for N-600K.
 
SusieQQQ said:
If your children qualify under the conditions of n600k to acquire citizenship- yes. They clearly are not eligible for n600. I am not sure your children do meet the requirements for n600k though, do they also have a USC parent who they live with in Iraq or are you actually also with them there? You may meet the requirements for armed forces members? iSee the requirements on the first page of
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David6156 said:
1.My son used to reside with me in the US back when I received my citizenship in 2015 this is how I applied for his US passport, so does that mean he is now a US citizen?
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yes

David6156 said:
2. Prior to receiving my citizenship, my oldest daughters lived in the US for two years, but their mother had to return them to their own country. Since the USCIS requested that they complete their biometrics in the US while they are already living abroad, I am currently attempting to file the N-600K instead of the N-600. And for the same reason, I'm attempting to figure out how to withdraw so I may withdraw the N-600 AND apply for N-600K.
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Whether they are abroad now is not important. Your daughters had green cards, right? Did your daughters live with you in the US at some point after you became a US citizen? Did your daughters live with you while stationed abroad in the military at some point after you became a US citizen?
 
I am the only USC parent because my kids are with their mother, who has an expired Green Card. I cannot travel to their country because of my present employment security clearance.
 
newacct said:
yes


Whether they are abroad now is not important. Your daughters had green cards, right? Did your daughters live with you in the US at some point after you became a US citizen? Did your daughters live with you while stationed abroad in the military at some point after you became a US citizen?
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Okay, I truly appreciate you clarifying that my kid is now a US citizen. so that means i dont need to file N-600K for him now , but My daughters also lived with me in the US before I became a citizen, but now that their green cards have expired, should I still file the N-600K on their behalf ?
 
David6156 said:
Okay, I truly appreciate you clarifying that my kid is now a US citizen. so that means i dont need to file N-600K for him now , but My daughters also lived with me in the US before I became a citizen, but now that their green cards have expired, should I still file the N-600K on their behalf ?
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Did your daughters live with you in the US at the time you became a US citizen, or after you became a US citizen?
 
newacct said:
Did your daughters live with you in the US at the time you became a US citizen, or after you became a US citizen?
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Only my son lived with me while I obtained citizenship, which explains why he is the only one with a US passport. My daughters were living abroad when I obtained my citizenship, but they still had their green cards.
 
David6156 said:
Only my son lived with me while I obtained citizenship, which explains why he is the only one with a US passport. My daughters were living abroad when I obtained my citizenship, but they still had their green cards.
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Did your daughters ever live with you at any point after you became a US citizen?
 
David6156 said:
no they didnt live with me after i became USC
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OK, so it sounds like they are not already US citizens.

The next question is, are they planning to move to the US (or do you plan to move them to the US)? Or do they plan on continuing residing abroad indefinitely?
 
newacct said:
OK, so it sounds like they are not already US citizens.

The next question is, are they planning to move to the US (or do you plan to move them to the US)? Or do they plan on continuing residing abroad indefinitely?
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They are trying to wait till i finish my deployment which takes a year or two and than i bring them to the states
 
David6156 said:
They are trying to wait till i finish my deployment which takes a year or two and than i bring them to the states
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Since you plan to relocate them to the US, N-600K is not appropriate. N-600K is for children who intend to remain residing abroad. The process requires them to enter the US on a visitor visa or other nonimmigrant status, to attend the interview and oath. If they have immigrant intent, they will likely be denied a US visitor visa or denied entry to the US on visitor status.

Instead, the path to US citizenship for children who intend to relocate to the US is to become US permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and get automatic US citizenship through INA 320, by living in the US with a US citizen parent (or living as a military dependent of a US citizen parent stationed abroad) while under 18. They used to have green cards, but their residence would likely be considered to have been abandoned by now. The fact that their green cards expired has no bearing on whether their residence is abandoned. And length of absence is only one of many factors in determining abandonment of residence. However, the very long absence here (if you naturalized in 2015 and they have not lived in the US since then, so at least 7 years of not living in the US) makes it very likely that they would be considered to have abandoned residence. And thus you would have to petition them to immigrate (by filing I-130) again. When they enter the US with their immigrant visa, they immediately become US permanent residents (i.e. green card holders), and also (if they are under 18 and living with you) immediately become US citizens under INA 320. Thereafter, they can apply for US passports at any time. They can also reopen the denied N-600 to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship at any time if they want, though it serves little use that their US passport doesn't already serve as.
 
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