How to file for child age 17 while filing our N-400 ?
- Thread starter ABOSE
- Start date
Not to bash the previous poster, but that answer was so wrong 
Child citizenship act of 2000 grants automatic citizenship. However, a set of things have to be met to qualify for this automatic citizenship. The one I see could be an issue with you is that the child has to be under age 18 at the time either of the parents naturalize. You only need one to naturalize, so if some of you gets stuck in name check but the other doesn't then the child still has a chance. If both of you naturalize after he turns 18 he should apply for N-400 as an adult.
Now, the other rules for the child citizenship act is that the child needs to have a GC which you say he has, and to be in your legal and physical custody, which I'm sure he is. So the main obstacle is that one of you needs to naturalize before he turns 18.
If he naturalizes through the CCA (child citizenship act) you might choose to apply for N-600 to obtain a certificate of citizenship as proof of citizenship, or just apply for a U.S. passport for him.
My 2 cents.
Child citizenship act of 2000 grants automatic citizenship. However, a set of things have to be met to qualify for this automatic citizenship. The one I see could be an issue with you is that the child has to be under age 18 at the time either of the parents naturalize. You only need one to naturalize, so if some of you gets stuck in name check but the other doesn't then the child still has a chance. If both of you naturalize after he turns 18 he should apply for N-400 as an adult.
Now, the other rules for the child citizenship act is that the child needs to have a GC which you say he has, and to be in your legal and physical custody, which I'm sure he is. So the main obstacle is that one of you needs to naturalize before he turns 18.
If he naturalizes through the CCA (child citizenship act) you might choose to apply for N-600 to obtain a certificate of citizenship as proof of citizenship, or just apply for a U.S. passport for him.
My 2 cents.
That's funny. I don't take offense, and I don't claim to know everything, but I would give a little bit more weight to the opinion of someone who has posted over a thousand messages to this board than someone who is well intentioned but seems to be newer to the board
In case no one else replies, please do a search in the board for either CCA or Child Citizenship Act of 2000. There is plenty of information around, many posts from me and others, and links to relevant information
In case no one else replies, please do a search in the board for either CCA or Child Citizenship Act of 2000. There is plenty of information around, many posts from me and others, and links to relevant information
That's funny. I don't take offense, and I don't claim to know everything, but I would give a little bit more weight to the opinion of someone who has posted over a thousand messages to this board than someone who is well intentioned but seems to be newer to the board
In case no one else replies, please do a search in the board for either CCA or Child Citizenship Act of 2000. There is plenty of information around, many posts from me and others, and links to relevant information
Sorry about my ignorance, I am new here. I fully believe what you say. Now let me tell you what I understood :
I understand that
1) in my case I cannot apply for my son's citizenship now.
2) Once me or my wife becomes citizen then I can apply for him thorugh N-600 (if he is under 18) or through N-400 (if he is 18 or more).
If have only one question now to you, So until we become citizen I do not need to do anything about my son, is that correct ?
Thanks for your help.
Hey, no problem.
1) Right, you can't
2) Once you or your wife become citizen, if he's under 18 he becomes an automatic citizen if all conditions of CCA are met (I mentioned the conditions earlier). Then you can apply for his passport. N-600 is optional and it is pricey ($460 currently if my memory serves me well) but it's another good proof of citizenship. In my case I have done both, passport and I have applied for N-600.
Now, if he's over 18 when one of you naturalizes, then he's an adult, and I understand he files in his own merits an N-400, i.e. you don't apply for him. Depending on how fast is your local office in processing N-400 and how close is your son to turn 18 you'll have to contemplate one route or the other.
Yes, I don't think you need to do anything for your son at this time.
By the way, no need to give exact birthdate, but if you gives us a clue of in how many months he'll turn 18 and your local office we can give you a guess if you're likely to make it before he turns 18 or not.
1) Right, you can't
2) Once you or your wife become citizen, if he's under 18 he becomes an automatic citizen if all conditions of CCA are met (I mentioned the conditions earlier). Then you can apply for his passport. N-600 is optional and it is pricey ($460 currently if my memory serves me well) but it's another good proof of citizenship. In my case I have done both, passport and I have applied for N-600.
Now, if he's over 18 when one of you naturalizes, then he's an adult, and I understand he files in his own merits an N-400, i.e. you don't apply for him. Depending on how fast is your local office in processing N-400 and how close is your son to turn 18 you'll have to contemplate one route or the other.
Yes, I don't think you need to do anything for your son at this time.
By the way, no need to give exact birthdate, but if you gives us a clue of in how many months he'll turn 18 and your local office we can give you a guess if you're likely to make it before he turns 18 or not.
I really appreciate the way you explained me everything so clearly.
We will be applying for citizenhip around middle of October 2007 (this month). My son will be 18 this coming Jan 2008.
Thanks.
Well, it seems too little time to naturalize. You forgot to mention the local office, but I don't know of many/any local office that can do the naturalization that fast, specially with the current frontlog of applications. I am afraid he'll have to apply for N-400 in January and go through the same naturalization process as you. I'll let someone else pitch in, but it might make sense for you to wait until he turns 18 and apply all of you at the same time. Chances are you would get interviews and oaths at the same time, unless someone gets stuck in name check. You could send the three applications, each one in an envelope and all three inside a larger one. That would increase the chances that the cases are process ed close to each other. You could potentially ask in written that you want the applications processed together, but that's not a good choice as if one gets stuck in name check the whole family gets stuck.
In all this I am making the assumption that when your son turns 18 he would have been a permanent resident for over 5 years and is eligible to apply .
My 2 cents.
In all this I am making the assumption that when your son turns 18 he would have been a permanent resident for over 5 years and is eligible to apply .
My 2 cents.
I think my local office is in Newyark, NJ.
I think this is what we will do, Now me and my wife will apply and we will apply his when he turns 18 in Jan 2008.
Thanks a lot.
I am thinking that you might want to write a cover letter and attach it to your and your wife's application explaining the situation, the date your child turns 18 and to see whether they can expedite one of your naturalizations so your child can benefit from the CCA and become an automatic citizen. Chances are it won't help, but one never knows. I know that in other categories (I-485) they do exceptions for age-out cases. In this case they don't have much of a reason to expedite because they probably feel that the child can apply for N-400 by himself when he turns 18 and that nothing is really lost if he turns 18 before you naturalize.
By the way, here is some info about CCA:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=063807b03d92b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_448.html
By the way, here is some info about CCA:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=063807b03d92b010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD
http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_448.html
It would be an estimated guess, anyway. And with the FBI namecheck delays it is HIGHLY likely the child is going to age out before either of the parents is naturalized (oath ceremony).
I am in the same situation. Both my son and I are GC holders. When I applied for citizenship, my son was 17 years 2 months old, and I included him in my N-400 application as a dependent minor, hoping he will be able to become a citizen "automatically" on the same day I do. Elas! My name check is still pending, and because of that the interview cannot be scheduled, and my son will turn 18 y.o. next month. Oh well. I guess he will be able to apply for his citizenship as an adult in 2009 (when it's 5 years of his U.S. residency).
To the author of this topic: I recommend including your son in your N-400 application (and your spouse do the same) - just in case. You never know, maybe you are going to be lucky!
Yes, I agree, the child has to be included in the N-400 application of the parents in the appropriate field to enter children information, regardless if he's going to age-out or not.
Babochka, sorry to hear that your namecheck screwed your son's automatic citizenship
I think the original poster's local office takes around six or seven months, so in all likelihood the child is going to turn 18. To their advantage they have that both parents are applying for N-400 so the likelihood that both get stuck in name check is not very high.
Babochka, sorry to hear that your namecheck screwed your son's automatic citizenship
I think the original poster's local office takes around six or seven months, so in all likelihood the child is going to turn 18. To their advantage they have that both parents are applying for N-400 so the likelihood that both get stuck in name check is not very high.
Yes, I agree, the child has to be included in the N-400 application of the parents in the appropriate field to enter children information, regardless if he's going to age-out or not.
Babochka, sorry to hear that your namecheck screwed your son's automatic citizenship
I think the original poster's local office takes around six or seven months, so in all likelihood the child is going to turn 18. To their advantage they have that both parents are applying for N-400 so the likelihood that both get stuck in name check is not very high.
Thanks to both of you for help and Babochka sorry to know about ur namecheck delay. By the way, what is namecheck and why it gets screwed up ? Also Huracan I am thinking of sending a letter with my application about my son to INS as u suggested earlier, can u please give me a sample format what to write. Thanks again.
name check is one part of the criminal background verification (along fingerprint and IBIS). IBIS and fingerprint are fast and not much concern unless the fingerprints they take from you are not of good quality and they call you back to provide the fingerprint agains. Name check on the other hand is a check with FBI to search for records that match your name or some combinations of your name. The problem is that some of those hits can be for documents in their old archives. Apparently someone has to go and retrieve and check that old document and this might take a long time. It is true that only a small percentage of people gets affected by this, but the people who do end up suffering a great deal of uncertainty because nobody can tell how long it will take. Hopefully nobody in your family will have to go through this.
For the sample cover letter, I found this link on the Internet. Basically there is no right/wrong way to do it. Of course the fees shown on the sample letter are a thing of the distant past You'd have to change the information to your local office, you can find your local office and address here:
https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO
Sample cover letter:
http://books.google.com/books?id=pE...ts=0PYAi7KreI&sig=E_NYudu9rJeixq-41Cg0_0EAM5w
For the sample cover letter, I found this link on the Internet. Basically there is no right/wrong way to do it. Of course the fees shown on the sample letter are a thing of the distant past
You'd have to change the information to your local office, you can find your local office and address here:https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO
Sample cover letter:
http://books.google.com/books?id=pE...ts=0PYAi7KreI&sig=E_NYudu9rJeixq-41Cg0_0EAM5w
name check is one part of the criminal background verification (along fingerprint and IBIS). IBIS and fingerprint are fast and not much concern unless the fingerprints they take from you are not of good quality and they call you back to provide the fingerprint agains. Name check on the other hand is a check with FBI to search for records that match your name or some combinations of your name. The problem is that some of those hits can be for documents in their old archives. Apparently someone has to go and retrieve and check that old document and this might take a long time. It is true that only a small percentage of people gets affected by this, but the people who do end up suffering a great deal of uncertainty because nobody can tell how long it will take. Hopefully nobody in your family will have to go through this.
For the sample cover letter, I found this link on the Internet. Basically there is no right/wrong way to do it. Of course the fees shown on the sample letter are a thing of the distant past
https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=offices.type&OfficeLocator.office_type=LO
Sample cover letter:
http://books.google.com/books?id=pE...ts=0PYAi7KreI&sig=E_NYudu9rJeixq-41Cg0_0EAM5w
Huracan thanks for the info. But now i am confused. The sample letter you sent, do we have to send a letter like that for me and for my wife while applying for us ?
I have asked you to give a sample letter where I can mention the officer about my son's situation.
Please let me know
Thanks.
Abose,
With all respect I am not going to write a letter for you. I didn't write one for me and don't have any special expertise on writing them, it was just a suggestion. If you need a professional letter, please hire a lawyer. I just provided you this link to give you an idea of the format, however the content depends on you, who are the only one who knows your particular circumstances. Yes, I think for this to work at all you should provide a cover letter in your application, and also in your wife's application. The letter can be the same for you and your wife, except for the name and signature.
With all respect I am not going to write a letter for you. I didn't write one for me and don't have any special expertise on writing them, it was just a suggestion. If you need a professional letter, please hire a lawyer. I just provided you this link to give you an idea of the format, however the content depends on you, who are the only one who knows your particular circumstances. Yes, I think for this to work at all you should provide a cover letter in your application, and also in your wife's application. The letter can be the same for you and your wife, except for the name and signature.
Ok no problem, thanks for all the help.