making the case for applying for both passport AND n-600

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sjaaky

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I posted a question in passports, but thought I would share here as well. A lot of people with derived citizenship ask the question about whether to also apply for the Certificate of Citizenship (in addition to the US passport). I followed that advice (which was also given to me by an INS officer). Fast forward to trying to apply for dual citizenship with the Netherlands. I am eligible because my parents naturalized when I was a minor, but I have to apply for a valid passport before 1 April, otherwise their complicated laws about dual citizenship means I automatically lose my Dutch citizenship.

Well, sadly, the Dutch government won't accept my passport as proof of derived citizenship. I printed out the the USCIS statement about the option of passport OR CoC AND requested my passport records from the State Department, which clearly shows in the "evidence of citizenship" section of the form that I used my parents' naturalization certificates (I also included certified true copies of those certificates in my dutch passport application). They are refusing to accept anything other than the Certificate of Citizenship, despite my argument that they have all the information that they need to determine that I naturalized along with my parents.

So, despite what everyone seems to say about "don't waste your money on a Certificate of Citizenship, just get a passport for your child" here is one case where doing just that just lost me my Dutch citizenship.

Thanks!
 
A US passport indicates nothing about how you got US citizenship, or when you got US citizenship (except that it was obviously sometime before the passport was issued). So if you're in a situation where you need to prove the how and when of your US citizenship, the passport may be insufficient and the Certificate of Citizenship may be necessary.

Another such situation is when claiming US citizenship for children born abroad. For them to obtain citizenship at birth through you, you have to prove that you were a US citizen at the time of their birth. If you only have an expired US passport, or a valid US passport that was issued after their birth, they might reject that. The Certificate of Citizenship states when you became a citizen, and it doesn't expire, so it would take care of both aspects of that problem.
 
But, wouldn't the State Department passport records help? On my application (from the records I requested) in the section that says "evidence of citizenship" it says "foreign born birth certificate, my A# from the permanent resident card, and Father's Naturalization certificate (with the number and the date it was granted) as well as Mother's Naturalization Certificate (again, with number and date granted). I know it is a stretch, but I was hoping that they could see what the USCIS says about the option of the N-600 OR a passport. In either case, I am a pretty disappointed person right now. I really wish the USCIS wouldn't present the N-600 as optional, or I would have applied for the certificate long ago.
 
Ah the Dutch resistance to dual citizenship strikes again. That's a tough pickle you're in. Hopefully CIS will process your N600 quickly. Another way you can do this would be to go to the Netherlands, register with the municipality using a relative's address, and apply there for a passport, no?
 
sjaaky said:
But, wouldn't the State Department passport records help? On my application (from the records I requested) in the section that says "evidence of citizenship" it says "foreign born birth certificate, my A# from the permanent resident card, and Father's Naturalization certificate (with the number and the date it was granted) as well as Mother's Naturalization Certificate (again, with number and date granted).
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The people of the Dutch government are not experts on US citizenship or the other 200 citizenships out there, so they want to avoid tackling the underlying documents and laws surrounding non-Dutch citizenship.

But what is the driving issue -- is it the need to prove that you got US citizenship automatically as a minor, rather than of your own action as an adult? Do you have a US passport that was issued when you were a minor, and are they're rejecting that?

And why the April 1 deadline? They're changing the law on April 1? Or you will reach a certain cutoff age on April 1?

I know it is a stretch, but I was hoping that they could see what the USCIS says about the option of the N-600 OR a passport. In either case, I am a pretty disappointed person right now. I really wish the USCIS wouldn't present the N-600 as optional, or I would have applied for the certificate long ago.
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It's optional, except when it isn't!

For most people who derived citizenship it is optional, and they can live the rest of their lives as Americans without the certificate. But that doesn't mean it's optional for every life scenario imaginable.
 
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Yes, they want to know whether I got my citizenship as a minor, or as an adult.

They have a new rule that says that if you live outside of the Netherlands with Dutch and another citizenship, that you must renew your Dutch passport once every 10 years OR lose your citizenship. The law went into effect April 2, 2003, so the first 10 year automatic loss is april 1 of this year. The rub is that I initially lost my citizenship because my parents became US citizens when I was minor. Only in 2003, when the new law went into effect, did that change retroactively for people who were minors when they naturalized, but who were born in the Netherlands. I contacted lawyers several times over the past 10 years and was always told I had lost my citizenship. Even the consulates were saying the same thing, until last November, when for whatever reason, they started telling people that there were updates to the law (referencing the 2003 law). So, up until then I figured the n-600 was optional, since it wouldn't effect me anyway. I quickly changed my mind when I saw that things had changed, but the processing time for the n-600 is longer than the amount of time between when I knew I could apply and the deadline
 
and, no my first application for a passport was as an adult, but still using the derivation through parents as my supporting evidence.
 
and, no my first application for a passport was as an adult, but still using the derivation through parents as my supporting evidence.
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If your US passport was issued before your 18th birthday, do you think they would have accepted that?

Have you actually applied to restore or renew your Dutch passport and it was rejected? Or is it that they're telling you not to apply because you lack the Certificate of Citizenship?

If you apply before April 1 and keep proof of it, that may enable you to later reapply or appeal the rejection when your N-600 is approved, on the basis that you applied for the renewal before the 10-year cutoff and you were eligible for renewal at the time of application but didn't have the supporting certificate at that time.
 
Jackolantern said:
If your US passport was issued before your 18th birthday, do you think they would have accepted that?



Have you actually applied to restore or renew your Dutch passport and it was rejected? Or is it that they're telling you not to apply because you lack the Certificate of Citizenship?



If you apply before April 1 and keep proof of it, that may enable you to later reapply or appeal the rejection when your N-600 is approved, on the basis that you applied for the renewal before the 10-year cutoff and you were eligible for renewal at the time of application but didn't have the supporting certificate at that time.
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If I had a US passport as a child, they might have accepted it but that is not possible, since there wasn't one. I was almost an adult when my parents naturalized, and our last trip to the Netherlands before i turned an adult was on my mom's Dutch passport. When we could still do that.

I applied in February, hoping that maybe they would be willing to work with me.

My hope is that since i applied before April, that i stand a chance on appeal for this exact reason. Worth a shot!
 
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In theory this is a great idea. But I have a husband and two kids, AND my Dutch passport is expired. I think things would get suspicious if I entered the country on a US passport and suddenly appear in a gemeente to update my passport.
 
This is the passport from when you were a minor? Hmm, that's not going to cut it. And, you can't claim you have no other Dutch ID because the government requires one to have valid ID at all times. If the passport expired recently, you can claim you were in another Schengen country like Spain, and that you didn't realise it had expired.
 
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