N-600 Question

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currybai

Registered Users (C)
I had applied for my N-400 and went to the interview today and surprisingly I got denied because both my parents are citizens by the time I was 16 years old. So all this time I was a citizen but howcome I still had a Chinese passport and an Alien Registration Card. I was under the assumption that my parents at the time had to file for me to become a citizen so thats why I thought I wasn't a citizen. I hope the lady that interviewed me didn't tell me the wrong thing because I would hate for me to apply for the N-600 and get rejected only to apply for the N-400 again. Also if I am a citizen, I can just apply for a passport?Any Advice?
 
I was under the assumption that my parents at the time had to file for me to become a citizen so thats why I thought I wasn't a citizen.
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The derivation of citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act is automatic. What is not automatic is the issuance of a US passport or certificate of citizenship.

If you don't have a certificate of citizenship, you can still apply for a US passport, but you'll need a lot more documentation to show that you satisfied the conditions of the Child Citizenship Act -- at least one parent's naturalization certificate (or US passport, if it was issued before you turned 18), their marriage certificate if they were married when naturalized, custody papers if they were separated or divorced, your birth certificate, school records or other documents to show you were living with them when under 18.

It is advisable to also apply for the N-600, so you'll have proof of citizenship that doesn't expire, and renewing your passport or replacing a lost one will be easier if you have the certificate.
 
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Jackolantern said:
The derivation of citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act is automatic. What is not automatic is the issuance of a US passport or certificate of citizenship.

If you don't have a certificate of citizenship, you can still apply for a US passport, but you'll need a lot more documentation to show that you satisfied the conditions of the Child Citizenship Act -- at least one parent's naturalization certificate (or US passport, if it was issued before you turned 18), their marriage certificate if they were married when naturalized, custody papers if they were separated or divorced, your birth certificate, school records or other documents to show you were living with them when under 18.

It is advisable to also apply for the N-600, so you'll have proof of citizenship that doesn't expire, and renewing your passport or replacing a lost one will be easier if you have the certificate.
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The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 is a little confusing. It says "The child must have at least one U.S. citizen parent by birth or naturalization, be under 18 years of age (have been born on or after February 27, 1983)". But I was born in 1982. Both my parents were citizens by 1999. At that time I was just 16 years old going on 17. So does this still apply to me? Unless the interviewer told me the wrong information which I don't want to happen since i spent 675 for the n400 and another 600 for the n600 soon.
 
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currybai said:
I had applied for my N-400 and went to the interview today and surprisingly I got denied because both my parents are citizens by the time I was 16 years old. So all this time I was a citizen but howcome I still had a Chinese passport and an Alien Registration Card. I was under the assumption that my parents at the time had to file for me to become a citizen so thats why I thought I wasn't a citizen. I hope the lady that interviewed me didn't tell me the wrong thing because I would hate for me to apply for the N-600 and get rejected only to apply for the N-400 again. Also if I am a citizen, I can just apply for a passport?Any Advice?
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Most likely the IO was correct and you are already a U.S. citizen.
When your parents got naturalized, was it before or after Feb 27, 2001? If after, then you have (presumably) derived U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act, see
http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1312.html
If it was before Feb 27, 2001, the rules for deriving citizenship through parent's naturalization would have been a bit different then, but most likely you still qualified.

The fact that you had a Chinese passport has no bearing on you obtaining U.S. citizenship. Same with the green card - you (presumably) did become a U.S. citizen when your parents naturalized, but your parents did not file the necessary paperwork then to get you a certificate of citizenship and/or U.S. passport. Nevertheless, you still became a citizen.

To qualify for derived citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act (assuming your parents naturalized after Feb 27, 2001) at some point after the naturalization of at least one of the parents and febore your 18th birthday you had to leave in the physical and legal custody of the naturalized parent in the U.S. and have had a valid GC.

If you did derive U.S. citizenship after your parents' naturalization, you can file N-600 now and you can also directly apply for a U.S. passport (although doing N-600 is still a good idea).
 
baikal3 said:
Most likely the IO was correct and you are already a U.S. citizen.
When your parents got naturalized, was it before or after Feb 27, 2001? If after, then you have (presumably) derived U.S. citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act, see

If it was before Feb 27, 2001, the rules for deriving citizenship through parent's naturalization would have been a bit different then, but most likely you still qualified.

The fact that you had a Chinese passport has no bearing on you obtaining U.S. citizenship. Same with the green card - you (presumably) did become a U.S. citizen when your parents naturalized, but your parents did not file the necessary paperwork then to get you a certificate of citizenship and/or U.S. passport. Nevertheless, you still became a citizen.

To qualify for derived citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act (assuming your parents naturalized after Feb 27, 2001) at some point after the naturalization of at least one of the parents and febore your 18th birthday you had to leave in the physical and legal custody of the naturalized parent in the U.S. and have had a valid GC.

If you did derive U.S. citizenship after your parents' naturalization, you can file N-600 now and you can also directly apply for a U.S. passport (although doing N-600 is still a good idea).
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Both my parents were naturalized citizens by 1999. At that time I was 16. Am I still a citizen? But my birthdate is 1982 and the law says anyone born after 1983. So that is the part I am confused about.
 
currybai said:
Both my parents were naturalized citizens by 1999. At that time I was 16. Am I still a citizen? But my birthdate is 1982 and the law says anyone born after 1983. So that is the part I am confused about.
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In that case it looks like the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) does not apply to you. However, even before the enactment of the CCA, there were other laws in place with similar, although a bit more restrictive provisions.
You have to find out what the rules for obtaining derivative citizenship were before Feb 27, 2001. I am not sure, but my memory is that if both of your parents naturalized before your 18th birthday and if you were living with them and had a valid GC, you would still have automatically become a U.S. citizen.

See the chart of pre-CCA requirements here:

http://doc-0g-30-docsviewer.googleu...fF41zr3&hash=j84ict8gratoh01tpqtek38jtutjv6r8
 
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currybai said:
Both my parents were naturalized citizens by 1999. At that time I was 16. Am I still a citizen? But my birthdate is 1982 and the law says anyone born after 1983. So that is the part I am confused about.
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You would fall under the pre-CCA law, which required both parents to be naturalized (unless separated, divorced or widowed).

If they were still married, your citizenship would take effect when both of their naturalizations were completed.
 
At the naturalization interview, or at the oath, I wish USCIS would issue a paper to parents summarizing conditions for citizenship for their children, if they listed under-18 children on their application. Too many parents let this slip by because they're simply unaware, and then their children get into complicated situations later in life (some even end up in deportation court).
 
Jackolantern said:
You would fall under the pre-CCA law, which required both parents to be naturalized (unless separated, divorced or widowed).

If they were still married, your citizenship would take effect when both of their naturalizations were completed.
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O great, they are still married to this day. Were the pre CCA law for children only of a certain age? Because my brother was 18 at the time and he had to go through the N400 process but not me since I was 16. So my parents did not have to file any forms or papers to declare my citizenship, it should be automatic but I have to file the n600 myself?
 
currybai said:
O great, they are still married to this day. Were the pre CCA law for children only of a certain age?
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Only children under 18, both for the CCA and previous law.

So my parents did not have to file any forms or papers to declare my citizenship, it should be automatic but I have to file the n600 myself?
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The citizenship itself is automatic if the relevant conditions were satisfied before you turned 18, but obtaining the documents for it (N-600 or US passport) is not.

If you file N-600, the certificate will backdate your citizenship to the date when your parent naturalized (whichever parent naturalized later, if they didn't naturalize on the same date).

But apply for the passport first, as that is cheaper and quicker (less than a month, whereas the N-600 takes 3-6 months).
 
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Nothing to add. I think you've got pretty good advice, specially from Jackolantern. I would second that besides applying for the passport, apply for N-600 as another proof of citizenship and to establish when your citizenship was acquired. The last post from Jackolantern nails it :)
 
Jackolantern said:
At the naturalization interview, or at the oath, I wish USCIS would issue a paper to parents summarizing conditions for citizenship for their children, if they listed under-18 children on their application. Too many parents let this slip by because they're simply unaware, and then their children get into complicated situations later in life (some even end up in deportation court).
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This is such a good idea. Does USCIS have a suggestion box or some such thing where you could submit it? The amount of confusion around this topic is just crazy! The forum gets a lot of posts from naturalizing parents who are unsure of the status of their kids right now, and for adults like currybai whose parents naturalized in the past, it's much worse. What a waste of currybai's N-400 fee and time, to get all the way to the interview and be denied because already a citizen. (In this situation, I'd think it would seem fair to just convert the N-400 case to an N-600 case on the spot, and approve it. But I guess that would be too agile for the bureaucracy). It's almost comical - all this fuss when the people are USC already - but not at all comical at first hand, I'm sure, especially for those who end up in deportation court.
 
anxiouscdn2 said:
This is such a good idea. Does USCIS have a suggestion box or some such thing where you could submit it? The amount of confusion around this topic is just crazy! The forum gets a lot of posts from naturalizing parents who are unsure of the status of their kids right now, and for adults like currybai whose parents naturalized in the past, it's much worse. What a waste of currybai's N-400 fee and time, to get all the way to the interview and be denied because already a citizen. (In this situation, I'd think it would seem fair to just convert the N-400 case to an N-600 case on the spot, and approve it. But I guess that would be too agile for the bureaucracy). It's almost comical - all this fuss when the people are USC already - but not at all comical at first hand, I'm sure, especially for those who end up in deportation court.
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They don't really have a general suggestion box as such, although they certainly should.
They have a public engagement e-mail Public.Engagement@dhs.gov which is probably the closest thing to a suggestion box and perhaps should be used in leu of one for now, see
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nel=89431c7dcb507210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD#

(There are also links to feedback pages for some specific documents such as draft memoranda etc there)
 
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