N400 or N600 for my son?

C

coaster

Registered Users (C)
I will apply for US citizen soon since I have had greencard for 5 years. I understood I need to fill N400. My son is 17, does he need to submit N400 or N600?

I don't see anywherer indicates to submit the photo. Do we need to include the photo when submitting N400?

Thank you so much for your response.
 
Send two passport pictures with your N-400 application. How close is your son to become 18? If you naturalize before he turns 18 and he has a green card he will become a citizen automatically. It wouldn't hurt to send a cover letter with your application explaining your situation and asking to complete the process if possible before your son turns 18. If he turns 18 before you naturalize, then he'll need to apply for his naturalization. You don't mention wife/husband for you. For him to become an automatic citizen your son has to be in your legal and physical custody. Search the internet for child citizenship act, or this forum. I just posted a link to an FAQ on this a few days ago.

My 2 cents.
 
Thank you Huracan a bunch - here is the details

Both me and my wife are greencard holders, so is my son but we haven't applied citizen yet.

It sounds like he has to apply for his own when he turns to 18 next May since I doubt if I will get my citizenship done befor that time.

Is my understanding correct? Please advice!
 
If you become a citizen before your son reaches 18, and he has a green card, and he is your "legitimate" son, and he lives with you in the US, he will become a citizen at the same time as you.

At that point, you can apply for a US passport in his name and/or you can submit an N-600.

If you don't take the oath of naturalization before his 18th birthday, he will need to submit his own N-400. However, he can't do that until he is 18 (I think).

Unless something screws up (like, say, name check), you should have a good chance at taking the oath before next May (assuming you submit your application now).

There's a checklist somewhere that describes what you need to submit with an N-400 (it's been a long time now since I did this). It's either in the instructions or in the Guide to Naturalization
 
Yes, I agree with Flydog, you should have enough time. It depends of course on your district office. San Jose, for example, is kind of slow, but still you should make it if you were under San Jose office.
 
Thank you so much for both of you!

One other thing, do you guys see any potential disadvantage if applying 90 days before 5 yr due date?
 
Most people recommend to apply around 85 days before the 5yr just to avoid any issues. It just gives a bit of buffer and reduces anxiety around how USCIS calculates the 90 days. In my case I think I applied around 85 days before due date, and I could see my interviewing officer counting with her fingers if I applied on the correct date or not. I was pretty calm because I was sure I applied and signed the application at a time within the 90 days period.

My 2 cents.
 
It is supposed to work like a charm. The only problem anyone seems to have had is that one person actually had to delay his oath because they processed him in less than 90 days - which I find hard to believe.

Also remember that when you submit your N-400, you ignore your son (well, other than mentioning him as a child on the form). He will just automagically get citizenship when you take your oath (providing all the conditions are met).
 
My situation resembles one of Coaster's. My wife and I submitted N400 when our son was 17 years and 3 months old, hoping that we naturalize before his 18th birthday. It took 10 months to the oath, when our son was 18 years and 1 month old already. He had to apply on his own. I have a feeling that USCIS dragged their feet intentionally to make sure we pay another $400. I would be hard pressed to think otherwise (no arrests, very uncommon name, clean application, etc.).

My timeline (Detroit DO):
Mailed N400 09/15/06
RD 09/18/06
PD 09/18/06
ND 09/26/06
FP notice 09/29/06
FP 10/10/06
InfoPass 02/13/07
Service request 04/20/07
IV notice 04/30/07
IV 06/26/07
Oath notice 06/28/07
Oath 07/23/07
 
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