N600 and Adoption questions

I

iggyliu

New Member
Hi all,

I'm planning to file a N600. I read the requirements and I seem to meet all of the conditions listed (not 18 yet when meeting all the conditions, green card, my adoptive mother naturalized before adopting me, and it's been 5 years since I got my green card). However, I have a question regarding adoption and initial entry into U.S.

My adoptive parents first adopted me in my birth country, they were both Green Card holders at that time. I entered the US with a tourist visa and my foreign country passport. I then changed that to a student visa as I attended elementary school here. My adoptive mother first naturalized, adopted me (again, in the US, with a court decree), and then I got my green card. My question is, for Part 2 on the N600 form, there were two questions like this:

Were you adopted? (If yes...)
  • Date of Adoption
  • Place of Final Adoption
  • Date Legal Custody Began
  • Date Physical Custody Began
Were you re-adopted? (If yes...)
  • Date of Final Adoption
  • Place of Final Adoption
  • Date Legal Custody Began
  • Date Physical Custody Began

What should I put in these two sections? What is the difference? I was planning to just use my Final Adoption Decree to fill out the first question, then I saw the second question and got confused. I'm not sure if my situation counts exactly as a re-adoption.

Also, the instruction for the N600 form says that one of the conditions required is for me to have been lawfully admitted to US for permanent residence. Well, I entered with a tourist visa, not a IR-3 or IR-4, so do I not qualify for N600?

Thank you!
 
You became a citizen at the moment you met the 3 conditions after 2001: you were 1) under 18, 2) a permanent resident, and 3) living in the U.S. in the custody of a U.S. citizen parent. It seems like the last one that was met for you was becoming a permanent resident. So at the moment you became a permanent resident (and you were already adopted and your parent was already a U.S. citizen), you also automatically became a U.S. citizen. What happened afterwards is not relevant.

I think when you were adopted refers to when you were first adopted in a foreign country. And when you were re-adopted refers to if you needed to be re-adopted in the U.S. So I think you would fill out both parts, from what you described.

"lawfully admitted to US for permanent residence" is just a fancy term meaning you became a permanent resident (green card holder). All permanent residents were admitted for permanent residence, whether when they entered with an immigrant visa, or did Adjustment of Status in the U.S. You did not enter on an immigrant visa; you did Adjustment of Status. When the Adjustment of Status was approved, you were "admitted" for permanent residence (even though you were already in the U.S.).
 
iggyliu said:
Thank you for clearing things up for me!
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I forgot to mention, you need to have been adopted before you were 16 and been in the custody of your parent for 2 years to be considered their "child" for citizenship purposes.
 
Ah yes thank you for the reminder :) I was adopted when I was 12 or 13 I believe and now I'm over 18 :)

Quick question though: I can still derive my citizenship through parents as long as I have met all the requirements right? So I met all the requirements before I'm 18, and now I'm over 18 I can still file N600 right?
 
iggyliu said:
Ah yes thank you for the reminder :) I was adopted when I was 12 or 13 I believe and now I'm over 18 :)

Quick question though: I can still derive my citizenship through parents as long as I have met all the requirements right? So I met all the requirements before I'm 18, and now I'm over 18 I can still file N600 right?
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When you met the requirements before 18, you automatically became a citizen. What you do after that doesn't change it. What you are applying for now is simply a certificate that serves as proof that you were already a citizen. It's not mandatory that you apply for this certificate. You can apply for a U.S. passport at any time, and it's quicker and cheaper than this certificate. Though it might be nice to have the Certificate of Citizenship as a backup proof of citizenship in case you lose your passport in the future.
 
Sorry for all these questions, but I have always been curious. How would you prove your citizenship to the State Department when you don't have a US birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or citizenship certificate?
 
iggyliu said:
Sorry for all these questions, but I have always been curious. How would you prove your citizenship to the State Department when you don't have a US birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or citizenship certificate?
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The same things you use to prove your citizenship to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship.
 
Yes you can apply for both at the same time. But they take away your parent's naturalization certificate for the passport process (they will return it at the end of the process), so you'll need to make copies before applying for the passport if you want to apply for both at the same time.

For the N-600 you only need to submit copies of the supporting certificates with the application, however you need to bring the originals to the USCIS office when you go to pick up the certificate when it is approved.
 
cindy Rodriguez said:
Can of you tell me how long it takesto get a notice for the oath ceremony after n600 is approved
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It's not really a ceremony; it's just you taking a short oath one-on-one with a USCIS officer. The oath happens the same day when you go for the short interview at the end of the process.
 
Jackolantern said:
It's not really a ceremony; it's just you taking a short oath one-on-one with a USCIS officer. The oath happens the same day when you go for the short interview at the end of the process.
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I checked my status online and it says I will be scheduled for my oath It didn't say anything about interview. I guess I will find out the day I go for the oath.
 
It's not a serious interview like what applicants go through; it's just some quick questioning to check that your documents are in order and that you're the person you claim to be.
 
Ok thank you. Also is it really necessary to have all original documents submitted with the application that day? I only have copies of most of them
 
Yes, you need to bring all originals of whatever you submitted. They probably won't ask to see ALL of them, but it's likely they'll want to see one or more, and if you don't have what they ask for your N-600 will get delayed until you supply the requested document(s) or they later verify it on their own (which is possible in the case of certain documents they should have on file such as your mother's naturalization certificate).
 
I don't have the original of my fathers naturalization certificate just a copy and I don't have any way of getting it. I guess I'll see what happens when I show up there either way they can check his file to verify any document they need. Thank you very much for your responses I really appreciate it!
 
You said your mother naturalized before adopting you, so they shouldn't need to see your father's certificate given that your mother's own is sufficient .... unless you turned 18 before the Child Citizenship Act took effect in Feb 2001, in which case stricter rules would apply which may make it necessary to also have proof of his citizenship.
 
Sorry for the confusion but you are confusing the post I wrote. Mine has nothing to do with adoption. My father is naturalized citizen and mother a permanent resident. I was a green card holder and was under 18 when this new law passed. Sorry if I asked on this post I'm new and Im barely learning this forum. I applied for the n600 back in September and then in October it was transferred to my local office. I recent got an updated status online saying I was placed in like to be scheduled for the oath. By the way I'm now 26yrs old but meet all the requirements.
 
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