N600 nervous issues

T

thrix

Registered Users (C)
My father is US citizen since 2003, my mom is still GC holder, on Wednesday she will be US Citizen (will have oath). My sister was under 18 when my father got naturalized. She was still living with my parents in the USA. After my father received his certificate, they applied for US Passport and Certificate of Citizenship for my sister. She and my dad went to the USPS and they showed my father's certificate of naturalization, his driving license, his ssn, my sister's valid green card, her ssn and her school ID. I don't remember if they asked for birth certificate. She received US Passport next few weeks. Then she went abroad with US Passport. After almost a year USCIS invited my father and my sister to Federal Plaza in the NYC for an interview. They asked to bring originals of:

- father's birth certificate
- mother's birth certificate
- parent's marriage certificate
- sister's GC
- father's certificate of naturalization
- mother's GC

They went for an interview and some lady asked what is my sister doing, she said she is living abroad and going to school. Lady didn't like it I think, because she said she should be in the USA, but she is US citizen and can live anywhere she wants! She used her right as being owner of US Passport. That lady was also so rude, that she kept asking about me (her older brother) about where I live, what I do and things like this. I am GC holder, but they said I don't live with them and I am not informing them what, where and how I am making money. I am free man. Lady didn't like that they didn't know what I am doing. She denied her certificate. She was using passport to come and leave the USA. Passport is valid. Her GC expired few months after the interview. Lady gave back her GC.

Now my sister would like to have that certificate and file N600 once more and now say something about her US Passport. Last time they (USCIS) didn't ask for this and my father & sister didn't show and didn't say anything about this (I think they should!).

My sister would like to file this month. Does she will have some interview? She is 21 years old. Will they call her father or mother for an interview? What is parent refuse to participate in such interview? Can they refuse her certificate or at worst thing take her passport away and say she is not US Citizen and must come back to country, where she was born, because she didn't maintain resident in the USA (she was studying abroad and was more than 12 months away the USA). She filed and paid taxes every year.

What are the chances of getting this certificate now? Why did they denied her this certificate in the first place?
 
I have similar plans for my Son, so I investigated and am worried too. The reason she did not get certificate is, the N600 form states, that one would get Certificate if:

- Parent is Naturalized, and the kid is in the US at the time, also entered the country legally as a resident (GC) and HAS NOT EXPATRIATED. Since your sister left the country, that is considered abandoning her Residency.

Read the N600 form very very carefully.

-g
 
gabbar007 said:
I have similar plans for my Son, so I investigated and am worried too. The reason she did not get certificate is, the N600 form states, that one would get Certificate if:

- Parent is Naturalized, and the kid is in the US at the time, also entered the country legally as a resident (GC) and HAS NOT EXPATRIATED. Since your sister left the country, that is considered abandoning her Residency.

Read the N600 form very very carefully.

-g
Click to expand...
"HAS NOT EXPATRIATED" - hmm interesting. That was something I never knew existed. That implies one should not move to overseas before getting the certificate.
 
So she will not get her certificate now or what? What about her passport? So what, she could not move abroad, even having US Passport? So why did they gave her passport?????? She is coming back to the USA every few months to see parents and now for a few months is working in the USA.

So what is her status? US CITIZEN or what? At the time her father became US citizen, she and my father met all requirements for my sister to become US Citizen by Child Citizenship ACT, so they applied for US Passport and she left the USA.

I don't get it.
 
gabbar007 said:
I have similar plans for my Son, so I investigated and am worried too. The reason she did not get certificate is, the N600 form states, that one would get Certificate if:

- Parent is Naturalized, and the kid is in the US at the time, also entered the country legally as a resident (GC) and HAS NOT EXPATRIATED. Since your sister left the country, that is considered abandoning her Residency.

Read the N600 form very very carefully.

-g
Click to expand...


She left after she met requirements to get US Citizenship and US Passport. She is not needing to meet any residence since she is US Citizen
 
Flydog is probably going to have more insight into this, since his daughter is almost in the same situation, however here's my take:

It seems most USCIS officers are not overly familiar with the rules surrounding N-600 and the Child Citizenship Act of 2000. Because of this, they appear to apply residency rules much like they would for a regular N-400, when in fact they ought to just consider the specific point in time when the son/daughter automagically becomes a USC (i.e. at the moment of a parents oath).

Probably it was a mistake not to mention the existing US passport, however if the officer didn't understand the rules, knowing about the passport might just have confused them further.

My recommendation would be to apply again, and lay out all the facts for the officer. If the case is denied, take it to appeal and hopefully someone more senior will be able to sort things out.
 
thris,
As I said I am in similar situation (in terms of wating to leave country immediately after getting my USC, so leaving my Son in similar situation). I beleive the minor should be a citizen, but the N600 form states this, and I think the USCIS officer follows the N600 form instructions.

Read Part 10 of the N600 (it asks the immigration officer to recommend and certify that the person has not EXPATRIATED).

I for myself am loosing sleep on this.
 
N-600K If the child resides outside the United States.

I am not sure what I heard was right or not . I heard that there is a form N-600K for naturalization certificate . If u read the instructions it clearly says (if the child regularly resides outside the United States & issuance of a certificate of citizenship to the child)USC parent can apply for this on behalf of the minor child www.uscis.gov/files/form/N-600K.pdf . If anyone has applied earlier can share their experience .
 
As far as I can tell...

If a child is under 18 when a parent naturalizes, if he/she is "legitimate", if he/she resides with his/her parents and if he/she is a permanent resident (i.e. has a green card), then presto, automagic citizenship under the child citizenship act. Once someone is a US Citizen, they can do what they want (travel, move, whatever).

When you apply for a passport of a child that meets these conditions, you need to prove that the child meets every rule.

When you apply for an N-600, you also need to prove every one of the conditions.

If the child acquires a passport and travels abroad after the citizenship is acquired, it shouldn't matter at all.

The current N-600 form has a "Have you applied for a US passport before, if so please explain" question. If you applied for the passport after the N-600, then obviously it wouldn't be possible to mention it on the N-600. If you did apply for a passport before the N-600 and you forgot to mention it, then I'm guessing it would come up in the "interview", but I can't imagine how that could lead to a denial of the application.

It appears that at least some USCIS officers seem to think that N-600s are some sort of "application for naturalization". They don't understand that that the N-600 process is, instead (as far as I can tell, I'm not a lawyer, etc), a simple examination of fact.

If the child meets the criteria, he magically becomes a citizen as of the first day he/she met all the rules. In order to "fail" the process, the officer would need to be able to point to one of the 4 rules and say "no, you did not meet this rule so you are not a citizen"

Take a look at http://travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html for example. There are only 4 rules. None of them have any shades of gray.

For the life of me, I can't tell how come it takes the USCIS months to process these things. The state department can do it on the spot.

N-600 versus N-600k:
My understanding is that if the applicant is out of the country at the time of the application, then you file the K form, otherwise, you file the N-600 (I haven't looked to closely - we fit the N-600 rules perfectly)

Is a passport a proof of US citizenship:
Yes! The child is a US citizen and can travel with a US passport. As I understand it, he/she can't travel on a green card anymore - citizenship is citizenship.

Finally, you don't have to still be a minor to file an N-600. Someone who became a citizen at 17.5 years old in 2001 could file an N-600 today. What is important is the child's age at the time that the parent naturalized.

I'd consider calling my congressman or senator and getting them involved (they are *much* cheaper than a lawyer).
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top