Naturalization using form N-400 problems ( DMV problems too )

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ttpm15

Registered Users (C)
I immigrated to the US when i was 12. i'm about to turn 17 in a month. My adopted Dad live in the U.S for over 20 years now, my adopted mom live here for about 6 years and she just recently become a US Citizen.

My adopted parents applied me for U.S citizenship as soon as i got my green card ( 4 1/2 years ago )because their lawyer told them to do it ( stupid lawyer ) the application was denied because my mom was still a Permanent Resident back then.

Last year i tried to applied for a Driving Permit. The DMV rejected my application because my green card doesn't have a fingerprint on it. I didn't even know that my green card have to be renew with my fingerprint once i turned 14.

It will cost me a few hundred bucks to renew it which i think is a big waste of money consider that my green card is still valid until 2017.

Then my mom became US Citizen a few months back and then they applied again for me to become a U.S Citizen. But the second application was also denied because the first application was denied and if they want to apply for the second time, they'll have apply using a second form ( I-290B ) which will cost $630 on top of the $550 fee for the form.

My parents lawyer told them not to do it since it will cost way too much money and take a long time, he told them to wait until the 5 years mark and apply since i'm only 8 months away from 5 years in the U.S. Since he screwed the whole thing up the first time, i don't really trust his words anymore.

So here are my questions :

[1] Can i apply for U.S citizenship with a green card that doesn't have my fingerprint on it ? ( I'm supposed to change my green card once i turned 14 but i didn't know )

[2] Can i travel oversea with my current green card that doesn't have my fingerprint on it ? ( i traveled oversea last year, upon re-entering the U.S, they scan my fingerprint but couldn't find anything so they just let me go. Did i got lucky or something (i thought my green card is invalid without my fingerprint on it. )

[3] So because my first citizenship application was denied, my second one will require the N-400 form and I-290B form right ?

[4] Is it better to just pay the fees and apply for citizenship using the N-400 form and I-290B or wait until my 5 years mark and using a different form for citizenship ( N-600 i think, i'm not sure though )

[5] Is there anyway to get a driver permit without renewing my green card ? My parents was thinking that i should apply for a Minnesota ID but i'm having a hard time explaining to them that Minnesota ID and Driving Permit both require a primary and a secondary document ( i have secondary, but not a primary )

Thanks a lot for reading my long post.
 
My adopted parents applied me for U.S citizenship as soon as i got my green card ( 4 1/2 years ago )because their lawyer told them to do it ( stupid lawyer ) the application was denied because my mom was still a Permanent Resident back then.
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Since the Child Citizenship Act took effect on Feb. 27, 2001, only one custodial parent has to be a US citizen in order for the child to derive citizenship. So it's strange that they would deny it because of your mother being a permanent resident -- unless your father wasn't a US citizen yet or you weren't living in the US in his custody or they didn't submit evidence of his citizenship and custody. Or he was only your stepfather and not your officially adopted father.

Is your adoptive father a US citizen? Was he a US citizen when they applied 4.5 years ago? Was he married to and living with your adoptive mother at that time? Are they still married and living together? Did they include evidence of his US citizenship and marriage and you living with him?

What form did they use to apply? N-600? Appealing that denial with I-290B does not cost $630 on top of $550. You would only have to pay the $630 appeal fee.

If you actually met the criteria for deriving citizenship, and the denial was due to insufficient evidence rather than the true facts of you being ineligible, you should be able to directly apply for a US passport which is a lot cheaper and faster. Then another day when you have the time and money you can think about filing I-290B to appeal for the certificate. But before you apply for either, tell us what evidence you've gathered. This appears to be a case of insufficient evidence, not ineligibility, and you don't want to make that same mistake again.

You can't file N-400 before you're 18, so forget about that option for now.
 
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Your parents can apply for US passport for you. Once you have US PP, the DMV problem will be solved.
 
ttpm15 said:
I live in Minnesota
I'm going to turn 17 next year and i'm trying to obtain a driving permit. My green card doesn't have a fingerprint on it since my adopted parents didn't know that they suppose to change my green card on my 14 birthday. My green card is still valid until 2017 though. The DMV rejected my driving permit application, they either want me to get a new green card or a US passport.

Both of my adopted parents are U.S Citizen ( my mom recently became a U.S citizen, my dad is a U.S citizen for 15+ years now ) I'm still a green card holder ( my green card doesn't have a fingerprint on it )

[1] Can i apply for a U.S passport even though i'm not a U.S citizen yet ?
[2] Can i get a U.S passport even though i'm not a U.S citizen ? ( both of my parents are, i'm 16 turn 17 next month )
[3] I read some articles saying that i can apply for a U.S passport as long as both of my parents bring their Certificate of Citizenship and i bring my greencard to a post office and apply. Is that true ? If so what exactly is the form/what its call ?
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You are misunderstanding the rules. You already became a US citizen through your parents; applying for N-600 or a US passport is to obtain proof of citizenship that already exists. Under the Child Citizenship Act, you derive citizenship when at least one parent is a US citizen and you're under 18 with a green card and certain other conditions are met; your citizenship started when those conditions were met, not when you apply for or obtain a citizenship document.

#3 is true, you are eligible for a US passport -- because you're already a US citizen. In addition to your parent's naturalization certificates and your own green card, bring evidence of living with your parents, like school records showing your address and a parent's name. The passport form is DS-11.
 
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Thank you so much, that make it so much sense now.

so i can get a US passport but not certificated of citizenship because my form got denied, thats strange.

Thanks you so much for answering my questions.

sorry for my horrible grammar.
 
ttpm15 said:
so i can get a US passport but not certificated of citizenship because my form got denied, thats strange.
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Based on what you've written in this thread, that denial of the citizenship certificate was indeed strange.

However, you can still get a US passport if that denial years ago was due to a mistake ... either a mistake your parents made on the paperwork (perhaps by submitting insufficient evidence), or a mistake made by USCIS when deciding the application.

Before you apply for the passport, you need to explore the circumstances surrounding the denial so you can avoid making the same mistake again. If you answer the questions below we may be able to figure out the source of the problem.


1. There is a 3-character category code on your green card, either one letter followed by 2 digits, or two letters followed by 1 digit. What is the code on yours?

2. Did BOTH of your parents officially adopt you? Or only one? If only one parent, who? Have you looked through the adoption paperwork yourself?

3. Were your parents married when they applied for your citizenship certificate 4.5 years ago? Are they still married? Have they ever been separated since you immigrated?

4. Did you ever live away from your parents since getting your green card?
 
1. IR2 ( i google it and its stand for Child of a U.S. citizen. )

2. Both of my mom and dad tried to adopt me, but only my MOM name is on the certificate ( my dad wasn't their to sign it ).

3. They been married before they adopted me and until now, no separation or anything ( they were married when they applied for my citizenship )

4. NO

So basically they applied for my citizenship, but it got denied because my dad name is not on the adoption certificate. They tried to apply for the second time but it got denied too ( we didn't use the appeal form )

Question :

[1] So i don't have to be a U.S citizen to get a U.S Passport right ? as long as both of my parents are U.S Citizen then i can get a U.S passport right ?
 
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ttpm15 said:
2. Both of my mom and dad tried to adopt me, but only my MOM name is on the certificate ( my dad wasn't their to sign it ).
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That's the source of the problem. If your mother is your only official adoptive parent, only her citizenship would count for your eligibility for deriving citizenship.

Did your father ever get himself officially added as your adoptive parent? If yes, was that before you were 16? If not, your mother being your only officially adoptive parent may create another problem, because she was not a US citizen when you immigrated. There are restrictions against noncitizens adopting children into the US, and those restrictions might mean the adoption does not qualify you to derive citizenship through her even after she's a US citizen.

[1] So i don't have to be a U.S citizen to get a U.S Passport right ? as long as both of my parents are U.S Citizen then i can get a U.S passport right ?
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You have to be a US citizen to get a US passport. What you're not understanding is that under the Child Citizenship Act, your US citizenship does not begin when you get a citizenship certificate or US passport, it begins before that when your parent(s) got US citizenship (if you're under 18 and meet some other conditions). If you obtained a citizenship certificate, it would show that your citizenship is retroactive to some date before you applied for the certificate.

Please get back to us regarding the category code on your green card; that might give us a clue to your eligibility for citizenship or lack thereof.
 
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The code is IR-2.

I'm pretty sure my dad adopted me since it is not possible for a green card holder ( my mom ) to bring me to the US under her name. ( i could and possibly be wrong )

Thanks for your help, i really appreciated it. :)
 
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OK, now I see you updated your message (post #7) with the category code. Originally you said you didn't know it because you didn't have the green card on you.

A green card holder can bring an adopted child to immigrate, but only if the child was living in their custody for at least 2 years before immigrating.

But your category is IR2, so she wasn't the one who filed for you to immigrate. And normally adopted children would have a different category, such as IR3. However, if you lived with her for 2 years, that would enable her US citizen husband to bring you in as a stepchild in category IR2, without him officially adopting you. Did you live with her for 2 years (or more) before you got your green card?
 
yes, i live with her since i was 5 ( so more than 2 years ).

Can i still get a U.S passport with an IR-2 green card ?

thanks you for answering my questions.
 
ttpm15 said:
yes, i live with her since i was 5 ( so more than 2 years ).

Can i still get a U.S passport with an IR-2 green card ?
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Yes, but only through your mother, because she is the only one who officially adopted you. If/when you eventually appeal the N-600 and get your citizenship certificate, it should show you became a citizen on the same date your mom became a US citizen.
 
Just a few more question to clarify this :

[1] So even though my adopted dad bring me to the USA under his name, i am not an automatically an American citizen because his name is not on the final adoption paper, am i right ?

[2] If the answer to question number [1] is yes ( i'm not an American citizen ) then i will have to appeal the first denied ( form N-600 ) using form I-290B right ?

My most important question is :
[3]Can i still get a U.S passport by bringing both of my mom and dad certificates of citizenship to passport office and apply a US passport for me ? ( i need the passport so i can get my driving permit ) ( i also live with them ever since i got to the US, about 4 years)

thanks a lot.
 
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ttpm15 said:
Just a few more question to clarify this :

[1] So even though my adopted dad bring me to the USA under his name, i am not an automatically an American citizen because his name is not on the final adoption paper, am i right ?
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His name not being on the adoption paper meant you couldn't derive citizenship through him. But right now you are a US citizen; you automatically derived citizenship when your mother naturalized a few months ago.

[2] If the answer to question number [1] is yes ( i'm not an American citizen ) then i will have to appeal the first denied ( form N-600 ) using form I-290B right ?
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You can get the citizenship certificate by filing I-290B with updated evidence of your mom's citizenship and you living with her since she got her citizenship.

[3]Can i still get a U.S passport by bringing both of my mom and dad certificates of citizenship to passport office and apply a US passport for me ? ( i need the passport so i can get my driving permit ) ( i also live with them ever since i got to the US, about 4 years)
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Yes, you can get a US passport but you don't need both of them. Only your mother's citizenship counts, because she is the only one who officially adopted you.

Bring the following to the post office for your passport application:
- Mother's naturalization certificate
- School records or some other credible document showing that you were living with her at the time of (or after) her naturalization date
- Your green card
- Parents' marriage certificate
- Adoption papers
- Your birth certificate, if you have it. Although it is not needed in your situation, it is a standard requirement for most other cases, and the postal worker may insist on the birth certificate because they don't know that it's not needed for you, so bring it just in case they ask for it.

They will take away the original documents (and send them back a few weeks later), so make sure to get copies of everything before.

On some future date if/when you file the I-290B to appeal for the citizenship certificate, you'll submit copies all of the same documents (except the birth cert., which is not needed). Also include a copy of the latest N-600 denial.
 
A little update :
They accepted my Application on the 8th ( My adopted mom US citizenship certificate, My green card, Visa picture, My adopter certificate were required if my memory served me right )

Anyway today is the 6th, i tracked my passport application and it still show process, hopefully it will get accept and i will get my passport ( late birthday gift ? )
 
When you immigrated, your dad was considered your stepfather and you were his stepchild because he was married to your adoptive mom. Stepchildren may obtain an immigrant visa/greencard through a stepparent but stepchildren do not gain citizenship through a stepparent. If you do not have the original denial letter from USCIS, you can get a copy via a FOIA request by filing form G-639, Freedom of Information Act/Privacy Act Request (there is no fee).

Mom naturalized when you were under 18, you had a greencard, and you were living in the U.S. with mom. That means you derived citizenship under INA section 320 on the same day she naturalized.

While, the passport agency has been very willing to give out passports without you getting a Certificate first, the passport agency has also made some terrible mistakes in issuing passports to kids who did NOT actually attain citizenship. There are currently pending cases in the courts which may lead to a change in procedures. Because of this you should seek a certificate through USCIS.

See: http://www.slideshare.net/BigJoe5/uscis-brief-to-gilberto-edwards-3rd-cir-112012-citizenship-case
 
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