Question about child's citzenship

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akapoor

Registered Users (C)
Hi All,

I have question for you all regarding my friend's family situation. They have 2 kids - elder one lives in India (studying in class 8) and other one is here. Dad is citizen, while mom is GC holder.

Few questions that they have are:
1. How frequently does the kid(number 1 who lives in India) has to visit US, in order to maintain her GC? (is this one a year or once in 6 months)
2. And how frequently she has to visit US for applying for citizenship ( This I assume is once in 6 months)
3. Since she is less than 18 years, does she not automatically become citizen, since her father is a citizen already? (actually both kids?)
4. Does having a GC and living and studying in India hurt her chances of getting citizenship?

All Gurus here, kindly help.

Thanks very much,
Akapoor
 
I am confused, are you asking all the questions about kid #1 or also about the GC holding mother?

If all the questions apply to kid #1 just make her take a trip to the U.S. before she turns 18 and go to a post office to apply for a passport with her GC and dad's naturalization certificate. That would be all I can see is needed. However it is a bit of a gray area. Kids under 18 either naturalize through parents or have to wait until they turn 18 and apply for themselves. In this case it would seem both kids might have naturalized automatically. However, take into account that there are certain rules about custody.

Check this page:

http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption/info/info_457.html
 
My comments in bold below:

akapoor said:
Hi All,

I have question for you all regarding my friend's family situation. They have 2 kids - elder one lives in India (studying in class 8) and other one is here. Dad is citizen, while mom is GC holder.

Few questions that they have are:
1. How frequently does the kid(number 1 who lives in India) has to visit US, in order to maintain her GC? (is this one a year or once in 6 months)
--> I believe the same rule applies to a child as does to an adult LPR, so they cannot be gone for more than 1 year abroad. I could be wrong. However, USCIS is more lenient towards children especially if parents are here and they are abroad attending school.

2. And how frequently she has to visit US for applying for citizenship ( This I assume is once in 6 months)
--> I believe the father as a US Citizen can go ahead and submit a N-600 application for the child right now - while she is in India. When the application is close to being completed, they will invite the child and her father for an informal interview so as to conduct an oath (if she is old enough to understand) and pick up the certificate of citizenship. The child technically became a citizen automatically upon the naturalization of the father.

3. Since she is less than 18 years, does she not automatically become citizen, since her father is a citizen already? (actually both kids?)
--> Yes, the children became citizens automatically and the parents can apply for US passports for them. The children plus both parents have to be present during the application. In addition, the father should submit N-600s for the children as it is permanent proof of citizenship. Unlike a passport, it does not expire and it creates a permanent record of citizenship with USCIS.

4. Does having a GC and living and studying in India hurt her chances of getting citizenship?
--> This is a tricky question and it could be a 'yes' depending on how the IO interprets the situation. According to the law, the child must be in custody and living with the US citizen parent. If she is abroad all the time, that may come into question. Therefore, I recommend that they bring her back here for 1 year and apply for the US Passport and certificate of citizenship. Then she can go back to India to complete her studies and never even has to come back.
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Hi All,

Thanks so much for the help. Sorry, I was not very clear.
yes, I was asking abt kid #1. My friend has two girls, one studies in India and lives with her grandmother and the younger one is here with them.
Kid #1 comes once in every year for summer holidays. Now the parents are trying to get citizenship for both the kids.
As I mentioned before, Dad is citizen, while mom is on GC.

So, now what are the chances of these two girls (both < 18 years of age) getting their citizenship?

Can you please clarify what the definition of custody wld be here? Like staying with parents?

Thanks very much,
Akapoor
 
Jackolantern said:
Not if the father didn't have custody.
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That would be true, however if the child were to arrive in the US with valid LPR status, and however briefly be in the custody of the father, they would automatically derive citizenship.

The alternative route would of course be N-600K. The child still has to travel to the US in order to be naturalized, but there would be no requirement for LPR status beforehand.
 
boatbod said:
The alternative route would of course be N-600K. The child still has to travel to the US in order to be naturalized, but there would be no requirement for LPR status beforehand.
Click to expand...

Yes Boatbod - but in the case of N-600K, it gets complicated as the child in question must be living abroad under the US Citizen parent custody. Again, the custody word comes up.

However, I get your point. I think in this situation the child is in the custody of the father as the parents are still married and the child is temporarily studying abroad under the care of grandparents. And I agree with you, the parents should bring the girl back as soon as possible and have her remain under their care (and immediate custody) while processing the N-600 and US passport.
 
Jackolantern said:
Not if the father didn't have custody.
Click to expand...

Correct - which is why I stressed the point under #4. Based on what the poster said, it appears the child is under the custody of both parents as they are still married. Custody issues come to question when biological parents are divorced or separated. The only thing I don't like about this case is that the child is overseas for long periods of time under temporary care/custody of the grandparents.
 
It seems to me that the daughter that is here with the father and the mother is most likely a citizen automatically and the parents can apply for a passport and/or for a certificate of citizenship (not an absolute necessity). The daughter that is abroad might wait for summer (which is around the corner) and as long as she comes into the country as a permanent resident she should also be an automatic citizen and they can apply for a passport or N-600 as noted above. So your friends should go to a post office with kid #1 when she's back from India and go with her birth certificate (translated if needed I guess) her Green Card and the father naturalization certificate and apply for a passport for her. However, I think it is very important that when the daughter comes back from India she is admitted as a permanent resident. Whatever this means ;) I mean come back using her Green Card and getting in the country this way. I think you are getting my point, the child has to be in the U.S. as a permanent resident.

Furthermore, if the father naturalized while the daughter #1 was in India it is completely unclear if daughter #1 naturalized automatically. I think if my interpretation is correct under current practice she has not. However, daughter #2 who is living with her parents became a citizen the moment the father took the oath (assuming daughter #2 was in the U.S. on that date).

For a regular family custody is easy to define, i.e. a child is always in the custody of both the father and the mother. The custody thing has to do with children of divorced parents which doesn't seem to be the case with your friend.

This is not legal advice, just my opinion as I see things.
 
Thanks All. Yea, Kid #1 is going to be here during summer break for 2 months in June. Yes, both parents are married and still live together.
They are planning to apply for PP for Kid #2 first thing t'rrow morning. Thanks to you all for that. Do they have to apply for Net Certz for the kids?

I guess they will have to wait before they can apply for Kid#1, as you all suggested.

Btw, what is N-600? Can you all suggest as to how they shd proceed with kid#1's case? Can they still apply for US passport when she comes here in US?

Thanks,
Akapoor
 
akapoor said:
Thanks All. Yea, Kid #1 is going to be here during summer break for 2 months in June. Yes, both parents are married and still live together.
They are planning to apply for PP for Kid #2 first thing t'rrow morning. Thanks to you all for that. Do they have to apply for Net Certz for the kids?

I guess they will have to wait before they can apply for Kid#1, as you all suggested.

Btw, what is N-600? Can you all suggest as to how they shd proceed with kid#1's case? Can they still apply for US passport when she comes here in US?

Thanks,
Akapoor
Click to expand...

The N-600 is the Application for Certificate of Citizenship, which is used for an individual to document U.S. citizenship status based on citizen parentage. In this manner it is akin to the Certificate of Naturalization applicants get after successful completion of the N-400 process. Go here for information about the form: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...nnel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Although some would tell you it isn't worth spending the $460 to apply for the N-600 and to go ahead with just a passport, I would strongly suggest the parents file the application. Since your children were born overseas, they do not have official proof of US citizenship. Acquiring this certificate of citizenship will create a permanent record of their US Citizenship and will accord them with their own 'right' to citizenship.

For example, applying for a US Passport now requires the child to present proof of a parent's US citizenship status as well as proof of their permanent residency. And if they do not apply for a certificate, they will required to provide that proof every time they apply for a passport - this is the proof that your parent is a US citizen. However, if they get a certificate of citizenship, they are independent of that requirement and have their own proof of their citizenship. Also anything can happen in the future so it is best to have something the child can keep with them and use later in their life. I don't know what other way I can explain this - but it is similar to applying for a Consular Reports of Birth Abroad for children born to US citizens abroad. These parents can apply for a passport without getting the CRBA,but this document creates a permanent record of their US citizenship. Make sense?
 
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