SOS! Please help with US Citizenship for my children

Z

zaurm

New Member
Hello! I recently sworn the oath and received the certificate that allows me to get a US passport. I believe that the next step is to receive a passport by filing with USPS...but I have 2 children under 18 that also need an American passport as well...some people told me that I need to file form N400 with USCIS to naturalize my children others say that biological children under 18 that reside with a US citizen parent automatically receive a passport...whom do i believe and what should i do>?>? since my son is currently 17, but will turn 18 in 9 months? :confused:
Please help me...SoS.SoS:confused:
 
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=f3a1b6b1b8e1e010VgnVCM1000000ecd190aRCRD&vgnextchannel=96719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

Follow the link. good luck

If your child permanently resides in the U.S, you can obtain evidence of your child’s citizenship by applying for a Certificate of Citizenship. You will need to file Form N-600 (Application for Certificate of Citizenship) and submit it to the local USCIS District Office or Sub-Office that holds jurisdiction over your permanent residence. You can also apply for a U.S. Passport from the Department of State.
 
zaurm said:
some people told me that I need to file form N400 with USCIS to naturalize my children others say that biological children under 18 that reside with a US citizen parent automatically receive a passport...whom do i believe and what should i do>?>? since my son is currently 17, but will turn 18 in 9 months? :confused:
Click to expand...
They don't automatically get a passport, but they automatically get citizenship. To get the passport for your 17 year old, you don't need to apply before he turns 18, but you need to prove that you had custody and naturalized before he was 18.
 
In case you haven't already figure this out - applying for the N-600 "certificate of citizenship" is an optional step. You may choose to skip it entirely, and simply apply for US passports for your kids.
 
Yes, you can go to USPS with a complete passport form for your children, their birth certificates, their Green Cards, passport photos. You might want to go to USPS first and double check with them the requirements. I don't recall whether the birth certificate needs to be translated, but I guess it does. Many USPS offices should be able to do more than one passport with one naturalization certificate by taking a photocopy and authenticating the copy. Check the requirements from the Child Citizenship Act to make sure that all points apply to your case, in particular the legal custody. If not all conditions are met now, but are met at sometime in the future before they turn 18 they will still automatically become citizens. If in the worst case they don't, they should be able to apply for citizenship on their own when they turn 18, not before that. If they have automatically become citizens you might choose to also obtain a certificate of citizenship. It is not mandatory, but it might be useful. You use form N-600 for this. However, this takes a few months so it is better to get the U.S. passport without waiting for N-600 to complete, that's what I did.

My 2 cents.
 
You can directly apply for a passport for kids and never get certificate of naturalization through N600. There was a very interesting case here a few months ago of a female who got passport and lived like a US citizen for a few years. She then belatedly applied for the certificate of naturalization only to be told that she was not eligible to be a US citizen (she had just turned 18)! This does not apply to you and posting here was to high light to others that passport is issued by DOS and citizenship certificate by USCIS. It is always better to have a USCIS certificate for your kid which they could use decades later if the need arises.
 
brb2 said:
You can directly apply for a passport for kids and never get certificate of naturalization through N600.
Click to expand...
N600 gives a certificate of citizenship, not a certificate of naturalization which is a different thing. It is a subtle difference, but still an important one. N600 gives proof of a person's citizenship that was already there, whereas N400 is for citizenship that was granted at the end of the naturalization process.
brb2 said:
There was a very interesting case here a few months ago of a female who got passport and lived like a US citizen for a few years. She then belatedly applied for the certificate of naturalization only to be told that she was not eligible to be a US citizen (she had just turned 18)!
Click to expand...
What do you mean ... she got a US passport by mistake?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Jackolantern said:
N600 gives a certificate of citizenship, not a certificate of naturalization which is a different thing. It is a subtle difference, but still an important one. N600 gives proof of a person's citizenship that was already there, whereas N400 is for citizenship that was granted at the end of the naturalization process.
Click to expand...


Exactly. When you are under 18 you are deemed incapable of applying (too young to make such an important decision) for naturalization on your own by filing the N400.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top