US Citizenship for Kid born outside US

usciti

Registered Users (C)
Hi Everybody,

To start with thanks a lot for your contribution to the forum. It helps a lot !!!

I took US citizenship in September 2009 and moved back to my home country in Oct 2009. My son has a valid green card and has been living in the home country (outside US) for last 3 years and visiting US every year to maintain GC validity. He also has a valid reentry permit (valid till september 2010).

Now that i am a US citizen i would like to apply for my sons citizenship, Can you please advise what needs to be done. My concern is that i have not maintained any residence in US and moved to my home country. What do i need to do to apply for his citizenship/passport?

Please advise.

Thanks a ton
 
How old is your son?

one critical information i forgot to share is that does continuous residency apply to him now. He has been visiting every year, but this year me might not be able to make his yearly trip. His last entered US in APril 2009 but this year might not be able to enter US in april 2010. His re-rentry permit is valid till sept 2010, so i am hoping that hsi GC remains valid till then

Thanks...
 
He needs to be living with you in the US in order to get derivative citizenship through you under the Child Citizenship Act. So I would suggest moving back to the US and staying at least long enough for him to get a US passport.

However, if you officially surrender his green card with the I-407 process, he may be able to obtain derivative citizenship via N-600K, which is for children who live abroad with their US citizen parent(s). See www.uscis.gov/n-600k
 
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Thanks Jack for the information. I am planning on visiting US to apply for his passport and stay back till we receive his passport. But as i said i do not have a permanant residence in US now, wondering if that can cause a problem. Also does continous residency apply to my son ?
 
Thanks Jack for the information. I am planning on visiting US to apply for his passport and stay back till we receive his passport. But as i said i do not have a permanant residence in US now, wondering if that can cause a problem. Also does continous residency apply to my son ?

If you want to claim derivative citizenship for your son based on the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1312.html then you have to move back to the U.S. and establish residence in the U.S., for at least a few months. A temporary address would not be sufficient. If you go this route, then your son will not be applying for naturalization (N-400) but claiming derivative citizenship, so the continuous residency requirements from the N-400 process would not apply to him. You would have two (not mutually exclusive) options for claiming derivative citizenship for your son in that case: filing N-600, application for a certificate of citizenship; or applying directly for U.S. passport for your son. In both cases you will need to demonstrate that you are residing permanently in the U.S. together with your son and that you have physical and legal custody over him. From what you wrote above, it does not sound like this route is suitable for you since you do not maintain permanent residence in the U.S. and are not planning on establishing it in the foreseeable future.

It sounds to me that a better option for you is the other option suggested by Jackolantern, namely using the so-called "expedited naturalization" procedure for your son under Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, see http://www.cavanaughlegal.com/us-im...ons-for-acquiring-certificate-of-citizenship/
You would need to file form N-600K for your son for this option. The advantage here is that you will not need to move to the U.S. and can file N-600K from abroad.
The key requirements of Sec 322 of INA are: that the child reside abroad, in your physical and legal custody; that you have lived in the U.S. for at least 5 years (in any status) prior to submitting the application, at least two of which were after you turned fourteen years old; that the application be approved before your son turns 18 years old.
 
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Thanks Jack for the information. I am planning on visiting US to apply for his passport and stay back till we receive his passport. But as i said i do not have a permanant residence in US now, wondering if that can cause a problem. Also does continous residency apply to my son ?
No, the continuous residence and physical presence rules that are applicable to adults applying for naturalization do not apply to children under 18 when obtaining derivative citizenship.
 
I am in the same situation and need your expert advise...
My 13 yrs old son living abroad for the last 2 years and his re-entry permit was lost in the mail and USCIS couldn't replace it. He has GC but I think it is of no use now, because he didn't entered US in the last 2 yrs. Can I apply for his derivative citizenship from abroad? if so, what is the procedure/form?
Thanks and appreciate your help.
 
To apply for post-birth derivative citizenship acquired abroad would be via N-600K.

However, it would require the USC parent to live outside the US, and him to officially surrender the GC, because N-600K is for a child who resides abroad with the USC parent (having the GC while claiming to reside outside the US is a contradiction).

But if you live in the US, you might be able to bring him back to the US with a Transportation Letter if it is still less than 2 years after the reentry permit was issued (because the permit would still be valid). Contact the consulate in the country where he lives to pursue that possibility. Then upon returning to the US with the GC to live with you he would obtain derivative citizenship.
 
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Jackolantern,
If I surrender my child's GC and I live outside US with my son for few months, then I can apply for his derivative citizenship from outside USA using N-600k. Am I right?
If yes, do you know how to surrender GC? when to do it?
Thanks a lot.
 
Jackolantern,
If I surrender my child's GC and I live outside US with my son for few months, then I can apply for his derivative citizenship from outside USA using N-600k. Am I right?
If yes, do you know how to surrender GC? when to do it?
Thanks a lot.

Permanent residence can be formally relinquished by filing form I-407:
http://amsterdam.usconsulate.gov/green_card_issues.html#abandon

It should be possible to file I-407 by visiting a U.S. consulate in the country where you reside. You should check with the consulate in advance to find out the details of the procedure; most likely the consulate will have this info on its website.
 
Jackolantern,
If I surrender my child's GC and I live outside US with my son for few months, then I can apply for his derivative citizenship from outside USA using N-600k. Am I right?
Yes, but if you are living in the US why not try to bring him the US and apply for his US passport, which will be much quicker and cheaper and won't require you to leave the US for months? If it's less than 2 years since the permit was issued, apply for his Transportation Letter at a consulate, explaining that the reentry permit was applied for and approved on whatever date but got lost in the mail and USCIS wouldn't replace it. Then bring him back to the US with the letter and the GC, and then you can apply for his US passport right away.
 
Jackolantern,
I talk to the US consolate in my home country regarding my son's re-entry permit got lost, they need issue a Returning Resident Visa, which would cost $400 and there is no guarantee that he would get it. See the reply from US consulate below:
"An alien who is out of LPR status may qualify for a Returning Resident visa if the alien is able to demonstrate that he or she was lawfully in status as a resident when he or she last left the United States and that the protracted stay abroad "was caused by reasons beyond the alien's control for which they were not responsible" There is a $ 400 non-refundable application Fee "

I don't see of mentioning 2 years in their reply. Can you please shed some light on 2 years rule? Where can find details about it?
Thanks and appreciate.
 
The reentry permit was issued, and it would be valid for 2 years. It's just that you don't have physical possession of it. .

So I would expect that if somebody had an approved reentry permit and it got lost, they could obtain a Transportation Letter to help them return to the US beyond 1 year instead of applying for an SB-1 visa, provided they applied before the 2-year expiration of the permit. But unfortunately, apparently that's not how it works in your case ... because you knew of the permit being lost before he was gone for 1 year, and you didn't take steps to get a Transportation Letter or return him to the US back then.

One the other hand, the response you got seems like a cut-and-paste message for which they didn't properly consider the unusual circumstances of your situation. And sometimes the people who answer the phone or email aren't very knowledgeable of which rules apply in unusual circumstances. When you actually apply for it, you may get a better result when a more senior person reviews the case with all the facts.

At what stage did the permit get lost? Did you request USCIS to deliver it to a consulate, and it got lost on the way to the consulate? Or did it get lost in the mail on the way from USCIS to your US address? Or did you receive it at a US address, and then it got lost when you sent it overseas?
 
It got lost in the mail when USCIS sent to my US address. I called USCIS couple of times, and they asked me to wait for about 90 days and then it is confirmed it got lost in the mail and neither USCIS received it back. So, if I take my son to US consulate in home country before 2 years, then there is a chance of getting Transportation Letter, right?
 
Yes, I do. I have the online case status showing the re-entry permit was issued and I have a correspndence letter from USCIS requesting for more info with my son's name on it to prove the application is his.
 
Well I guess a printout of the online status is all you can provide to show it was issued. It should show the LIN#, so that along with the notice of action you received when you applied for the permit should show it was issued. That should help with your son's case if it is taken to the consulate.
 
The US consulate in my home country refused to grant Transportation letter to my 12 yr old son. They are now issuing SB1 visa. Can my son still have the LPR status, though he enters to US with SB1 visa? His re-entry permit is still valid until Nov 2010, but it got lost in the USPS mail. I want to apply for his passport along with me probably in June. Thanks for your advise.
 
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