can a 14 year old child apply for us citizenship?

[raycjs 0]

I am a us citizen and i am the legal court approved guardian for a 14 year old child from Colombia. she has her permanent resident card and she has been in this country for over 7 years. does anyone know if this child would be able to apply before she is 18 years of age?

Thank you in advance for your help

Ray

[YuAndDan 153]

Yes.

However, it is also possible to get this automatically if you are a US citizen, and adopts the child. Once adopted, simply apply for a US passport, and perhaps file an N-600 for a certificate of citizenship.

This is not a DCF topic, moving this to the US Citizenship forum...

[Tero 105]

I am a us citizen and i am the legal court approved guardian for a 14 year old child from Colombia. she has her permanent resident card and she has been in this country for over 7 years. does anyone know if this child would be able to apply before she is 18 years of age?

Thank you in advance for your help

Ray

Check out this link for your USCIS answer

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=d4c3a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d4c3a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD

[raycjs 0]

I only have legal guardianship of the child,i have not adopted the child the courts feel the child is only 4 years away from being of legal age that it is not worth adopting. will the child still be able to apply for US citizenship with out adoption at the age of 14? the reason we are looking in to doing this before the child turns 18 is so she can get student aid and scholarships when it come time to attend collage.

[milimelo 4,481]

Unless you want to adopt the child, she has to wait until she is 18 to apply for naturalization.

Citizenship Through Naturalization

Generally, permanent residents (green card holders) age 18 or older who meet all eligibility requirements for naturalization may submit a Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

[YuAndDan 153]

I only have legal guardianship of the child,i have not adopted the child the courts feel the child is only 4 years away from being of legal age that it is not worth adopting. will the child still be able to apply for US citizenship with out adoption at the age of 14? the reason we are looking in to doing this before the child turns 18 is so she can get student aid and scholarships when it come time to attend collage.

Green-card holders do qualify for student aid and scholarships. These are not considered means tested benefits per the I-864 sponsorship.