N-600K Help!

[elkhris 7]

Hello VJers, this is the situation:

My aunt just got her US citizenship, and she would like to file a N-600K for her son. He is currently living abroad and under 18, she is a single mother which means that she has legal custody. Will the requirement of physical custody be void, given she is a single mother?

Any reply would be much appreciated. Thank you.

[ATPEACE 43]

First, be sure you understand, that she cannot apply for citizenship for her son until her is here in the US. Second she must first apply for a petition for a visa for her son, and all of the child custody laws will still apply to her son, since he is still a citizen of DR. Therefore, if the father signature is required before the child can leave DR, then she will have to obtain it. Remember, the child is a DR citizen, he is not residing in the US.

Being a citizen of the US does not grant you any short-cut right against a citizen of another country.

[elkhris 7]

Thank you very much ATPEACE,

the reason Im asking this is not trying to get the child here without the father concern, but to see if he can become a USC before he reaches the age of 18.

Again thank you, I will let her know.

[Jojo92122 1,924]

Google "Child Citizenship Act of 2000."

All four requirements must be met in order for a child to claim US citizenship;

1. A US citizen parent (by birth or naturalization);

2. Child is under age 18;

3. Child is an LPR;

4. Child resides with US citizen parent.

-----------

Based on the information you provided, the child is not eligible for US citizenship because the child does not reside with the US citizen parent. You have not stated whether the child is an LPR.

All four requirements must be met. It must be at the same time. It doesn't count if the child enters the US at age 18 as an LPR even though mom became a US citizen before the child's 18th birthday.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Hello VJers, this is the situation:

My aunt just got her US citizenship, and she would like to file a N-600K for her son. He is currently living abroad and under 18, she is a single mother which means that she has legal custody. Will the requirement of physical custody be void, given she is a single mother?

Any reply would be much appreciated. Thank you.

No. The N-600K is for children who are being adopted by a US citizen, or for children who would have been able to file an N-600 after arriving in the US with an immigrant visa but their US citizen parent has died. In the first case, the adoptive parent would file an N-600K. In the second case, a grandparent of the deceased parent would file the N-600K.

Your aunt needs to file an I-130 for her son. When he arrives in the US she can file an N-600 to get a certificate of citizenship for him. There is no basis under the law for him to receive US citizenship before he arrives in the US.

[elkhris 7]

Thank you much, now I have a much better understanding.

[NoVisaCanuck 9]

No. The N-600K is for children who are being adopted by a US citizen, or for children who would have been able to file an N-600 after arriving in the US with an immigrant visa but their US citizen parent has died. In the first case, the adoptive parent would file an N-600K. In the second case, a grandparent of the deceased parent would file the N-600K.

Your aunt needs to file an I-130 for her son. When he arrives in the US she can file an N-600 to get a certificate of citizenship for him. There is no basis under the law for him to receive US citizenship before he arrives in the US.

Reading through this link;

(http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD)

multiple times it seems the N-600K is specifically for BOTH Biological and Adopted children residing abroad of USC parent(s)in their legal and physical custody, no? The N-600K application is filed to a USCIS Lockbox facility from abroad, and if/when notified for interview, the relevant family members travel to the U.S. on whatever legal entry visa to the U.S. for swearing of the oath of allegiance. Did I misinterpret anything?

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

Reading through this link;

(http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD)

multiple times it seems the N-600K is specifically for BOTH Biological and Adopted children residing abroad of USC parent(s)in their legal and physical custody, no? The N-600K application is filed to a USCIS Lockbox facility from abroad, and if/when notified for interview, the relevant family members travel to the U.S. on whatever legal entry visa to the U.S. for swearing of the oath of allegiance. Did I misinterpret anything?

The problem is this sentence

The child is temporarily present in the United States after having entered lawfully and is maintaining lawful status in the United States.

Unless the mother is in the military that requirement isn't waived.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Reading through this link;

(http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD)

multiple times it seems the N-600K is specifically for BOTH Biological and Adopted children residing abroad of USC parent(s)in their legal and physical custody, no? The N-600K application is filed to a USCIS Lockbox facility from abroad, and if/when notified for interview, the relevant family members travel to the U.S. on whatever legal entry visa to the U.S. for swearing of the oath of allegiance. Did I misinterpret anything?

You've misinterpret quite a few things.

First, as Nigeriaorbust pointed out, you ignored the requirement that "[t]he child is temporarily present in the United States after having entered lawfully and is maintaining lawful status in the United States." Under the Child Citizenship Act, the law requires that the child be 1) under age 18, 2) have a US citizen parent, 3) reside with the US citizen parent, and 4) be admitted as a lawful permanent resident.

Second, there is no interview or oath swearing allegiance to the US because a minor automatically becomes a US citizen when all four conditions for the Child Citizenship Act are met which makes an interview and oath unnecessary.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Reading through this link;

(http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD)

multiple times it seems the N-600K is specifically for BOTH Biological and Adopted children residing abroad of USC parent(s)in their legal and physical custody, no? The N-600K application is filed to a USCIS Lockbox facility from abroad, and if/when notified for interview, the relevant family members travel to the U.S. on whatever legal entry visa to the U.S. for swearing of the oath of allegiance. Did I misinterpret anything?

Yes. You missed the part that says the child must be temporarily present in the United States, after having been lawfully admitted and having maintained their status.

INA section 322 was designed for the scenario you described. You just got the order and process a little mixed up. A parent in the scenario you outlined would travel to the US with the child first, and then file an N600K. They could also file an I-130 for the child while they're living abroad, and when the child enters the US with their immigrant visa, in the custody of their US citizen parent, they would automatically become a US citizen.

The only provision I'm aware of for a child to acquire US citizenship without ever having been in the United States is if at least one biological parent was a US citizen at the time the child was born, and that parent meets the physical presence requirements.

[NoVisaCanuck 9]

Yes. You missed the part that says the child must be temporarily present in the United States, after having been lawfully admitted and having maintained their status.

INA section 322 was designed for the scenario you described. You just got the order and process a little mixed up. A parent in the scenario you outlined would travel to the US with the child first, and then file an N600K. They could also file an I-130 for the child while they're living abroad, and when the child enters the US with their immigrant visa, in the custody of their US citizen parent, they would automatically become a US citizen.

The only provision I'm aware of for a child to acquire US citizenship without ever having been in the United States is if at least one biological parent was a US citizen at the time the child was born, and that parent meets the physical presence requirements.

First of all, thanks to all of you, JimVaPhuong, NigeriaorBust, aaron2020, for your helpful input. But I find INA code can be even more complex than the IRS code(and we all know ehat that's like!!). Anyway I don't think we're quite there yet. Most of your feedback concerns the scenario where a foreign born child of a USC parent, who has landed lawfully as a permanent resident and is now living with that parent in the U.S. Most of these cases are adopted children of USC parents because biological chidren born overseas to a USC parent would normally just file a registration of overseas birth of a USC child for purpose of automatic citizenship.

My scenario is a foreign-born child residing outside of the US with their USC parent(s). I read that 2 things are different in this case;

1) citizenship is NOT automatic, application for naturalization is necessary, complete with swearing of oath, provided that the child comprehends and is conversant in English, and

2) child and USC parent have to travel and perform this on US soil, with the child having lawfully been admitted and manintaining status, but NOT AS LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT.

I've uploaded the USCIS CCA of 2000 Fact Sheet and this scenarion seems to be described there in the LAST section under caption "Is Automatic Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and Residing Outside the United States?". The scenario you folks have talked about instead is described in the first sections of this document. Does this make sense?

[NoVisaCanuck 9]

You've misinterpret quite a few things.

First, as Nigeriaorbust pointed out, you ignored the requirement that "[t]he child is temporarily present in the United States after having entered lawfully and is maintaining lawful status in the United States." Under the Child Citizenship Act, the law requires that the child be 1) under age 18, 2) have a US citizen parent, 3) reside with the US citizen parent, and 4) be admitted as a lawful permanent resident.

Second, there is no interview or oath swearing allegiance to the US because a minor automatically becomes a US citizen when all four conditions for the Child Citizenship Act are met which makes an interview and oath unnecessary.

Isn't "[t]he child is temporarily present in the United States after having entered lawfully and is maintaining lawful status in the United States." and be admitted as a lawful permanent resident. contradictory? A "lawful PERMANENT resident person wouldn't be "temporarily present in lawful status", right?.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

First of all, thanks to all of you, JimVaPhuong, NigeriaorBust, aaron2020, for your helpful input. But I find INA code can be even more complex than the IRS code(and we all know ehat that's like!!). Anyway I don't think we're quite there yet. Most of your feedback concerns the scenario where a foreign born child of a USC parent, who has landed lawfully as a permanent resident and is now living with that parent in the U.S. Most of these cases are adopted children of USC parents because biological chidren born overseas to a USC parent would normally just file a registration of overseas birth of a USC child for purpose of automatic citizenship.

That's section 320 of the INA. A child of a US citizen who is physically present in the US, in the custody of the US citizen parent, and who has been admitted for permanent resident status will automatically become a US citizen. There are two ways to be admitted for permanent resident status; enter with an immigrant visa, or adjust status after entering the US.

Most of those covered by INA 320 are not adopted children. They are children of a parent who became a US citizen after the child was born, and the majority of those children are already in the United States and already have green cards. The child becomes a citizen when the parent becomes a citizen. Most of the remainder are children who enter the US with an immigrant visa after the parent becomes a US citizen. Some adjust status from within the United States because they didn't enter with an immigrant visa.

My scenario is a foreign-born child residing outside of the US with their USC parent(s). I read that 2 things are different in this case;

1) citizenship is NOT automatic, application for naturalization is necessary, complete with swearing of oath, provided that the child comprehends and is conversant in English, and

2) child and USC parent have to travel and perform this on US soil, with the child having lawfully been admitted and manintaining status, but NOT AS LAWFUL PERMANENT RESIDENT.

I've uploaded the USCIS CCA of 2000 Fact Sheet and this scenarion seems to be described there in the LAST section under caption "Is Automatic Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and Residing Outside the United States?". The scenario you folks have talked about instead is described in the first sections of this document. Does this make sense?

That's section 322 of the INA. The US citizen parent or grandparent must meet the physical presence requirement, the child must reside abroad with the US citizen parent, and the child is temporarily present in the United States. The oath requirement is usually waived.

You are correct that INA 320 is automatic, whereas INA 322 requires an application.

The original post in this thread involved a US citizen parent who naturalized after her child was born. She was living in the United States. The child was living abroad. The OP wanted to know if she could send an N600K for the child and skip the physical custody requirement, and get citizenship for the child before he was 18. The answer to the OP's question was no. I responded that the N600K was for adoptive parents or children who would have been eligible to submit an N600 after arriving in the US but their US citizen parent died. I omitted the option for a US citizen living abroad with physical custody of the child because it didn't apply to the OP's situation - the US citizen parent wasn't living abroad, and didn't have physical custody of the child. What you have done is introduced a situation that fits this third scenario. If you're saying that I should have included this third scenario in my response then you're probably correct - for the sake of completeness I should have included it. It wouldn't have changed my answer to the OP, but it would have been a more complete answer.

I agree that the law is not easy to read and understand, but I don't think the INA is among the most poorly written federal laws. I recently tried reading the Affordable Care Act and found myself utterly confused about a large portion of it.

[NigeriaorBust 4,087]

All this ignores the obvious route of filing an I130 for the child of a USC and him getting citizenship after 5 years as a green card holder.

[NoVisaCanuck 9]

That's section 320 of the INA. A child of a US citizen who is physically present in the US, in the custody of the US citizen parent, and who has been admitted for permanent resident status will automatically become a US citizen. There are two ways to be admitted for permanent resident status; enter with an immigrant visa, or adjust status after entering the US.

Most of those covered by INA 320 are not adopted children. They are children of a parent who became a US citizen after the child was born, and the majority of those children are already in the United States and already have green cards. The child becomes a citizen when the parent becomes a citizen. Most of the remainder are children who enter the US with an immigrant visa after the parent becomes a US citizen. Some adjust status from within the United States because they didn't enter with an immigrant visa.

That's section 322 of the INA. The US citizen parent or grandparent must meet the physical presence requirement, the child must reside abroad with the US citizen parent, and the child is temporarily present in the United States. The oath requirement is usually waived.

You are correct that INA 320 is automatic, whereas INA 322 requires an application.

The original post in this thread involved a US citizen parent who naturalized after her child was born. She was living in the United States. The child was living abroad. The OP wanted to know if she could send an N600K for the child and skip the physical custody requirement, and get citizenship for the child before he was 18. The answer to the OP's question was no. I responded that the N600K was for adoptive parents or children who would have been eligible to submit an N600 after arriving in the US but their US citizen parent died. I omitted the option for a US citizen living abroad with physical custody of the child because it didn't apply to the OP's situation - the US citizen parent wasn't living abroad, and didn't have physical custody of the child. What you have done is introduced a situation that fits this third scenario. If you're saying that I should have included this third scenario in my response then you're probably correct - for the sake of completeness I should have included it. It wouldn't have changed my answer to the OP, but it would have been a more complete answer.

I agree that the law is not easy to read and understand, but I don't think the INA is among the most poorly written federal laws. I recently tried reading the Affordable Care Act and found myself utterly confused about a large portion of it.

Wow, this is outstanding in clarity and detailed, JimVaPhuong! Thanks so much again!!! I definitely wasn't implying that you omitted anything. I just want to double-check my understanding before i apply the N-600K for my 2 under 18 kids, which now I am confident pursuing with your helpful explanation.