*Update on Passport for young son of a Naturalized citizen.*

[Roselinda 5]

For those who are unaware.......I was having MAJOR issues with obtaining a US passport for my son. However, it is all rectified and my son is now the owner of a 5-year passport.

I hope some of the information I give will help anyone else going through the dramas that we did.

1. I applied seperately for my son, as he needed his expedited for his booked trip to London.

This was a bad idea as my first RFE was for my Naturalization certificate, which of course was stuck with my own application somewhere in the system.

2. I was advised that my son could still travel on his UK passport, and re-enter using his greencard as he still had it, and seeing as his passport would not be issued in time.

He had no problem travelling as an unacommpanied minor, and was granted re-entry on his greencard, HOWEVER, the immigration officers did inform his escort that my son needs a US passport for future travel. Thankfully, they took pity on a 10 year old boy.

3. Once I completed the requirements requested, which included the completion of a DS-3053 form. I sent his greencard, copy of my marriage certificate, my naturalization certificate and a statement regarding custody of my son.

The form above is what you have to fill in if you have contact with your childs' natural father/mother and they are happy to give permission for a passport to be issued. It is also for you to put your side across if you do not have access, or are in regular contact with the absent parent. I typed a two page letter explaining the difference in custody law between the UK and the USA, seeing as myself and my sons' father were never married.

I had to include copy of my marriage certificate as of course, my name on my son's birth certificate, was my maiden name, and not my now married name. I never really even thought about that being a problem.

When I went to check up on his application, I was informed that another letter was sent out requesting yet more custody information. So I called the help number and was told that someone would call me back regarding the second RFE. Thankfully, a gentleman called me later that evening, and was so helpful. The first thing he said was, I have no idea why they sent you out another letter......everyone at our office know that the custody laws are different worldwide. He then went on to say, ignore the letter, I am issuing his passport now.

Thankfully that is all over for now. I know it's long-winded but I hope it helps!

Just to reiterate: Include the GREENCARD for the child in the application, regardless of what the post office might tell you. The passport office informed me that most passports are delayed because of no greencard for the child. If your name is different to the name on the child's birth certificate, send your marriage certificate. Download a copy of the DS-3053 form and send with your application.

Good luck everyone!

[TBoneTX 45,594]

*** Thread moved from main U.S. Citizenship forum to the "Passports, etc." subforum. ***

[Ontarkie 14,305]

Yay!

[SerenityNOW 11]

Thanks to roselinda for posting about your experience! and congratulations

I will add my own info here instead of starting a new thread, as it is similar. (I tried to build a wiki page, but the system is not recognizing my login name any more, so I wasted too much time there already ... it's a great idea for someone to build a page for this topic of passport for offspring of a naturalized citizen, as there are definitely some unique aspects).

The major caveat in our case was that my stepson is 16 - there are special instructions for applicants aged 16 and 17 - and I think that because he is 16, we didn't need extra consent from his mother in Bulgaria for him to apply for a passport, just his father (my husband). We were told only one parent had to consent in his case and nobody ever inquired about custody agreements.

Background: My husband naturalized in 2012, and we brought his son to the US this spring. My husband was married to the mother of his children when my stepson was born, and both the parents' names appear on the birth certificate, which was issued days after the birth of the child. So a pretty straightforward case.

Since my stepson immigrated after my husband became a citizen, he never received a green card, and we applied for the passport under the rules of the Child Citizen Act of 2000. Here's what we included in my stepson's application (we did it at a small-town city hall, as I knew better than to apply at a post office with our weird case, but we probably should have just gone to the Passport Agency in San Francisco):

Our initial application included:

1. My son's birth certificate + "official" translation from an agency in Bulgaria with all the stamps and signatures

2. A photocopy of the I-551 stamp in his passport with the visa (WRONG! I was surprised by this, that only a photocopy was required and sure enough we ended up having to send the actual passport)

3. A photocopy of his father's passport showing he is an American citizen. (WRONG again - again, the person taking our application was incorrect, they requested his naturalization certificate)

We got a letter within a couple of weeks from the Western Passport Center requesting EITHER:

1. My stepson's naturalization certificate (which we never got, nor do we plan to)

OR

1. His father's naturalization certificate

2. "Evidence of legal admission to the United States for permanent residence such as your Permanent Resident Card/Green Card, foreign passport containing a I-551 visa entry stamp; or documentation from USCIS verifying your legal entry." We sent his foreign passport (he never got a green card, nor will he ever since he was a citizen on the day he entered @ POE)

3. His parents' marriage certificate. <<<<< THIS is not mentioned on the CCA website, so we didn't know about this requirement.

The translation of my husband's marriage certificate with his first wife that we used for USCIS (translated by my husband's bilingual co-worker) was not acceptable to the Passport Center - they required the stamps and signatures of an agency. I called around and received quotes of $70 to $115 for this one little page that was, by the way, already translated! I found an awesome woman on the internet who charged me $39 and we had the document in hand 2 days after I sent it to her online (Prime Language Services, if anyone is interested).

We sent the requested documents last Saturday (insured for $1000 because it would be an unimaginable PITA for us to replace that foreign passport - fly to Los Angeles, rent a car to go to the consulate etc ). I was worried the government shutdown would affect this but nope, my stepson's US passport arrived yesterday, so the entire process, including RFE and having to get a translation done, took less than a month.

I guess the bottom line in all of this, or what I learned was:

1. Even a city hall isn't really going to know how to do these CCA applications. If you can't make it to a passport center, you will probably be educating the person accepting the application

2. EVERYTHING has to be original or certified (duh, I don't know why I trusted the person who took our application that a photocopy was OK)

3. Any translations have to be through an actual translation service. This is different from the USCIS requirement. I checked with the Passport Center if the actual document used for the I-130 was good enough and they said no, they need to be able to call someone "official" (like the random lady I found on the Internet)

Edited October 5, 2013 by SerenityNOW

[lucy4 11]

Do you have to go update the Social Security Office of their status after receiving the passport?