N400 for stepchild

[Cloud-9 3]

Hello everyone, I have a question regarding the N400 application.

 

-I am a USC (born in the US) and I petition for my Canadian husband 3 years ago, we successfully removed the conditions on his green card and he now has a new 10-year green card.

-Last year I also petition for my Canadian stepdaughter (she is 14 years old) and she has been living with us now for about 4 months, she also has a 10-year green card.

-My husband will soon be applying for his US citizenship and I understand that my stepdaughter will also automatically acquire her US citizenship through my husband's application. 

 

-My question is does my stepdaughter have to be living in the US for a certain period of time before she can be included in my husband's US citizenship application? 

-I was told by a co-worker that my stepdaughter has to first physically reside in the US for at least 12 months before my husband can include her in his US citizenship application, is this true?

 

Thank you in advance for your help.

Edited September 24, 2018 by StanRod

[BigDaddy28 228]

There is no required residency time for the child. If she is a permanent resident, under 18 at the time of oath and lives in the custody of the parent she becomes a US citizen the moment he becomes one. There is no required application for that. All you have to do after his oath is apply for a US passport for her using his certificate of naturalization. If you want to finish her profile with USCIS once and for all you can apply for a N600 (certificate of citizenship) and that will basically produce a certificate of citizenship for your step daughter and basically closes her profile with USCIS. I know an N600 is expensive. Many people disagree but i feel if a child acquired automatic citizenship, get him his own certificate that way he or she is fully independent of the parent's certificate later on. You dont have to apply for N600 right away, you can do it whenever (even in 2048 or past that). But get her at US passport because by law when the parent becomes a US CITIZEN she becomes one and she has to get out or enter the US with a US passport. 

 

GOOD LUCK

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

There is no minimum period. These are the conditions (official uscis website, not hearsay). If the child is under 18, has a green card and is residing with the parent, she will automatically naturalize when her parent does.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents

Children of U.S. Citizens Residing in the United States

Children who were born outside the U.S. but now live in the U.S. may acquire citizenship under Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). A child born outside of the United States automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when all of the following conditions have been met on or after Feb. 27, 2001: 

• The child has at least one parent, including an adoptive parent, who is a U.S. citizen by birth or through naturalization;
• The child is under 18 years of age;
• The child is a lawful permanent resident (LPR); and
• The child is residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent.

[geowrian 22,337]

Just the US passport suffices as evidence of being a USC. A naturalization certificate is unnecessary since you can do everything with a US passport than you can with the naturalization certificate...plus travel internationally. Even an expired passport is evidence of US citizenship (although you can't use it to travel overseas, obviously)

[Cloud-9 3]

11 hours ago, BigDaddy28 said:

There is no required residency time for the child. If she is a permanent resident, under 18 at the time of oath and lives in the custody of the parent she becomes a US citizen the moment he becomes one. There is no required application for that. All you have to do after his oath is apply for a US passport for her using his certificate of naturalization. If you want to finish her profile with USCIS once and for all you can apply for a N600 (certificate of citizenship) and that will basically produce a certificate of citizenship for your step daughter and basically closes her profile with USCIS. I know an N600 is expensive. Many people disagreecompletelybut i feel if a child acquired automatic citizenship, get him his own certificate that way he or she is fully independent of the parent's certificate later on. You dont have to apply for N600 right away, you can do it whenever (even in 2048 or past that). But get her at US passport because by law when the parent becomes a US CITIZEN she becomes one and she has to get out or enter the US with a US passport. 

 

GOOD LUCK

6

Thank you for the info! We will definitely apply for two N600 certificates of citizenships to completely seal the case with USCIS and avoid any headaches in the future!

[Cloud-9 3]

11 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

There is no minimum period. These are the conditions (official uscis website, not hearsay). If the child is under 18, has a green card and is residing with the parent, she will automatically naturalize when her parent does.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents

Children of U.S. Citizens Residing in the United States

Children who were born outside the U.S. but now live in the U.S. may acquire citizenship under Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). A child born outside of the United States automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when all of the following conditions have been met on or after Feb. 27, 2001: 

• The child has at least one parent, including an adoptive parent, who is a U.S. citizen by birth or through naturalization;
• The child is under 18 years of age;
• The child is a lawful permanent resident (LPR); and
• The child is residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent.

Thank you so much for the link. I just showed this to my co-worker and he apologized for giving me the wrong info  

[Cloud-9 3]

11 hours ago, geowrian said:

Just the US passport suffices as evidence of being a USC. A naturalization certificate is unnecessary since you can do everything with a US passport than you can with the naturalization certificate...plus travel internationally. Even an expired passport is evidence of US citizenship (although you can't use it to travel overseas, obviously)

Thank you for the suggestion. I have always used my passport as the main proof of citizenship, but what happens if you lose your passport and you don't have any expired passports in your possession?

 

In my case because I was born in the USA I can always provide my US birth certificate, but what if my husband of my stepdaughter were to lose their passport at some point how would they be able to prove that they are USC?

 

To avoid any issues in the future and to have another layer of proof we will apply for two N600 certificates of citizenships ($1,170 each) to completely seal the case with USCIS.

[geowrian 22,337]

3 minutes ago, StarRod said:

Thank you for the suggestion. I have always used my passport as the main proof of citizenship, but what happens if you lose your passport and you don't have any expired passports in your possession?

 

In my case because I was born in the USA I can always provide my US birth certificate, but what if my husband of my stepdaughter were to lose their passport at some point how would they be able to prove that they are USC?

  

To avoid any issues in the future and to have another layer of proof we will apply for two N600 certificates of citizenships ($1,170 each) to completely seal the case with USCIS.

Once issued one passport, any other valid ID would be sufficient to get a replacement. Or sending other evidence of being a USC, like they would do now in order to get the first passport.

 

Similarly, what would you do if you lost your birth certificate (and had no passport)? I guess getting a new copy of a birth certificate is a little easier since it's only a copy of an original document, but many orignal BCs have been damaged/lost/destroyed over the years well.

 

But if you are inclined to get a naturalization certificate, that is 100% your choice. I'm just saying its not necessary.