Naturalization father & son (16y)

[little immigrant 801]

So my stepson will come here soon. His father is eligible to apply for naturalization this October under the 3 year rule. The boy will turn 16 then. Is there a minimum residency requirement that the boy has to fulfill to become a citizen when his father naturalizes? Six months maybe? Or could he fly in let's say a week before and they get naturalized at the same time? Or how does it this all work? 

 

I understood today that the father wants his son to activate the green card and fly back home and come back later. I just don't want the boy to miss out on citizenship. I understand that the time the application is send in is not the time he naturalizes. I know it will take time. But I hope it will be before the boy turns 18.

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

In order to automatically acquire citizenship when/after his father naturalizes, he has to be living in the US in the physical and legal custody of his father. There is no minimum time before he can apply, yet he has to meet the requirements. If he is not actually living in the US, just flies in to get his green card then leaves again. then he does not meet them.  If he leaves now but returns to live in his dad’s custody before he turns 18 (and assuming he has not been out too long and lost his green card during that time) then that will be the point at which he meets the conditions and acquires citizenship. 

 

The conditions (all have to be met simultaneously):

 

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 February 27, 2001:[2]

• 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.

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policy-manual/volume-12-part-h-chapter-4

[aaron2020 11,651]

To gain US citizenship, his son can not just pop into the US, activate his green card, and return back home.  He needs to reside in the US with his USC father.  He will need proof of that to get either the N-600 or a US passport.  The easiest way is registering and attending your local high school as proof of residency.  

[little immigrant 801]

1 hour ago, aaron2020 said:

To gain US citizenship, his son can not just pop into the US, activate his green card, and return back home.  He needs to reside in the US with his USC father.  He will need proof of that to get either the N-600 or a US passport.  The easiest way is registering and attending your local high school as proof of residency.  

He wants to finish school in his home country. It's his last year. 

 

Thank you for your responses. I'll let them know. 

Edited February 1, 2021 by little immigrant

[aaron2020 11,651]

10 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

He wants to finish school in his home country. It's his last year. 

 

Thank you for your responses. I'll let them know. 

Will he graduate high school before he turns 18?

 

Once his father naturalizes, he can immigrate at any time before age 18 to live with his father and derive US citizenship.  

I think you are under the mistaken notion that they need to "naturalize" at the same time.  

Edited February 1, 2021 by aaron2020

[little immigrant 801]

6 hours ago, aaron2020 said:

Will he graduate high school before he turns 18?

 

Once his father naturalizes, he can immigrate at any time before age 18 to live with his father and derive US citizenship.  

I think you are under the mistaken notion that they need to "naturalize" at the same time.  

So if he isn't here by the day of the oath but joins us after as long as he's not 18 yet, he'll be a citizen? 

 

Yes he will finish school before 18. I don't know if they call it high school in Nicaragua. I finished my high school in Germany at 17 and that was only because I had to repeat a year. Usually you finish school in Germany at 16. Is that not usual for Americans? Sorry I didn't grow up here and I don't know how the school system works. 

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

1 hour ago, little immigrant said:

So if he isn't here by the day of the oath but joins us after as long as he's not 18 yet, he'll be a citizen? 

 

 

Yes. I said that too but maybe it wasn’t clear. 
 

10 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

If he leaves now but returns to live in his dad’s custody before he turns 18 (and assuming he has not been out too long and lost his green card during that time) then that will be the point at which he meets the conditions and acquires citizenship. 

 

People here seem to usually finish high school at 17 or 18. The school system runs 12 years.
 

(16 is pretty young anywhere in the world to finish. Does Germany have a two tier system like the uk (where you “can” finish at o-levels but you can also continue to a-levels? I somehow thought 18 was normal for Germans to finish school too, isn’t abitur written around age 18?)

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[little immigrant 801]

24 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

Yes. I said that too but maybe it wasn’t clear. 

I probably just didn't understand. When I'm nervous and anxious I tend to not understand things. I have seen this on here and I want to ask. If my husband takes the oath and the boy flies in after but is still under 18, do we need to pay the green card fee? Or is this one of those rare situations where you can get away with not paying it? How do you apply for a passport without a green card since technically he is a citizen as soon as he enters? So would it be better to pay the green card fee anyways even though it's just an old artifact at this point? This scenario probably won't apply to us anyways but I want to ask so I can tell my husband.

 

He told me he doesn't want to extend the visa and redo the medical at this point because it took a lot of effort and they don't want to do it again. He just wants the green card activated and the boy will return to finish his school and then come back to live here.

 

24 minutes ago, SusieQQQ said:

(16 is pretty young anywhere in the world to finish. Does Germany have a two tier system like the uk (where you “can” finish at o-levels but you can also continue to a-levels? I somehow thought 18 was normal for Germans to finish school too, isn’t abitur written around age 18?)

No idea what all of this means. Sorry. In Germany you can choose to do Abitur which is, I believe, 3 years in addition. The pupil will do it to qualify for university. I was never interested in this anyways. Some people will just start Ausbildung which is an apprenticeship. You learn your job on the job with a dual school system. It usually goes for 2-3 years. I chose to do Ausbildung at 17.

 

Another question that I have that is not related to this but kind of. I don't want a new topic to get deleted again even though my last one was a different question and it was deleted and not merged. I don't want to lose it again either. My question is as follows. The boy doesn't want to fly in without his mother. I was under the impression that my husband will fly there and "pick him up" and they fly back together. For some reason, that's not on the table. He wants his mom. Now the mom doesn't have any immigration benefit and she will need to apply for a B2 visa. I understand that nobody can tell me with certainty but maybe there were some experiences or  someone remembers a similar situation that was posted here. How likely is it that the mother gets a B2 visa approved to come here, drop off his son and stay for a few days and then return? A little background. His father (my husband) overstayed his B2 and so did my husband's brother. I don't know if they will find out about that because the mother and father are divorced for a couple of years now. So she doesn't have any relation to my husband or my husband's brother. I know in America it will show connections like that even years after a divorce with a background check but I don't know about Nicaragua. Again, I would post this under a different topic and maybe under the Nicaragua region but I run risk of it getting deleted again and I don't want to lose my text and my question. Please. And now I can't double post it either.

Edited February 1, 2021 by little immigrant

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

15 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

If my husband takes the oath and the boy flies in after but is still under 18, do we need to pay the green card fee? Or is this one of those rare situations where you can get away with not paying it?

Yes (yes he can get away with not paying the GC fee), he can present the page of his passport with the stamped immigrant visa as proof he was admitted as an LPR.

 

15 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

No idea what all of this means. Sorry. In Germany you can choose to do Abitur which is, I believe, 3 years in addition. The pupil will do it to qualify for university

Ok so, in the US most people will complete high school after 12th grade which is what you need for college admission. there is no formal step at which you leave earlier like there is in Germany. If you leave before completing 12th grade you are considered to have dropped out of high school. So, most people who complete high school will do so at 17 or 18.

 

15 minutes ago, little immigrant said:

When I'm nervous and anxious I tend to not understand things

🤗

 

As for the mom and B2 visa, unfortunately, impossible to say. but whatever shows up in US immigration systems in the US will be available to the embassy in Nicaragua.
 

But this does lead me to ask: has the father got a court order showing he has at least joint custody of the son? If not, then the son will not be able to acquire citizenship. 
 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[aaron2020 11,651]

As long as the son comes to live with his USC father before age 18 and he has acquired legal permanent residency, he will automatically become a US citizen.  If he can't come before age 18, he can always naturalize on his own.

When mom gives permission for the son to immigrate to be with his father, it meets the requirement that he will be living in the legal custody of the USC parent. 

Mom's ability to get a B2 depends entirely on her situation.  

Edited February 1, 2021 by aaron2020

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

19 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

When mom gives permission for the son to immigrate to be with his father, it meets the requirement that he will be living in the legal custody of the USC parent. 

He needs more than permission. The permission may be ok to get an immigrant visa. But, there needs to be formal custody to acquire citizenship. This has been reported a number of times by single /divorced parents here (various forum posts), when they found the permission given to immigrate was not sufficient to get a passport or n600. Per the uscis manual (same link as my earlier post):

 

Legal and Physical Custody of U.S. Citizen Parent

Legal custody refers to the responsibility for and authority over a child. For purposes of this provision, USCIS presumes that a U.S. citizen parent has legal custody of a child and recognizes that the parent has lawful authority over the child, absent evidence to the contrary, in all of the following scenarios:^[8]

• A biological child who currently resides with both biological parents who are married to each other, living in marital union, and not separated;

• A biological child who currently resides with a surviving biological parent, if the other parent is deceased;

• A biological child born out of wedlock who has been legitimated and currently resides with the parent;

• An adopted child with a final adoption decree who currently resides with the adoptive U.S. citizen parent;^[9]

• A child of divorced or legally separated parents where a court of law or other appropriate government entity has awarded primary care, control, and maintenance of the child to a parent under the laws of the state or country of residence.

USCIS considers a U.S. citizen parent who has been awarded “joint custody” to have legal custody of a child. There may be other factual circumstances under which USCIS may find the U.S. citizen parent to have legal custody to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

 

 

 

 

Edited February 1, 2021 by SusieQQQ

[HRQX 4,145]

4 hours ago, little immigrant said:

do we need to pay the green card fee?

The GC fee is optional, but the endorsed IV is valid only for 1 year after the activation entry. Thus he won't be able to board a plane with it after that 1 year mark. https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Mar/2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf How long would he be outside the US after the activation entry?

[YecaCruz 379]

if he ends up coming to the US while he's under 18 years old, remember he is also going to need a exit visa for minors to leave Nicaragua which is a whole process in of itself.  https://www.migob.gob.ni/migracion/tramites/visa-de-salida-de-menor

It's very difficult for Nicaraguans to get tourist visas without very strong and convincing ties. Your stepson should be prepared to the possibility that his mom may not be able to bring him (but she may get it too, won't know until the tourist visa interview)

 

On a side note my brother-in-law, Nicaraguan, graduated high school when he was 16. Did your stepson's last year start this year (2021?). Typical school year is like Feb to Nov so he SHOULD be good to come, with school all done, before he's 18

[little immigrant 801]

19 hours ago, HRQX said:

The GC fee is optional, but the endorsed IV is valid only for 1 year after the activation entry. Thus he won't be able to board a plane with it after that 1 year mark. https://www.cbp.gov/sites/default/files/assets/documents/2019-Mar/2019 Carrier Information Guide - ENGLISH.pdf How long would he be outside the US after the activation entry?

He'll finish school in November. The interview is February 11 

 

  

19 hours ago, YecaCruz said:

if he ends up coming to the US while he's under 18 years old, remember he is also going to need a exit visa for minors to leave Nicaragua which is a whole process in of itself.  https://www.migob.gob.ni/migracion/tramites/visa-de-salida-de-menor

It's very difficult for Nicaraguans to get tourist visas without very strong and convincing ties. Your stepson should be prepared to the possibility that his mom may not be able to bring him (but she may get it too, won't know until the tourist visa interview)

 

On a side note my brother-in-law, Nicaraguan, graduated high school when he was 16. Did your stepson's last year start this year (2021?). Typical school year is like Feb to Nov so he SHOULD be good to come, with school all done, before he's 18

Yes it's his last year. Thank you for the link, I have forwarded it to my husband so he can figure all of this out.

 

  

23 hours ago, SusieQQQ said:

He needs more than permission. The permission may be ok to get an immigrant visa. But, there needs to be formal custody to acquire citizenship. This has been reported a number of times by single /divorced parents here (various forum posts), when they found the permission given to immigrate was not sufficient to get a passport or n600. Per the uscis manual (same link as my earlier post):

 

Legal and Physical Custody of U.S. Citizen Parent

Legal custody refers to the responsibility for and authority over a child. For purposes of this provision, USCIS presumes that a U.S. citizen parent has legal custody of a child and recognizes that the parent has lawful authority over the child, absent evidence to the contrary, in all of the following scenarios:^[8]

• A biological child who currently resides with both biological parents who are married to each other, living in marital union, and not separated;

• A biological child who currently resides with a surviving biological parent, if the other parent is deceased;

• A biological child born out of wedlock who has been legitimated and currently resides with the parent;

• An adopted child with a final adoption decree who currently resides with the adoptive U.S. citizen parent;^[9]

• A child of divorced or legally separated parents where a court of law or other appropriate government entity has awarded primary care, control, and maintenance of the child to a parent under the laws of the state or country of residence.

USCIS considers a U.S. citizen parent who has been awarded “joint custody” to have legal custody of a child. There may be other factual circumstances under which USCIS may find the U.S. citizen parent to have legal custody to be determined on a case-by-case basis.

 

 

 

 

I asked my husband before but he said there was nothing decided by the court so I'm not sure which custody it would be. I will bring this up to him again

Edited February 2, 2021 by little immigrant