Confused: File for I-130 or N-600k under §322 INA?

[R&OC 371]

We have just filled out the I-130 for my biological children who are residing with us abroad under military orders. But we haven't mailed the petitions yet for some mundane reasons as my printer running out of paper. I am a dual citizen of Germany and the US. 

 

I came across the Children's Citizenship Act of 2000 based on a message I received here. Is it possible that I can file the n-600k for my children instead of the I-130?

 

In case I am allowed to file the n-600k: It would really depend on what counts towards physical presence in the US: I have several years as a student and au-pair and a few months as a tourist before I received the LPR status. I am also currently on my husbands orders overseas and although the n-600k form does not explicitly state that my time abroad counts towards being physical present in the US, I am assuming it does as it has counted towards my physical presence in my immigrant timeline. 

 

Just in case it matters, both kids are living with us and are also on my husbands military orders. Or would I have to file the I-130 after all? I am very confused.

 

I wouldn't want to waste the n-600k filing fee only to find out, I should have pursued the I-130 route for my kids. I would very much like to hear what you think?

 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by R&OC

[Mike E 11,739]

Your children might already be US citizens if you have sufficient physical presence.  
 

Also I gather your spouse is also a US citizen and you were married to each other before your children were born. And that you were both US citizens before your children were born.    If so, your children are US citizens if either of you spend any time in the USA as citizens before your children were born.    See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law#Through_birth_abroad_to_United_States_citizens

If they are not citizens then, IMO, the  n-600K is only useful if you have no plans to live in the USA.  
 

You have plans to live in the USA.  So as soon as your children enter the USA on their immigration visas they will be US citizens because they are immigrants who are children of a US citizen who has physical and legal custody of them.  As soon as they enter, you would immediately file for their passport card and passport as it is easier to prove custody at the time versus decades later.  

 

After getting their passport and passport cards you would then file an N-600 for each child so they have a third proof of citizen.  This proof is sometimes needed for:

 

* certain government jobs.  It appears the family business is the military and there are some military roles that will require a certificate of citizenship 

 

* petitioning an alien for immigration.  Some IOs will demand the certificate of citizenship and some won’t.  It’s a dice roll.  
 

* registering to vote online in the state of Tennessee 

 

Edited May 3, 2021 by Mike E

[R&OC 371]

Actually, my children are from a previous marriage and their biological father is not a US citizen. I gained citizenship through Naturalization by being married to their stepdad. We never filed for their immigrant visa as their biological father is hesitant and flip-flopping from a yes, to a no and back to a maybe. If I could go the n-600k route, that would be a lot easier as it would save me from trying to get sole custody. My husband and I are willing to compromise on moving back to the US until the youngest one turns 18 if need be (not our favoured route but oh well).

[R&OC 371]

1 hour ago, R&OC said:

We have just filled out the I-130 for my biological children who are residing with us abroad under military orders. But we haven't mailed the petitions yet for some mundane reasons as my printer running out of paper. I am a dual citizen of Germany and the US. 

 

I came across the Children's Citizenship Act of 2000 based on a message I received here. Is it possible that I can file the n-600k for my children instead of the I-130?

 

In case I am allowed to file the n-600k: It would really depend on what counts towards physical presence in the US: I have several years as a student and au-pair and a few months as a tourist before I received the LPR status. I am also currently on my husbands orders overseas and although the n-600k form does not explicitly state that my time abroad counts towards being physical present in the US, I am assuming it does as it has counted towards my physical presence in my immigrant timeline. 

 

Just in case it matters, both kids are living with us and are also on my husbands military orders. Or would I have to file the I-130 after all? I am very confused.

 

I wouldn't want to waste the n-600k filing fee only to find out, I should have pursued the I-130 route for my kids. I would very much like to hear what you think?

 

 

Sorry, I didn't give enough background information as I am super confused at this point: Both my children are from a previous marriage. My husband is their stepdad and we are on military orders in Germany which happens to be their country of citizenship. I am a dual citizen of Germany and the US. I am worried that my kids may end up being left behind in terms of the immigration process but the I-130 is notoriously difficult when the biological parent is hesitant to support the immigration process. The N-600k route would allow us to wait until the kids are 18 and are no longer under the notion of having to decide between their biological father and myself. It would buy us so much time. My husband would be okay to wait until my youngest one turns 18 as I have a great job here that would support us plus his retirement pay.

[Dashinka 24,488]

42 minutes ago, R&OC said:

Sorry, I didn't give enough background information as I am super confused at this point: Both my children are from a previous marriage. My husband is their stepdad and we are on military orders in Germany which happens to be their country of citizenship. I am a dual citizen of Germany and the US. I am worried that my kids may end up being left behind in terms of the immigration process but the I-130 is notoriously difficult when the biological parent is hesitant to support the immigration process. The N-600k route would allow us to wait until the kids are 18 and are no longer under the notion of having to decide between their biological father and myself. It would buy us so much time. My husband would be okay to wait until my youngest one turns 18 as I have a great job here that would support us plus his retirement pay.

I think the N600K requires the child to be under 18 years of age.

[R&OC 371]

3 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

I think the N600K requires the child to be under 18 years of age.

Both kids are under 18 - they are 14 and 11

years old.

[Dashinka 24,488]

17 minutes ago, R&OC said:

Both kids are under 18 - they are 14 and 11

years old.

OK, I mis-understood your comment, I guess you are planning on doing the N600K before they turn 18 and then they can decide if they want to go to the US after they are 18.  The only other thing I don't fully understand about the N600K process is does time spent in the US (for the parent) apply if it occurred prior to naturalization.

[R&OC 371]

2 minutes ago, Dashinka said:

OK, I mis-understood your comment, I guess you are planning on doing the N600K before they turn 18 and then they can decide if they want to go to the US after they are 18.  The only other thing I don't fully understand about the N600K process is does time spent in the US (for the parent) apply if it occurred prior to naturalization.

Good question. From reading the instruction, it actually doesn’t say that would have to be the case. It mentions physical presence but not physical presence after naturalization.

[Just Paul 4,595]

N-600K does requires the child to be in the US to complete the process:   https://www.uscis.gov/forms/all-forms/tip-sheet-applying-for-form-n-600k-application-for-certificate-of-citizenship

 

But check this out as well: https://www.uscis.gov/military/citizenship-for-military-family-members

Edited May 4, 2021 by Paul & Mary

[Just Paul 4,595]

Correction: Presence not required while on Military orders.

[JKLSemicolon 411]

10 hours ago, Paul & Mary said:

Correction: Presence not required while on Military orders.

But is @R&OC in the military or only the stepfather? It isn't clear to me from the posts.

 

Quote

The entire process may be completed outside the United States if the child is residing abroad with a U.S. citizen parent who is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces and the child is authorized to accompany and reside abroad with the service member under official military orders. The child does not need to demonstrate the temporary physical presence, lawful admission, and maintenance of status requirements to be eligible for naturalization under INA section 322.

 

[Just Paul 4,595]

3 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

But is @R&OC in the military or only the stepfather?

Just the stepfather is in the military.

Edited May 4, 2021 by Paul & Mary

[JKLSemicolon 411]

3 minutes ago, Paul & Mary said:

Stepfather.

In that case what I am getting at is whether it matters that the service member is the stepfather for the purposes of meeting the requirements I quoted above (if @R&OC is not "a U.S. citizen parent who is a member of the U.S. Armed Forces").

[Chancy 6,241]

17 hours ago, JKLSemicolon said:

In that case what I am getting at is whether it matters that the service member is the stepfather for the purposes of meeting the requirements I quoted above

 

There does not seem to be any explicit requirement for the military parent to be the qualifying parent.  It seems that the children may qualify for the physical presence exception as long as they are included in the official orders.

 

[R&OC 371]

18 minutes ago, Chancy said:

 

There does not seem to be any explicit requirement for the military parent to be the qualifying parent.  It seems that the children may qualify for the physical presence exception as long as they are included in the official orders.

 

I am not sure I understand what you mean. The kids and I are all on my husbands orders (stepdad) but I am the one filing the N-600k as I am the biological parent. I am assuming that the days spent on his orders outside the US are counted as physical presence in the US (as it does for any other immigration purpose). I hope I am correct?