Spouse about to petition for US citizenship

[dreid71 0]

Hi everyone,

My British spouse is about to petition for her US Citizenship within the next coming days. my questions are our about 14 y.o. son (not my biological child).

When she submit the N-400 along with the required documents and once she becomes a naturalized US citizen, can we apply for his US passport straight away without submitting the application N-600?

or it's mandatory and we must file the N-600 along with her N-400 for our son to obtain a US passport?

 

Also, can the petition process be completed online via the USCIS website by creating an account or it has to be done by post to the lockbox facility address provided?

 

Any advise would be appreciated!

[Dashinka 24,523]

The N600 is not required.  The minor child will immediately become a USC when their parent naturalizes and can apply for a passport through the naturalization certificate of their parent.  There are some reasons for the child to get their own certificate, but they slip my mind, @Mike Emight have that info.

 

Good Luck!

Edited July 25, 2022 by Dashinka

[Timona 4,207]

N400 can be done online. 

[Nkrish83 65]

1 hour ago, dreid71 said:

Hi everyone,

My British spouse is about to petition for her US Citizenship within the next coming days. my questions are our about 14 y.o. son (not my biological child).

When she submit the N-400 along with the required documents and once she becomes a naturalized US citizen, can we apply for his US passport straight away without submitting the application N-600?

or it's mandatory and we must file the N-600 along with her N-400 for our son to obtain a US passport?

 

Also, can the petition process be completed online via the USCIS website by creating an account or it has to be done by post to the lockbox facility address provided?

 

Any advise would be appreciated!

Once your wife's N400 is approved, her children are eligible to apply for a US passport directly attaching her citizenship proof.  The N-600 helps your children later in life when they need to prove citizenship in specific situations (e.g. Security clearance). Passport is sufficient in 90% of the cases. The N600 is more of a "nice to have" so that the child can prove his/her citizenship independently without having to attach your wife's N400 since his passport is based on derivate citizenship. 

 

As far as N400 goes, online is the popular option as it's quicker and more efficient. Just have your wife created an account on myUSCIS and the application is fairly self explanatory online with the ability to add supporting documents prior to submission of the application. Irrespective of how you file, you'd have eventual online access, even with a paper application. 

[Mike E 11,739]

2 hours ago, Dashinka said:

The N600 is not required.  The minor child will immediately become a USC when their parent naturalizes and can apply for a passport through the naturalization certificate of their parent.  There are some reasons for the child to get their own certificate, but they slip my mind, @Mike Emight have that info.

 

Good Luck!

A certificate of citizenship might be required for:

 

* an I-485 interview when petitioning a relative 

* registering online to vote 

* getting REAL ID at a dmv 

* getting a security clearance 

* some  roles in federal service 

* some roles in enlisted military service 

* commissioning as an officer in military service 

* getting a social security number 

* replacing a  passport when one has neither an old passport or passport card (this is why you get a passport code) and you don’t want to pay the file search fee or your parents don’t want to loan you their naturalization certificates (or they’ve lost them)

 

In most cases these requirements show up decades after the minor has attained citizenship and the parents have lost the evidence used to get the minor a passport. Or they have passed away. 
 

 In some cases as adults these citizens are unable to drive or work and end up destitute because they can’t navigate the bureaucracies they don’t want to help them. I’ve helped a few get their passports but it can take months.  

If you don’t want to file N-600 for your child after getting the passport book and card, at least preserve evidence used to get the passport book and card.  

Edited July 25, 2022 by Mike E

[Chancy 6,241]

*** Moved from US Citizenship Progress Reports to General Discussion ***