Child under 18

[Cate akue 3]

Hi everybody,So I’m ready to file my N 400 based on marriage qualification.The thing is I have a 8 year old who also is not a citizen.Now how do I go about it.Will I need to wait for my approval before we get to process her naturalization?

[Dashinka 24,480]

Your child will automatically derive US citizenship when you are naturalized (I.e. successfully complete interview and oath ceremony) assuming the child is still a minor when you finish which seems likely since she is only 8.  When you finish your naturalization and have your certificate you can apply for a U.S. passport for yourself and your daughter.  You can also file the N600 at that time to get your daughter a certificate of naturalization.

 

Good Luck!

 

https://www.uscitizenship.info/us-citizenship/how-to-apply-for-us-citizenship-for-child-below-age-18/#

Edited February 26, 2023 by Dashinka

[Mike E 11,739]

To get your child  a U.S. passport you need to have evidence that the child: 

*  is your child 

*  lives with you 

*  is in your legal custody 

*  has LPR status 

* you are a U.S. citizen 

* the above all happened before she reached age 18

 

IMO  these are  facts:

* the longer a parent waits to secure a U.S. citizenship document for the child, the harder it becomes to prove the child is. U.S. citizen. It actually becomes exponentially harder because evidence, like radioactivity of isotopes has a half life.  It’s actually the law of physics: order tends to disorder aka the Law of Entropy 

 

* you get exactly one chance to file N-600.  Often when parents decide to try N-600 first, they get RFE for evidence. The parent doesn’t know how to respond to RFE, and the case is denied. Forever.   Whereas if the passport acceptance agent is half way competent the agent won’t accept the application with incomplete evidence. 
 

* whereas you can  try as many times as you want  to get a passport 

 

* passports get lost and replacing a passport without a certificate of citizenship is hard. Replacing a passport when you have a passport card is easy. 
 

Thus the parent should first try to get the child a passport and passport card. And this should be done at the same time, at the same appointment with the passport acceptance agent (for example the post office). Both parent and child should get a passport card because

* it seems losing the naturalization certificate is inevitable. 

* the CBP Ready Lanes at ports of entry on the land border don’t work with passports but try do work with passport cards 
 

Make sure to make a complete copy of everything sent to the passport agency. While most evidence (except a green card) will come back, sometimes the post office or the passport agency loses it.  
 

Once the child has a passport and passport card:

 

* Once same evidence used to get the passport, file N-600 online to get the child a certificate of citizenship, plus the passport, passport card, and any note the passport agency sent back regarding the passport agency confiscating the green card 

 

* Parent and child should go to SSA to get a new SS card. If the child has has an SSN a passport card is fine for this. If the child has never had an SSN, then a certificate of citizenship might be required. 

 

In lieu of a green card, hopefully the parent retained the original passport used to enter the U.S. on an immigration visa or the original I-485 approval document. 
 

Some people will tell you that your child doesn’t need certificate of citizenship. I disagree:

 

* A citizen has no right to a U.S. passport.  Certain acts such as habitually losing a passport, being behind on child support payments, or being placed on certain no fly lists can cause one to be denied a passport. Whereas a qualified citizen has a right to a certificate of citizenship. I don’t   think a family court judge will have any pity on someone who can’t get a passport, and thus can’t get a job to pay child support and thus can’t get a passport. 

 

* investigators performing security clearances for certain roles in service of the federal government, military, or federal contractor are known to reject a U.S. passport as evidence of U.S. citizenship 

 

* Some citizens of certain countries are denied certain roles.  A certificate of citizenship identifies the previous nationality. Hence a passport is not accepted when applying for those roles 

 

* At some state DMVs, if the SAVE system doesn’t verify U.S. citizenship using the passport card, some DMVs will override SAVE if a certificate of citizenship is presented 

 

* When registering online to vote, some states require those with a US birth certificate or CRBA to provide the number from a  certificate of citizenship or naturalization. 

* When petitioning a relative for LPR status (aka filing I-130) USCIS and sometimes the department of state won’t accept a U.S. passport as evidence of U.S. citizenship. It is rare but it does happen. 
 

 

[Timona 4,207]

Is this child in US? Did you mention this child in your applications??

[Cate akue 3]

On 2/26/2023 at 9:32 AM, Timona said:

Yes she is in the US.And yes I mentioned her..I haven’t sent the documents yet.

Edited February 27, 2023 by Cate akue

[Mike E 11,739]

Delete

Edited February 28, 2023 by Mike E
Delete due to hijack

[Ontarkie 14,216]

~~Hijack posts have been removed. Please do not post questions about your own case in other member's threads. If you have questions you should start your own thread.~~

[Chancy 6,241]

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