Is filing N-600 really necessary?

[mam521 2,023]

16 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Are you sure your kids US citizens then? DOS may decide they're not until proven many years down the line.

 

I totally see how difficult your situation is, but you asked whether it's worth it The more info you're giving, the more I see the need to somehow obtain it to avoid issues in the future. It won't be easy for them to prove how they became citizens based on what you described.

The children are under 18 and have obtained derivative citizenship through my naturalization.  That is not in question.  

 

When they became LPR's, I was able to present to the interviewing officer a notarized statement from their father in addition to the informal Parenting Agreement. It was to a human, though, and they could ask questions (they didn't). 

 

When I got their passports, I was able to provide the DS-3052. 

 

I read earlier today on one of the immigration lawyer sites that a custody agreement is an example of evidence and not necessarily a requirement.  In our case, it would be because the Family Law Act for the jurisdiction the father lives in does not require the Parenting Agreement to be filed in court so long as the guardians can make decisions for the children that are in their best interest.  It's also important to note the agreement was made prior to obtaining both my PR and naturalization.  If this is the case, a notarized letter from their father, like the one we had during our consular interview in addition to our Parenting Agreement, should suffice.  

 

It's really frustrating that there are formalized provisions for passports, but not for this.  This requirement is really discriminatory against parents who can co-parent effectively and don't require, nor should they pay for lawyers and court time.  Honestly, if I had sole custody, I wouldn't even have had to notify their father that I applied for their passports.  By requiring the DS-3052, he is fully aware and provided permission for me to do so.  It makes more sense to have a provision for a case like this where one can prove both parents are onboard with a simple notarized form.  

[Ontarkie 14,191]

I have not applied for the N600 for the two younger ones that derived citizenship  through me. Years ago when I was researching it someone mentioned the only time he has ever seen anyone needing more than a passport as proof of USC was for some very high top security clearance.

Both of my now adult kids just renewed their passports without issues. The passports were expired and they still did not need to send my certificate with the applications. My  son said he may apply for the N600 it just to have it, so that is up to him. 

 

I really feel the wave of ppl who come through here also change the stance of the recommendation of the N600. 

 

 

[OldUser 6,463]

2 hours ago, Ontarkie said:

I have not applied for the N600 for the two younger ones that derived citizenship  through me. Years ago when I was researching it someone mentioned the only time he has ever seen anyone needing more than a passport as proof of USC was for some very high top security clearance.

Both of my now adult kids just renewed their passports without issues. The passports were expired and they still did not need to send my certificate with the applications. My  son said he may apply for the N600 it just to have it, so that is up to him. 

 

I really feel the wave of ppl who come through here also change the stance of the recommendation of the N600. 

 

 

The issues with renewing passports are not so rare:

 

 

A gentleman from Iran also renewed his passport for many years until he started having issues (it was in the news).

 

I think I made my point of this potentially costing a lot more than $1170 in the future. 

 

I won't reply any more to this topic as there's nothing more I can add and it's down to OP to file this or not. If I didn't file as a parent, at least I'd have a conversation with children when they're over 18 to make them aware of this at least.

[Paul Hanaki 72]

"You only get one chance to get N-600 approved. If not, they'll be stuck in limbo."

 

This is very much misleading. You can only file a N-600 once but it is not a one and done thing. If you are denied you can appeal and you can also if you get more evidence is file a motion to reconsider.  Not sure why this keeps getting posted that you only get one chance at it. 

 

[OldUser 6,463]

4 hours ago, Paul Hanaki said:

"You only get one chance to get N-600 approved. If not, they'll be stuck in limbo."

 

This is very much misleading. You can only file a N-600 once...

So you answered it yourself.

 

4 hours ago, Paul Hanaki said:

If you are denied you can appeal and you can also if you get more evidence is file a motion to reconsider.  Not sure why this keeps getting posted that you only get one chance at it.

The only thing you forget is it's at least another $675 (filing fees). In reality, it would cost significantly more because in most cases, you'd involve a lawyer to win it. And if you lose it: that's it. No way to file a new case. If you miss the deadline for I-290B (I believe that's 30 days) - that's it. 

 

You don't want to get in position when you have to file I-290B. It's an uphill battle requiring 2x or more of money and energy to overcome USCIS's decision.

 

One shot = one case, one petition.

 

It's to remind the filers how serious this is and not to take it lightly.

 

 

Edited January 25 by OldUser

[Paul Hanaki 72]

29 minutes ago, OldUser said:

So you answered it yourself.

 

The only thing you forget is it's at least another $675 (filing fees). In reality, it would cost significantly more because in most cases, you'd involve a lawyer to win it. And if you lose it: that's it. No way to file a new case. If you miss the deadline for I-290B (I believe that's 30 days) - that's it. 

 

You don't want to get in position when you have to file I-290B. It's an uphill battle requiring 2x or more of money and energy to overcome USCIS's decision.

 

One shot = one case, one petition.

 

It's to remind the filers how serious this is and not to take it lightly.

 

 

 

It's not it. There is zero limit and no deadline on the number of motions to reconsider a case. (You are confusing it with an appeal) You also do not need an attorney. The process is pretty simple.  Filing fees for a N-600 is going up to 1,300 in 2024. A motion to reopen is still cheaper than it would be to file another N-600. Not sure why you are giving advice that is not correct.  It is not "One Shot" you have as many shots as you need to get the needed information to immigration. 

[nastra30 2,275]

You are only allowed one N600 filing; it's one shot to me. Filing (and any appeals and motions are still all one case). If appeal fails there is no re-filing of N600.

Edited January 25 by nastra30

[OldUser 6,463]

17 minutes ago, Paul Hanaki said:

You also do not need an attorney. The process is pretty simple.  

Though "simple - complicated" is purely subjective, I'm not sure majority of people would perceive this as an easy process. Sure, filing a form might be an easy part, but that's only a fraction of work that goes into winning. If you personally went through experience of appealing / filing I-290B in N-600 and won it after initial denial - please write a DIY guide for community to learn.

 

I don't want to derail thread and only conclude: in my opinion N-600 is necessary and it's important to get it right with initial filing.

[Paul Hanaki 72]

4 hours ago, nastra30 said:

You are only allowed one N600 filing; it's one shot to me. Filing (and any appeals and motions are still all one case). If appeal fails there is no re-filing of N600.

 

Person 1- Well they denied my N-600 I don't know what to do now. 

Person 2 - Did you file an appeal within 30 days or file a motion to reconsider?
Person 1 - Nope someone on VJ told me it was a one shot deal. I'm mad because I found the paperwork that they said I needed.

Person 2 - Well I guess you only had one shot so there is nothing you can do. 

[nastra30 2,275]

3 hours ago, Paul Hanaki said:

 

Person 1- Well they denied my N-600 I don't know what to do now. - 

Person 2 - Did you file an appeal within 30 days or file a motion to reconsider? - Person 1 is not so smart to file an appeal because the denial letter will give instructions 
Person 1 - Nope someone on VJ told me it was a one shot deal. I'm mad because I found the paperwork that they said I needed.- if they needed paperwork RFE will be issued. 

Person 2 - Well I guess you only had one shot so there is nothing you can do. - Yup, only one shot in filing N600 because USCIS will never ask you to resubmit N600 or you can't do so yourself

If they need paperwork that wasn't present they'll send RFE and instructions on how to submit RFE. If you don't respond to RFE case will be denied just like any other USCIS case.

However with N600 you can't refill the form again (you can appeal, and again you'll be told how to).

Again filing of N600 is one time (one shot); the person on VJ who told said person isn't wrong. 

Edited January 25 by nastra30

[mam521 2,023]

Here's an update for you guys. 

 

I applied for Kid1 and Kid2's certificates on March 31 so I could avoid the fee increase.  Both kids already have their US passports, applied for and received in December. 

 

My original concern was that their father and I don't have a court ordered custody agreement.  Further research indicated that if the jurisdiction that our parenting agreement was written in doesn't require it to be court ordered and we can demonstrate that, then it would be accepted with a letter of explanation.  I included that Letter of Explanation as well as an Affidavit of Support from their father and it was accepted.  I suspect him having already signed the DS-3053 for their passports helped, as well.  

 

Both kids had to go for biometrics, even though Kid1 had them done within the last 3 years when they turned 14.  Kid2 isn't yet 14, so it was a bit of a waste of time because all they did was take a photograph, no fingerprints.  

 

Applications were approved April 26th.  Notices of Oath Ceremony issued on May 2.  Oath Ceremony is May 17th for both.  Kid2 will turn 14 a week before the ceremony so will be required to participate.  

 

The kids' USCIS accounts originally indicated 6 months for a decision to be made.  Considering how quickly N-400's have been flying through here, I anticipated their N-600's to follow a similar timeline and assumed it would be much less than 6mo.  My assumption was correct.  

 

So, after May 17, or 5 years, 11 months and 6 days, we will FINALLY be finished with USCIS.  

 

@springguy If you haven't applied for your kiddos yet, this info might be of interest.  

[mam521 2,023]

Kids had their oath ceremony today. It would appear that Houston will do ceremonies that group under 18’s together, which was what happened today. The bulk of the group were kids with a handful or so of outliers. 
 

Pretty typical Gears Road ceremony. Enter the building, go through security. Check in with the agent, show the invite letter, be assigned a table number. Sit, and wait. Watch the room fill. They then called the kids by assigned table numbers where their certificates would be picked up and sat them in order. Once the tables were in and seated, parents filed to the back of the room. Everyone stood for the oath, with those taking it raising their right hand. After they agreed to the oath, they were called to their assigned table to sign the necessary paperwork and received their certificate. 
 

Kid2 turned 14 last week, so we let the agent know upon arrival and check in. Normally, they would have had Kid2 see an agent to pick up the certificate due to the under 14 thing. Since that changed from the ceremony invite to the actual ceremony, Kid2 was required to participate in the oath, so the agent had to pull the certificate and add it to a “secondary” pile. Kid2 wasn’t alone. There were 2 or 3 other kids who’d “aged up” in that letter to oath timeframe. 
 

Of note, only one parent per child allowed in. If you only have one child, only one parent will be allowed in. The security person was very pleasant and just paired a kid with each of us and sent us on our way. 
 

Celebratory lunch followed. NO MORE USCIS REQUIRED!!!

[killadocg23 88]

So basically in order for the N-600, attending the oath is necessary? Good info to know. My daughter is a citizen by birth and future children will be too but this is very good info to know for those with kids coming over with them.

[mam521 2,023]

On 5/17/2024 at 9:13 PM, killadocg23 said:

So basically in order for the N-600, attending the oath is necessary? Good info to know. My daughter is a citizen by birth and future children will be too but this is very good info to know for those with kids coming over with them.

Yes.  Anyone over the age of 14 it seems it is.  

[RamonGomez 271]

I am currently running into this issue. My stepdaughter got her US passport automatically when my wife became a US citizen. 

 

We are applying for another country visa and that country's embassy is asking for my stepdaughters certificate of citizenship as the date she acquired US citizenship is not on her passport. They are not accepting her mom's naturalization certificate as proof.

 

Now I know why the N600 fee is so high - it's probably because the only people that file the N600 absolutely need it in a handful of edge cases. Even if it cost $3000 we'd probably have to bite the bullet and pay. Really bummed about this. 

 

But the point of me posting here was to provide another case where a US passport might not be sufficient (applying for visas as a naturalized US citizen).