Amadeus

A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her little
girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the end of the
interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little girl is a step
daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also suggested that
my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to get papers straight.

This is news to me... is it true that minor children in international
families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??

Rete

    > A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her little
    > girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the end of
    > the interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little girl is a
    > step daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also
    > suggested that my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to get
    > papers straight.
    > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in international
    > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??

I rather doubt it is quite that easy. I'm not an expert but there was a
poster here (MrTravel and his various alias) who had to adopt his
stepdaughter legally and then she became a US Citizen. I believe
another way is when the foreign parent becomes a US Citizen, if the
child is below a certain age, they, too, become US Citizens.

I would think the better source of information is a great deal of
research and a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.

Rete

M. Duarte

It's called "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000" signed into law by President
Bill Clinton. If your friend's husband has legally adopted your friend's
daughter, she may be a US citizen automatically if she meets the conditions
found on this page of the US Department of State's website:

http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ts/adopted.htm

Now, while reading this document, I have my own question. I was under the
impression that, if you are a US citizen and you have a child abroad, that
child is automatically a US citizen. The section titled "Is Automatic
Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and
Residing Outside the United States?" on the webpage mentioned above
contradicts this by answering that question as such:

"No. In order for a child born and residing outside the United States to
acquire citizenship, the United States citizen parent must apply for
naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process for such a
child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the United
States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take the oath
of allegiance."

So, how is/are the parent(s) supposed to bring the child to the United
States for naturalization if the child cannot enter as a US citizen? The
child is supposed to obtain a tourist visa on a foreign passport and enter
that way? What am I missing? Did I totally misunderstand this? Someone
please shed some light on this issue. Thanks!



Rete wrote:

    > > A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her little
    > > girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the end of
    > > the interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little girl is a
    > > step daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also
    > > suggested that my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to get
    > > papers straight.
    > >
    > > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in international
    > > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??
    > I rather doubt it is quite that easy. I'm not an expert but there was a
    > poster here (MrTravel and his various alias) who had to adopt his
    > stepdaughter legally and then she became a US Citizen. I believe
    > another way is when the foreign parent becomes a US Citizen, if the
    > child is below a certain age, they, too, become US Citizens.
    > I would think the better source of information is a great deal of
    > research and a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.
    > Rete
    > --
    > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

M. Duarte

Well, I guess my first question "So, how is/are the parent(s) supposed to bring
the child to the United States for naturalization if the child cannot enter as a
US citizen?" doesn't make much sense after I read it again *laugh*. But the
question still remains: what is the process to follow in this case? And did it
used to be that citizenship was automatic when a child was born to US citizens
living abroad and this changed with "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000"? I
always thought that if a child was born to US citizens living abroad, all the
parents had to do was to go to the local US consulate, apply for a Citizenship
Certificate and then apply for a US passport for the child. Has this changed?


"M. Duarte" wrote:

    > It's called "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000" signed into law by President
    > Bill Clinton. If your friend's husband has legally adopted your friend's
    > daughter, she may be a US citizen automatically if she meets the conditions
    > found on this page of the US Department of State's website:
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ts/adopted.htm
    > Now, while reading this document, I have my own question. I was under the
    > impression that, if you are a US citizen and you have a child abroad, that
    > child is automatically a US citizen. The section titled "Is Automatic
    > Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and
    > Residing Outside the United States?" on the webpage mentioned above
    > contradicts this by answering that question as such:
    > "No. In order for a child born and residing outside the United States to
    > acquire citizenship, the United States citizen parent must apply for
    > naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process for such a
    > child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the United
    > States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take the oath
    > of allegiance."
    > So, how is/are the parent(s) supposed to bring the child to the United
    > States for naturalization if the child cannot enter as a US citizen? The
    > child is supposed to obtain a tourist visa on a foreign passport and enter
    > that way? What am I missing? Did I totally misunderstand this? Someone
    > please shed some light on this issue. Thanks!
    > Rete wrote:
    > > > A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her little
    > > > girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the end of
    > > > the interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little girl is a
    > > > step daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also
    > > > suggested that my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to get
    > > > papers straight.
    > > >
    > > > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in international
    > > > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??
    > >
    > > I rather doubt it is quite that easy. I'm not an expert but there was a
    > > poster here (MrTravel and his various alias) who had to adopt his
    > > stepdaughter legally and then she became a US Citizen. I believe
    > > another way is when the foreign parent becomes a US Citizen, if the
    > > child is below a certain age, they, too, become US Citizens.
    > >
    > > I would think the better source of information is a great deal of
    > > research and a consultation with an experienced immigration attorney.
    > >
    > > Rete
    > >
    > > --
    > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Butch

    > A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her little
    > girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the end of
    > the interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little girl is a
    > step daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also
    > suggested that my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to get
    > papers straight.
    > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in international
    > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??

Hi
I am going thew this now with my son he has duel citizenship and we are
getting both passports for him Philippines and US I think this link
tells the requirements a lot better and is up to date

http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwha003.html

Daliya

    > > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in international
    > > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??
as far as i understand - minor child in international family
(stepchild of american citizen spouse i'm talking about) can gain
citizenship two ways:
1 - to be adopted by american citizen stepparent
2 - if a child is UNDER 18 years old and biological parent becomes an
american citizen - than child gains citizenship.
in this situation we are talking about - mother is NOT a citizen yet.
the only way - to adopt a child. takes time too i believe.

Jeffreyhy

    > It's called "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000" signed into law by
    > President
    > Bill Clinton. If your friend's husband has legally adopted your
    > friend's
    > daughter, she may be a US citizen automatically if she meets the
    > conditions
    > found on this page of the US Department of State's website:
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ts/adopted.htm
    > Now, while reading this document, I have my own question. I was under
    > the
    > impression that, if you are a US citizen and you have a child abroad,
    > that
    > child is automatically a US citizen. The section titled "Is Automatic
    > Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born
    > and
    > Residing Outside the United States?" on the webpage mentioned above
    > contradicts this by answering that question as such:
    > "No. In order for a child born and residing outside the United States
    > to
    > acquire citizenship, the United States citizen parent must apply for
    > naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process for
    > such a
    > child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the
    > United
    > States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take the
    > oath
    > of allegiance."
    > So, how is/are the parent(s) supposed to bring the child to the United
    > States for naturalization if the child cannot enter as a US citizen?
    > The
    > child is supposed to obtain a tourist visa on a foreign passport and
    > enter
    > that way? What am I missing? Did I totally misunderstand this?
    > Someone
    > please shed some light on this issue. Thanks!
    > Rete wrote:
    > > > A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her
    > > > little
    > > > girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the end
    > > > of
    > > > the interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little girl
    > > > is a
    > > > step daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also
    > > > suggested that my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to get
    > > > papers straight.
    > > >
    > > > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in
    > > > international
    > > > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??
    > > I rather doubt it is quite that easy. I'm not an expert but there
    > > was a
    > > poster here (MrTravel and his various alias) who had to adopt his
    > > stepdaughter legally and then she became a US Citizen. I believe
    > > another way is when the foreign parent becomes a US Citizen, if the
    > > child is below a certain age, they, too, become US Citizens.
    > > I would think the better source of information is a great deal of
    > > research and a consultation with an experienced immigration
    > > attorney.
    > > Rete
    > > --
    > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

M.,

I believe that the law you are referencing is for children who were not
born to a US citizen parent.

Regards, JEff

Rete

    > Well, I guess my first question "So, how is/are the parent(s) supposed
    > to bring
    > the child to the United States for naturalization if the child cannot
    > enter as a
    > US citizen?" doesn't make much sense after I read it again *laugh*.
    > But the
    > question still remains: what is the process to follow in this case?
    > And did it
    > used to be that citizenship was automatic when a child was born to US
    > citizens
    > living abroad and this changed with "The Child Citizenship Act of
    > 2000"? I
    > always thought that if a child was born to US citizens living abroad,
    > all the
    > parents had to do was to go to the local US consulate, apply for a
    > Citizenship
    > Certificate and then apply for a US passport for the child. Has this
    > changed?
    > "M. Duarte" wrote:
    > > It's called "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000" signed into law by
    > > President
    > > Bill Clinton. If your friend's husband has legally adopted your
    > > friend's
    > > daughter, she may be a US citizen automatically if she meets the
    > > conditions
    > > found on this page of the US Department of State's website:
    > > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ts/adopted.htm
    > > Now, while reading this document, I have my own question. I was
    > > under the
    > > impression that, if you are a US citizen and you have a child
    > > abroad, that
    > > child is automatically a US citizen. The section titled "Is
    > > Automatic
    > > Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born
    > > and
    > > Residing Outside the United States?" on the webpage mentioned above
    > > contradicts this by answering that question as such:
    > > "No. In order for a child born and residing outside the United
    > > States to
    > > acquire citizenship, the United States citizen parent must apply for
    > > naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process
    > > for such a
    > > child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the
    > > United
    > > States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take
    > > the oath
    > > of allegiance."
    > > So, how is/are the parent(s) supposed to bring the child to the
    > > United
    > > States for naturalization if the child cannot enter as a US citizen?
    > > The
    > > child is supposed to obtain a tourist visa on a foreign passport and
    > > enter
    > > that way? What am I missing? Did I totally misunderstand this?
    > > Someone
    > > please shed some light on this issue. Thanks!
    > > Rete wrote:
    > > > > A friend of mine just had sucessful AOS interview. She and her
    > > > > little
    > > > > girl were given permanent GCs. According to my friend, at the
    > > > > end of
    > > > > the interview, adjucator mentioned that now since her little
    > > > > girl is a
    > > > > step daughter of an USC, she too is considered a USC. She also
    > > > > suggested that my friend's husband files I-600 for the girl to
    > > > > get
    > > > > papers straight.
    > > > >
    > > > > This is news to me... is it true that minor children in
    > > > > international
    > > > > families gain citizenship?? Has anyone heard about it??
    > > >
    > > > I rather doubt it is quite that easy. I'm not an expert but there
    > > > was a
    > > > poster here (MrTravel and his various alias) who had to adopt his
    > > > stepdaughter legally and then she became a US Citizen. I believe
    > > > another way is when the foreign parent becomes a US Citizen, if
    > > > the
    > > > child is below a certain age, they, too, become US Citizens.
    > > >
    > > > I would think the better source of information is a great deal of
    > > > research and a consultation with an experienced immigration
    > > > attorney.
    > > >
    > > > Rete
    > > >
    > > > --
    > > > Posted via http://britishexpats.com

Appropriate Immigration Visa, i.e. I-130 or perhaps the child can coat
tail the foreign parent's K visa. If the foreign parent is already here
in the US then the child needs a separate I-130 filed and the subsequent
interview at the US Consulate abroad.

Rete

Richard Cochran

"M. Duarte" <> wrote in message news:<>...
    > It's called "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000" signed into law by President
    > Bill Clinton. If your friend's husband has legally adopted your friend's
    > daughter, she may be a US citizen automatically if she meets the conditions
    > found on this page of the US Department of State's website:
    >
    > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ts/adopted.htm
    >
    > Now, while reading this document, I have my own question. I was under the
    > impression that, if you are a US citizen and you have a child abroad, that
    > child is automatically a US citizen. The section titled "Is Automatic
    > Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and
    > Residing Outside the United States?" on the webpage mentioned above
    > contradicts this by answering that question as such:
    >
    > "No. In order for a child born and residing outside the United States to
    > acquire citizenship, the United States citizen parent must apply for
    > naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process for such a
    > child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the United
    > States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take the oath
    > of allegiance."

You were correct, a child who was born of a US Citizen parent usually
is a citizen at birth. See INA 301(g). You can find the exact
text at http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/INA.htm click on
Immigration and Nationality Act, scroll down to ACT 301.

The child citizenship act, which you quote above, amended section
320 of the INA. You can find the current text, as amended, by
following the same links outlined above.

Note that section 301 is in the chapter regarding citizenship
at birth, while section 320 is in the chapter regarding acquiring
citizenship later in life.

I believe the paragraph you quote is written in the context of the
new law. The new law provides ways for children WHO WERE NOT CITIZENS
AT BIRTH to automatically aquire citizenship later on.

Perhaps that part of the Q & A would make more sense if you read
it as:

"Is Automatic Citizenship Provided BY THE CHILD CITIZENSHIP
ACT OF 2000 for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and
Residing Outside the United States?"

--Rich

Andrea874

    > "M. Duarte" <> wrote in message
    > news:<>...
    > > It's called "The Child Citizenship Act of 2000" signed into law by
    > > President
    > > Bill Clinton. If your friend's husband has legally adopted your
    > > friend's
    > > daughter, she may be a US citizen automatically if she meets the
    > > conditions
    > > found on this page of the US Department of State's website:
    > >
    > > http://uscis.gov/graphics/publicaffa...ts/adopted.htm
    > >
    > > Now, while reading this document, I have my own question. I was
    > > under the
    > > impression that, if you are a US citizen and you have a child
    > > abroad, that
    > > child is automatically a US citizen. The section titled "Is
    > > Automatic
    > > Citizenship Provided for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born
    > > and
    > > Residing Outside the United States?" on the webpage mentioned above
    > > contradicts this by answering that question as such:
    > >
    > > "No. In order for a child born and residing outside the United
    > > States to
    > > acquire citizenship, the United States citizen parent must apply for
    > > naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process
    > > for such a
    > > child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the
    > > United
    > > States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take
    > > the oath
    > > of allegiance."
    > You were correct, a child who was born of a US Citizen parent usually
    > is a citizen at birth. See INA 301(g). You can find the exact
    > text at http://uscis.gov/graphics/lawsregs/INA.htm click on
    > Immigration and Nationality Act, scroll down to ACT 301.
    > The child citizenship act, which you quote above, amended section
    > 320 of the INA. You can find the current text, as amended, by
    > following the same links outlined above.
    > Note that section 301 is in the chapter regarding citizenship
    > at birth, while section 320 is in the chapter regarding acquiring
    > citizenship later in life.
    > I believe the paragraph you quote is written in the context of the
    > new law. The new law provides ways for children WHO WERE NOT CITIZENS
    > AT BIRTH to automatically aquire citizenship later on.
    > Perhaps that part of the Q & A would make more sense if you read
    > it as:
    > "Is Automatic Citizenship Provided BY THE CHILD CITIZENSHIP
    > ACT OF 2000 for Children (Including Adopted Children) Born and
    > Residing Outside the United States?"
    > --Rich

All I know is my mother is an American citizenship and I am not. When we
inquired about it (yes I was a minor at the time), I got a paper back
with all these reasons that I am not. Something to do with how many
days/years she lived in the US and between what dates.

This has little to do with that particular situation, but my point is
that not ALL children of American citzens automatically have the right
to citizenship.