Sue

Anyone had any similar experiences to this?

Child obtains US citizenship through parents US naturalization. Child obtains US Passport. Child goes to SS office and they update their records to show him as American citizen.

Parents send off N-600 (application for Certificate of Citizenship) as they feel it's important that child has both passport and certificate for the future (who knows what issues might crop up if passport lost etc).

So child is American Citizen, but today child receives letter from USCIS to inform child he has to attend a Citizenship Oath Ceremony, and that he "MUST appear at oath ceremony to complete citizenship process"

I've made an info pass appointment (earliest available is two weeks time - which coincidentally will be child's 18th birthday) but wanted to sound any of you out to see if anyone else has experienced this.

How can someone who is already a citizen be made to attend the oath ceremony?

To add, if this letter, and subsequent oath ceremony, had come one month later child would have been in the UK attending university.

Thanks all.

hobbes79

That is odd.

Far from an expert, but as someone who went to an oath ceremony on Wednesday (!), an officer stood up and made it very clear that for anyone that had a child that met the following:

1. Under 18
2. In your legal custody
3. In your physical custody i.e. lives with you

will automatically become a US citizen. In fact, of the 756 that took the oath with me in a huge ceremony, not one was a child. The above reasoning explains that.

If your kid has a US passport, they're American. It's a done deal.

The passport in of itself is proof of US citizenship. You're right to want the cert, but don't even need it really, so it's absurd to ask for further processing of any kind.

Your kid is a yank... for better or for worse

That's my 2 cents anyway. Good luck at the appointment.

sir_eccles

Not sure it is so clear cut, the passport could have been issued in error and now you'd have a charge of falsely claiming US citizenship.

Ezequiel

Both my sister and nephew had to attend Citizenship Oath Ceremony, even though they already had their American passports.

My brother got his nephew his Certificate of Citizenship last month and they requested that my brother presents original documents (birth certificate, marriage certificate, income tax proving that he had claims my nephew in his tax filing and proof that my nephew was living in the U.S.) My nephew is just 4 years old.

My brother ask the immigration officer why he needed to present all those documents again when he had already sent all those documents when he applied for my nephew passport. The immigration officer told my brother that they are the last authority when it comes to citizenship of non-natural born not the State Department. All this was in New York City.

It's very important to apply for the Certificate of Citizenship for your kids as soon as possible, because when my father applied for my sister Certificate of Citizenship they just asked my sister her name and date of birth, and my father didn't have to present no documents as they pulled it from the documents they already had.

Sue

In this case child was not issued his US passport in error. Childs passport application was based up on parents US Citizenship and all passports applications, and supporting documents, were submitted together. His US citizenship is not in question, my point is how is it that a citizen should have to attend a oath ceremony after the fact?

Also my concern is what would have happened if the oath ceremony did not take place until a month later when said person is in the UK, and thereby would not have been able to attend oath ceremony? Would they be able to strip child of citizenship?

The whole thing seems arse about face to me

Sue

Just to clarify, as I am little confused by your post, are you saying a four year old had to attend the ceremony, and take the citizenship oath?

Ezequiel

Actually they made my brother take the Oath Ceremony for my nephew

Sue

.... and said nephew already had a US passport?

Did your brother naturalize recently then?

Ezequiel

Yes, my 4 years old nephew and my 15 years old sister already had their U.S. passports.

Watch this Youtube video of children as young as a few month old taking the Citizenship Oath.

http://youtu.be/n3mzs88u8JA

Ezequiel

My brother had been a citizen for 2 years already when he applied for my nephew Certificate of Citizenship.

Sue

That's what is bothering me, all we want is his certificate of Citizenship, as he already is a citizen. I know that many, many people don't get the certificate for their children because the cost is so high so one wonders are those children not fully citizens then? I know I'm playing devils advocate here, but it just seems back to front

Thanks for sharing the experience of your family.

Ezequiel

You are very welcome :-)

I actually forced my father and brother to get my sister and nephew their own Certificate of Citizenships after I read story of people having trouble proving that they are U.S. Citizen here in this forum.

I also think you are not a citizen 100% if you have never been issued your own Certificate of Citizenship or Certificate of Naturalization to prove it.

JAJ

The answer appears to be that even if he is already a citizen, he needs to take the oath to get the certificate.

You can find this through http://uscode.house.gov

"§1452. Certificates of citizenship or U.S. non-citizen national status; procedure

(a) Application to Attorney General for certificate of citizenship; proof; oath of allegiance

A person who claims to have derived United States citizenship through the naturalization of a parent or through the naturalization or citizenship of a husband ... may apply to the Attorney General for a certificate of citizenship.

Upon proof to the satisfaction of the Attorney General that the applicant is a citizen, and that the applicant's alleged citizenship was derived as claimed, or acquired, as the case may be, and upon taking and subscribing before a member of the Service within the United States to the oath of allegiance required by this chapter of an applicant for naturalization, such individual shall be furnished by the Attorney General with a certificate of citizenship, but only if such individual is at the time within the United States."

Sue

Many thanks JAJ.

That just about sums it up.

I suppose we should be thankful this happened now, rather than when he was out of the country (we actually applied for the certificate a long time ago, why it's taken this long I've no idea .... But I digress).

Appreciate everyone's input. Will cancel info pass and just go to ceremony.

JAJ

There doesn't need to be a "ceremony" in particular, the oath simply has to be taken in front of a USCIS officer. At least that's what this particular policy from 2003 says:
http://www.uscis.gov/files/pressrelease/PolMem95Pub.pdf

Did they give you a date for the oath taking? If not, I would still go to the infopass appointment.

As far as I can see the oath has to be taken in the United States, so if he had gone to the UK he would have to return. However, it appears that his US passport is still valid and when you get the certificate it should say he became a US citizen on the date you did. If it says something else then you will need to challenge it.

Presumably he's aware of registering with Selective Service once he's 18 and the tax/financial reporting and filing to the US that he will still have to do when outside the USA?