gad33

Did the paperwork you submitted show presence in the US for the requisite number of years?

leah_aalin

I thought I had, but I guess the evidence wasn’t as strong as I thought. Unfortunately, because of the length of time since my dad lived in the US, I don’t really have anything of massive worth that I can add. I’m going to submit a couple of affidavits, a copy of a stamped passport and a different marriage certificate and hope that helps...

Ionelissy

you need to submit social security detailed itemized statement of earnings and/or detailed credit report with opened & closed dates for more than 5 years.
Marriage, birth, naturalization certificates, passport do not proof long-term residency, all of those can be acquired without continuous residency . They want to see residing activity such as jobs he had, schools attended, mortgages, cars, credit cards, rent..... paid for more than 5 years...

EmilyGP

Hi, I'm a USC living in Colombia. I have recently adopted a 15-year-old after 3+ years of custody and tenure (I'm banking on this counting as "legal and physical custody"). It was a domestic adoption. We do not currently have plans to move to the US, but I would like to secure his citizenship before he is 18.
From all I've read on USCIS and other sites, I believe N600-k IS the form we need to fill out. (If anyone believes otherwise, PLEASE correct me!)

Since it is all online now, I have a few doubts:
1. Do I leave blank sections that don't apply (i.e. legal guardian info, admission to US (I-94) info, secondary evidence that doesn't apply to our situation...)? OR do I need to type NA in each blank?
2. With regard to evidence we don't have (like the I-94, since we are applying from outside the country), would you recommend that I attach a document stating why we aren't including the information, but that once we arrive for the interview, we will be happy to give them that info? And a document explaining why he doesn't have an A-number, etc?
3. Does he sign it or me? I'm filing for him, my son... but he is over 14. Can we both sign the online form?
4. Once I complete the online form, will I be directed to pay online as well?

5. Does anyone have good legal understanding of the "legal and physical custody" clause for adoptees (neither Hague nor "orphan" adoption)? It makes sense to me that what we had for three years pre-adoption counts, but I'm not a lawyer nor a USCIS official, so making sense to me might not matter much! We were granted "custody and tenure" (June 2017) by a government family services office (meaning, he lived with us and we paid for everything/were responsible for his healthcare and education...BUT were NOT legal guardians.) Later that custody was ratified by a judge when our son was declared adoptable, almost 2 years ago (Feb. 2019). Of course, now that the adoption is finalized we are his parents, but that has just happened (Sept 2020)... not 2 years yet.

6. We are planning to request his interview appointment for June, assuming that we will be able to get him a visa for the purpose of attending his interview by then (with current Covid embassy restrictions, I'll have to request an expedited appointment), and have the interview near my parents' home in NC. Any experience with the Raleigh-Durham office? Or does anyone know how processing times are going at this stage of Covid?

A big thanks to anyone who can shed light on any of these concerns! I would really like to know before spending the $1,170!
Emily

EmilyGP

One more thing... when they ask about the dates I've BEEN in the US, is it asking for every entry and exit throughout my life? (there are many) OR is it asking for the dates which I LIVED there (pretty straightforward: my first 23 years of life)?

leah_aalin

My situation is very different to yours (applied from UK, no adoption involved, submitted paper applications, Seattle field office), but if there's one thing I know about, it's timescales. My N600k forms were received on September 30th 2019 and we're still waiting. We had a request for further evidence in May this year, and after many hours on the phone with USCIS, we're none the wiser.

You might find that your application is expedited due to your sons age though...my kids are all under 12 so maybe we're at the bottom of a very big pile somewhere!

EmilyGP

"My N600k forms were received on September 30th 2019 and we're still waiting. We had a request for further evidence in May this year, and after many hours on the phone with USCIS, we're none the wiser."

Oh my gosh... that's so terrible! I'm so sorry to hear you've been waiting so long.... I read either here or on another forum that some people write to their congressman/woman to request for them to get involved and expedite the process... and that it seems to have helped. I think I will definitely do that when we file, then! You might want to check into that. It seems like these N600(k) processes are low priority.

leah_aalin

Just wanted to post a quick update for anyone who is interested!

After a very long process, several re-schedules, and about 300 emails, we FINALLY managed to get to the US (Yakima, WA which was weird when we requested Seattle, WA but hey ho!). I had everything...original documents, extra information just in case...I even took my dad's passport (it was his citizenship we were using to prove the kids were eligible to be naturalized, but he didn't have to attend due to the pandemic). On the morning of the interview, we rocked up early, sat in the car for a bit, then I took the kids in. I didn't think my husband would be allowed in the interview as he's a UK citizen and was not required to be there, but the security guys could not have been more friendly and waved him in. We sat for about 15 minutes, then we finally met our case officer face to face. She was great. The whole process took about an hour (for the 3 kids all at once), my husband and I confirmed our names and dates of birth several times, I signed the certificate for my youngest, and my daughters signed theirs, and then we chatted while we waited for the applications to get final approval from a supervisor. She didn't ask to see any original documentation, the kids got a flag each and their naturalization certificate, and that was that!

All I would say is that if you're going through this process, get the passports done while you're in the States. I didn't, and now I'm going to have to take everyone to London to apply in person. Another trip to organise! Social Security numbers are also a bit of a pain because over 12's have to apply in person, while younger kids can apply by mail. Hopefully we can arrange my eldest daughters appointment to be at the same time as our passport appointment, but I won't hold my breath!

WEBlue

Wow, only 3 years to wait for this! Thanks so much for updating us on the "end" of this long quest, Leah. I've got to get started on doing this for my two grandchildren, or they'll age out of eligibility waiting for approval....

leah_aalin

Our applications were accepted in late September 2019…then covid happened. Hopefully they’ve worked through the majority of the backlog now and things are getting back to normal processing times. Slow, but not pandemic slow!

WEBlue

Yes, the pandemic slowed so many processes down, interrupting office contacts/interviewing/etc, and causing or exacerbating employee shortages everywhere. I think a dearth of experienced case-workers could be an ongoing problem into the future.... At one point our local Social Security office was charging a ridiculous fee to post paper copies of my US work record, and I temporarily gave up on this N600K process. Time to pick it up again & check to see if that fee has been rescinded.

jwickstrom

Dear Leah, dear all,
Thanks for the update. I had no idea the delays were so long!!
I filed the N-600K in July 2022. I stupidly requested the appointment in NYC and now that I checked they have the worst processing times with average of 40 months (while Seattle only has 7 mo). Do you know if it is possible to change your requested field office/service center?
What was the best way to keep in contact with USCIS? Also, were you able to add documents (additional evidence) online during the process and how did you do it? When I try to set up an online account they require a US address (but we reside abroad...). Seems counterintuitive as you need to reside abroad to be eligible for N-600K or am I missing something?
Many thanks in advance for any guidance.

leah_aalin

Hi Jwickstrom
I believe that you can change your requested field office, but I think that may put you right back to the bottom of the pile. I know it's frustrating, but it might just be easier to wait it out! In terms of contact, we really had very little. I had problems with the online account (I had to open one per child, each with different email addresses - it was a bit of a nightmare!), but until our interview was actually scheduled, we basically heard nothing. I did call a few times, but USCIS agents on the phone really can't tell you very much at all. Once we had the direct email of the agent that we'd be interviewing with, it was great because we finally had a real person who had knowledge of our case who actually responded! This took a long time though...I can't remember exactly how long, but probably about a year! We were right in the epicentre of covid at that point though, so that made everything a little more "challenging".
I can't actually recall entirely how I set up the online account...are you trying on https://my.uscis.gov/? I do remember going in circles though because every time I called USCIS for help, they said they'd call back but they needed my US phone number. When I explained I didn't have one because (as per the N-600k requirements) I was not in America, it just caused confusion. In the end, I paid for a Skype subscription that gave me a number from Kentucky and that worked a little better.
Hopefully some of the above helps a little...let me know if I can try to answer any more questions!

KateAH

Hi jwickstrom

Just wanted to say that I'm in a very similar situation. I filed N-600Ks for my two children in Feb 2022 and requested the Brooklyn NY office. I'm feeling so annoyed with myself for not realising there are published processing times - Brooklyn says 49 months but we also have family near Detroit which is only 9.5 months. I chose NYC because it's so much cheaper to fly there from London but now so wish I hadn't. I have also been wondering about changing the requested field office but that makes me very nervous. I feel like the chance of an application getting completely lost in the system would increase if I asked for the transfer. Would love to know what you decide about that.

I did manage to create online accounts (had to create one for each child, using different email addresses). I can't entirely remember that process but happy to try to answer any questions you have. I do remember putting 00000 in the zip code but can't remember how/where I entered UK. The overseas address is another thing that I feel very nervous about. On my online account it shows that a letter was mailed in Feb 2022, just to say the application was received, but that never arrived. The copy of the letter on the online account shows that United Kingdom wasn't included in the address! So it's no wonder it never reached me. I really worry that if anything is sent by letter only, not by email or uploaded to the online account, then I'll never receive it.

I'd love to hear if you have any contact with USCIS or decide to try to change your field office.

HindaHirsch

Are children under 14 exempt from going to the U.S for an interview?