Btna

Hi all,

We are about to start the naturalization process and I have read the
FAQ and document they have available at the web site. One of my child
has a PR like we do and I find it confusing about what to fill for her.
I know we have to fill the N-400 form. What about her? do I need to
send any money and fill any application for her. There is the N-600 but
I am not sure if I need to fill that one for her.
Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks
BTNA

Jonathan McNeil Wong

btna wrote:
    > Hi all,
    >
    > We are about to start the naturalization process and I have read the
    > FAQ and document they have available at the web site. One of my child
    > has a PR like we do and I find it confusing about what to fill for her.
    > I know we have to fill the N-400 form. What about her? do I need to
    > send any money and fill any application for her. There is the N-600 but
    > I am not sure if I need to fill that one for her.
    > Any help on this would be greatly appreciated!
    >
    > Thanks
    > BTNA
    >

Under the Child Citizenship Act, if your child is under age 18 and was
admitted to the U.S. as an immigrant (or adjusted status), and if your
child is still living with you (as I presume from what you have said)
your child automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when you naturalize.

Because the child acquires citizenship by operation of law, no separate
application process is needed. If you wish to have a certificate of
citizenship for the child, you can obtain one by filing Form N-600. You
can also apply for a United States passport instead of or in addition to
filing Form N-600. But neither process is required for your child to
become a U.S. citizen if all of the requirements of the child
citizenship act are met. This is because neither the passport nor Form
N-600 confers citizenship -- they merely provide proof of citizenship
status that occurs automatically once the child meets the requirements.

It may seem odd at first that no formal application process is required,
but when you think about it, with very few exceptions, everyone born in
the U.S. is automatically a U.S. citizen -- they don't need to file any
kind of paperwork to acquire citizenship.

--
Above intended as general commentary, not specific legal
advice. Your mileage may vary.

================================================== =============
Jonathan McNeil Wong Voice: 510-451-0544
Donahue, Gallagher Woods LLP Facsimile: 510-832-1486
P.O. Box 12979 http://www.donahue.com
Oakland, CA 94604-2979 E-mail: [email protected]
================================================== =============

Ingo Pakleppa

Also, the rationale behind it is reasonable: a child under 18 is deemed
legally incompetent to enter into many types of contracts and requires
parental decisionmaking, so why should he/she be treated any different
when it comes to taking an oath.

By the way, if the child turns 18 while the application is pending, then
the child would have to apply on his own.

Jonathan McNeil Wong wrote:
    >
    > It may seem odd at first that no formal application process is required,
    > but when you think about it, with very few exceptions, everyone born in
    > the U.S. is automatically a U.S. citizen -- they don't need to file any
    > kind of paperwork to acquire citizenship.
    >