frank09

Hi there,

Some of you may remember me. I am a USC born in the uk to my USC dad. I have a US birth certificate issued by the London Embassy as well as a UK birth certificate.

A year ago when I started the process of moving to the US i attempted to get US borth cert's for my kids at the LOndon Embassy but as I couldn't prove 5 years of domicile in the US I obtained green cards for the kids and once they landed on US soil they became citizens and they now have their US passports.

I would still like to get the kids US birth certificates in addition to their passports. Can you please advise me:

1) Am I stupid for wanting to do that?

2) How do I go about it?

3) Can I go about it? Are they eligibile to recieve birth certificates (as they werent last year)?

Thanks

ian-mstm

No. But help me understand what it is you're after. As I understand it, you're trying to get the US to issue birth certificates that prove that your children were born... where? Or are you hoping that by having a US birth certificate, the question of whether or not they are US citizens becomes moot?

I think what you're after isn't a birth certificate, but a certificate of naturalization - something that proves they are US citizens... even if they lose their US passports! That would be form N-600.

Ian

frank09

Ian - You are indeed correct, I'm looking for something besides the passport that proves they are US citizens. Is it complicated to get the N-600?

Bluegrass Lass

No it isn't complicated as far as I'm aware, but it is pricey.

ian-mstm

I've never filed an N-600, but I believe it's a fairly straightforward process. Download both the N-600 and the N-600 instructions from www.uscis.gov.

Ian

frank09

I have just looked, and the thing is, they already are citizens (seeing as they have the passports) and it is quite expensive seeing as I spent a small fortune on the passports.

However I do value the advice of people on here, should I just consider their passports as proof enough?

Thanks

JAJ

Passports are not sufficient long term proof of citizenship. Not only can they be lost or stolen easily, but they expire and sometimes citizenship has to be "re-proved" from scratch. That may be difficult or impossible to do in 20 years time.

There have also been cases, in both the USA and other countries, where passports have been issued by mistake to people who are not citizens.

ian-mstm

It's your choice, of course... but JAJ is right - and the future is always uncertain.

Ian

frank09

holy sh$% it $460!!

meauxna

Don't you love your children, frank?
(take it out of their allowance for the next 20 years)

frank09

Dearly! But $460 each for a document that could be as much proof as the passports they already have??

JAJ

Once again. Passports are not sufficient proof of citizenship.

mrs Bucket

My husband situation was similar to you (us father) born in UK. He has dual citizen but had not lived in the US for 5 years domicile. So for our daughter we got a green card for me and her. When she arrived we applied for the naturalization certificate ($460) and then got her passport ($90.00). This was the best way around for us, even though it cost a bit!

frank09

Yup - Thats what I'll need to do but times 3!

penguinsix

The way fees have creeped upward for every document from USICS it will be a great deal more than $460 when you NEED a document in the future for some reason.