Celebrating and supporting Idaho's adoptive families with children from Asia
Adoptive parents of foreign-born children are intimately familiar with bureaucracy and paperwork. The endless forms, background checks, approvals and certifications make foreign adoption the ultimate “planned parenthood”. Once we are safely settled back home with our newly adopted child, there is a sense of closure and security. But as we all know, this is the beginning of a much longer journey. Even with the advent of the Child Citizenship Act of 2001, it is necessary to established documented proof of Citizenship.
Note. The following information is an overview only. If you have significant need for technical information or assistance, it may be necessary to consult an immigration attorney.
Why documenting your child’s citizenship is important. Documentation of citizenship protects foreign-born children in several ways.
If the child’s parents die without securing citizenship, the child could face significant challenges in applying for benefits (Social Security), government grants or assistance (think student loans and other financial aid). Documents can be lost through theft, fire or other events. Without citizenship, replacing those documents can be very difficult, and in some cases impossible. There is no good reason to avoid citizenship, except for the long wait at the Immigration office.
Documentation. Obtaining citizenship documentation requires numerous documents for both parents and children. Any of these documents can be lost or misplaced, making a citizenship application more difficult down the road. The best advice is to take care of this early, and to make sure you have copies of all-important documents in one or more secure locations. It is always a good idea to make and keep copies of all documents, including passport numbers, as well as the A#, a nine-digit Alien number on your original adoption papers.
Passports. Passports are cheaper than citizenship, but they are temporary options that expire in five to ten years and can be lost or stolen. They are essential to have if you plan to leave the U.S. with your child, or if your child will travel abroad without you. Citizenship is the only secure way to protect rights for life, and to facilitate passport replacement should the need arise. Please note, a passport must be renewed where a certificate of citizenship is a permanent document. Passport applications require original documents. With the recent changes in U.S. Passport requirements for all U.S. citizens travelling outside the U.S., apply early, and allow extra time for processing. For the latest passport information from the U.S. Department of State: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html
Social Security Cards and Birth Certificates. Obtaining a US birth certificate may simplify some transactions, but is generally seen as optional in the bigger picture. Social security numbers are issued automatically for foreign-adopted children, although in some cases the SS card features the child’s original name. Once a new name is chosen, the card can be updated.
Please Note. Social security numbers and birth certificates (even those issued in the US) are not proof of citizenship!
Application for Documentation of Citizenship. New regulations released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for parents adopting after January 2004 allow for the certificate of citizenship to be mailed directly to the parents 45 days after entering the US with the child. There is some expectation that this may apply retroactively for other recently adopted kids; however, this may not be the case. To prevent future problems, you may want to consider applying for documentation of citizenship.
The N600 form is the appropriate application form. It is available as a fillable portable document form (pdf) . Applications are currently filed at the USCIS Boise Sub Office. After the application is processed, you will be notified by the USCIS office to present yourself and the child for final adjudication of the petition, which will be followed by a mini-citizenship ceremony for other children receiving their certificates.
The USCIS Boise Sub Office is located at: 1185 South Vinnell Way Boise, ID 83709
The office is located just west of Wal-Mart off of Overland Road. Their phone number is (208) 685-6600. You will need to navigate the phone system in order to speak with a real person for questions regarding immigration and citizenship.
Resource links
N-600 Form: www.uscis.gov/files/form/N-600.pdf
Department of State
Department of State Web site: www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption.html
For information on passport applications, select “passport information” from the alphabetical Services listing, or go directly to www.travel.state.gov/passport/index.html
The passport application is fillable on the Web site.
Child Citizenship Act of 2000
Citizenship Act Article From Former Senator Craig February 27, 2001 was one of the most important days for adoptive children of United States citizens: the day when U.S. policy changed so that they could acquire citizenship automatically upon adoption, provided they meet the requirements of the Child Citizenship Act (CCA).
Overnight, thousands of families were relieved of confusing paperwork burdens. Perhaps more important, that day ended the nightmare of young children, who may have made poor choices in life, being removed permanently from the United States and returned to countries where they had no family and did not speak the language.
While our children are now protected from that nightmare, it is still imperative that all parents insure the necessary documents are in place. Although the law states these children are U.S. citizens automatically, it does not provide automatic documentation to verify that fact.
Since the CCA has gone into effect, my office has worked closely with numerous families to document their children’s citizenship for various purposes.
For example, a young lady who wished to study abroad and had lost her legal permanent resident (LPR) card had to first obtain her certificate of citizenship in order to receive her passport. The process of obtaining a certificate of citizenship can take up to six months to finalize, but she only had two weeks, and came very close to missing out on a year of study abroad.
Just this week, my office began working with a young lady who is on the verge of losing her job and is attempting to join the armed services. The Social Security Administration computer system lists her as an undocumented alien. This administrative error will be corrected, but not without a great deal of torment that could have been avoided with proper documentation.
These are just two of the many situations adoptive parents could face if they do not have documentation of their children’s U.S. citizenship. The child’s Social Security card will say, “Not Valid for Employment” across the top, the birth certificate will not be from the United States, and an LPR card only proves the person’s legal status, not citizenship. Only possession of a U.S. passport or certificate of citizenship will resolve this issue forever.
If you have not obtained this critical documentation, let me encourage you to do so now. Without documentation, your child’s citizenship will not be recognized, and this could result in major headaches in the future when they obtain Social Security numbers, begin their academic careers, or - although every parent prays it won’t happen - have an encounter with law enforcement.
This year, on your adopted children’s birthday or “Gotcha Day,” think about giving them a gift that will protect them all their lives: documentation of U.S. citizenship. Next to a family, it’s the most important present they’ll ever receive.
Fact Sheet on Child Citizenship Act Of 2000
Purpose. On February 27, 2001, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 becomes effective. The aim of this law, which, among other things, amends Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), is to facilitate the automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship for both biological and adopted children of U.S. citizens who are born abroad and who do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth. We are pleased to note that, because of this law, U.S. citizenship will be conferred automatically upon thousands of children currently in the United States.
Requirements. The following are the Act’s requirements:
At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization.
The child is under the age of 18.
The child must be residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent after having been lawfully admitted into this country as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence.
If the child has been adopted, the adoption must be final.
Frequently-Asked Questions
1. Q: Does the Act apply to foreign-born children who have immigrated to the United States in order to be adopted as well as to those who have been adopted abroad?
A: Yes. Children who have immigrated to the United States in order to be adopted become citizens as soon as the adoption decree is final.
2. Q: Does it matter in which order the requirements are met?
A: No. The order does not matter. Citizenship is acquired automatically as soon as all of the requirements have been met.
3. Q: Will a child who has met the requirements of this new law need to apply for a passport from the State Department or a Certificate of Citizenship from the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) in order to become a citizen?
A: No. As soon as the law’s requirements have been met, the child acquires U.S. citizenship automatically without the need to apply for either a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship.
4. Q: What documents are required to obtain a passport for a child who became a U.S. citizen under the Act?
A: (1) Evidence of the child’s relationship to a U.S. citizen parent (a certified copy of the foreign birth certificate for children born to an American or, if adopted, a certified copy of the final adoption decree); (2) the child’s foreign passport with INS’s I-551 stamp or the child’s resident alien card; and (3) the parent’s valid identification.
5. Q: How does someone prove admission into the United States as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence?
A: Either the child’s permanent resident alien card, commonly known as a “green card,” or an I-551 stamp placed in the child’s passport by INS.
6. Q: How does a child demonstrate adoption in order to obtain a passport and/or Certificate of Citizenship?
A: By presenting a certified copy of a final adoption decree.
7. Q: Are the Act’s provisions retroactive in applicability?
A: No. Individuals who are 18 years of age or older on February 27, 2001, will not be able to take advantage of the Act.
8. Q: What is the effective date of U.S. citizenship for children who met all the requirements of the new law prior to February 27, 2001?
A: February 27, 2001. Even though the requirements were met before the Act’s effective date, citizenship is only acquired on that date.
9. Q: Will U.S. Embassies and Consulates issue reports of birth to children acquiring citizenship pursuant to this Act?
A: No. Reports of birth are issued only to children who acquire citizenship at birth.
The Act’s Other Provisions. Another section of this new law provides that children (biological and adopted) of U.S. citizens who are born and reside abroad (that is, they do not enter the U.S. as permanent residents) and who don’t become U.S. citizens at birth can apply to INS for a certificate of citizenship if the following conditions are met:
At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, whether by birth or naturalization.
The U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the U.S. for a total of at least five years, at least two of which are were after the age of 14. If the child’s U.S. citizen parent cannot meet this requirement, it is enough if one of the child’s U.S. citizen grandparents can meet it.
The child is under the age of eighteen.
The child resides abroad in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent and has been lawfully admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant.
Children who acquire citizenship under this new provision do not acquire citizenship automatically; rather, they must/must apply to USCIS for a certificate of citizenship and go through the naturalization process.
Another section of this new law provides that children (biological and adopted) of U.S. citizens who are born and reside abroad (that is, they do not enter the U.S. as permanent residents) and who don’t become U.S. citizens at birth can apply to INS for a certificate of citizenship if the following conditions are met:
At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, whether by birth or naturalization. The U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the U.S. for a total of at least five years, at least two of which are were after the age of 14. If the child’s U.S. citizen parent cannot meet this requirement, it is enough if one of the child’s U.S. citizen grandparents can meet it. The child is under the age of eighteen. The child resides abroad in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent and has been lawfully admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant.
On February 27, 2001, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 becomes effective. The aim of this law, which, among other things, amends Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), is to facilitate the automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship for both biological and adopted children of U.S. citizens who are born abroad and who do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth. We are pleased to note that, because of this law, U.S. citizenship will be conferred automatically upon thousands of children currently in the United States.
The following are the Act’s requirements:
At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization. The child is under the age of 18. The child must be residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent after having been lawfully admitted into this country as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence. If the child has been adopted, the adoption must be final.
(Special thanks to the office of former Senator Larry Craig for the following article)
February 27, 2001 was one of the most important days for adoptive children of United States citizens: the day when U.S. policy changed so that they could acquire citizenship automatically upon adoption, provided they meet the requirements of the Child Citizenship Act (CCA).
N-600 Form, on the Citizenship and Immigration Services site: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/N-600.pdf
Department of State Web site: http://www.travel.state.gov/family/adoption.html
For information on passport applications, select “passport information” from the alphabetical Services listing, or go directly to: http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/index.html
New regulations released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) for parents adopting after January 2004 allow for the certificate of citizenship to be mailed directly to the parents 45 days after entering the US with the child. There is some expectation that this may apply retroactively for other recently adopted kids; however, this may not be the case. To prevent future problems, you may want to consider applying for documentation of citizenship.
The N600 form is the appropriate application form. It is available as a fillable PDF form. Applications are currently filed at the USCIS Boise Sub Office. After the application is processed, you will be notified by the USCIS office to present yourself and the child for final adjudication of the petition, which will be followed by a mini-citizenship ceremony for other children receiving their certificates.
The USCIS Boise Sub Office is located at: 1185 South Vinnell Way Boise, ID 83709 The office is located just west of Wal-Mart off of Overland Road. Their phone number is (208) 685-6600. You will need to navigate the phone system in order to speak with a real person for questions regarding immigration and citizenship.
Documentation of citizenship protects foreign-born children in several ways.
If the child’s parents die without securing citizenship, the child could face significant challenges in applying for benefits (Social Security), government grants or assistance (think student loans and other financial aid).
Documents can be lost through theft, fire or other events. Without citizenship, replacing those documents can be very difficult, and in some cases impossible.
There is no good reason to avoid citizenship, except for the long wait at the Immigration office.
Social Security Cards and Birth Certificates. Obtaining a US birth certificate may simplify some transactions, but is generally seen as optional in the bigger picture. Social security numbers are issued automatically for foreign-adopted children, although in some cases the SS card features the child’s original name. Once a new name is chosen, the card can be updated. Please Note: Social security numbers and birth certificates (even those issued in the US) are not proof of citizenship!
