N600 Form

[amelia1986 0]

Hey There

I desperately need help with this query.

I was born in Australia to an Australian mother and American father (in 1986).

My father (and his father) were born in the USA and my father lived in the USA before coming to Australia just after he turned 16.

When I was 2 years old, my father, mother and I moved to the USA and lived there for 6 years before moving back to Australia in 1994.

I want to apply for dual citizenship as my father has but the N600 forms are very confusing

Where do I go to hand this form in? It say in America, there is NO information on where to go if you live outside the USA?

Any additional info or help would be appreciated.

Amelia.

[fazmo 24]

If you think you qualify for US citizenship and in Australia, then the embassy serving the US interest in Australia would be where you submit that form. I suggest that you first call the embassy and tell them you are interested in applying for a certificate of citizenship (or consular report of birth abroad). They will tell you what to do and what document to submit along with the form. You can go to state.gov website and locate the embassy location/address in your country.

[amelia1986 0]

If you think you qualify for US citizenship and in Australia, then the embassy serving the US interest in Australia would be where you submit that form. I suggest that you first call the embassy and tell them you are interested in applying for a certificate of citizenship (or consular report of birth abroad). They will tell you what to do and what document to submit along with the form. You can go to state.gov website and locate the embassy location/address in your country.

I wish it was that simple! The embassy here is just a recorded message saying "Press 1" or "Press 2" and then an anytime you press a number it takes you to another recorded message saying "please go to our website".

Haha - useless service!

[NickD 202]

I wish it was that simple! The embassy here is just a recorded message saying "Press 1" or "Press 2" and then an anytime you press a number it takes you to another recorded message saying "please go to our website".

Haha - useless service!

Sounds exactly like the foreign consulates in the USA. After going to their website for several weeks, finally was able to make an appointment to see someone. Just won't let you walk in unless you have an appointment.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,235]

Amelia,

you know that they named an island after you, don't you?

Anyway, I know all this terminology is confusing, but let's keep things straight here, because it really does matter.

Nobody, not even the Almighty and father and son of Jesus Christ our savior can apply for US citizenship via form N-600. There is also nobody on this or any planet we know about who can apply for dual citizenship as dual citizenship involves two countries and their unique policies of which we have 251 on this planet we call Earth.

Now that we have this out of the way, the N-600 form is an application to certify a fact after the fact, something that already is the case. So either you are a natural-born US citizen, based on jus sanguinis, or you are not. In the former case they will give you a Certificate of Citizenship, in the latter they won't. Got it?

If you were born to an American father, then you are a US citizen since the day you took your first breath (although even still-born babies get citizenship) based on jus sanguinis, (the transfer of blood from a parent to the child) if-- and here it comes--your dad lived in the United States for at least 5 years prior the day you were born.

If that's the case, you are a US citizen. If that's not the case, you are just an Aussie.

One question though: you say you lived in the US for 6 years. With what kind of papers?

[NickD 202]

See the word embassy used quite frequently on this board and wonder if the word consulate should be used instead. Embassy is where that countries ambassador hangs out, very official looking building with a big fence around it, guards, and diplomats and normally located in that countries capital city. Like Washington DC in the USA. Consulates are just much smaller offices that take care of the peons like us.

In Caracas for example, Chavez kicked out the USA ambassador, Obama in turn kicked out the Venezuelan ambassador, But the General Consulate of Venezuela still has that small three room office suite in Chicago with three people working there to serve such needs as passports, citizen ID's and little stuff like that. Was just at the Colombian consulate for my wifes' passport, even smaller, just one office with two people working there. Explains why they never answer the phone or answer emails.

Plus they do things a bit different, instead of working four hours and taking a ten minute break, work ten minutes and take a four hour break, you sit and wait.

So I think you should be looking for a USA consulate. See JustBob posted, surprised he didn't mention as he has a zillion times before, forget about the N-600 and just apply for a US passport. This is one time this really makes sense, should just need proof your dad is a US citizen, birth certificate, and you are his kid, your birth certificate. Fill out the DS-11 form, bring in two passport photos and money. Mainly the money.

Colombia apparently doesn't trust their workers, when it came to payment, they can't accept cash, money order, debit cards or the like. Made us walk six blocks away in downtown Chicago to a bank where we put our cash into their account and got a receipt that we had to walk back and show them. Then he tells us we have to come back in two weeks to pick up that passport. Just said, that is a 700 mile drive for us, he spoke extremely broken English. But I found a FedEx office next door and purchased a prepaid envelop already addressed to us. He said, we don't deal with FedEx. Said all you have to do is call them and they will pick it up. NO. Only the USPS where his postman walks up to his desk. So came home and sent me a prepaid pre-addressed express envelop in another addressed to him express envelop and that satisfied him. But he had that envelop for another couple of weeks before he finally got around to sending us my wifes' Colombian passport that she has to have to visit her mom since her US passport says she was born in Colombia.

Between updating her Colombian ID and getting her passport, cost us over 1500 bucks plus a hell of a lot of chasing around. I would never complain about paying 600 bucks for an N-600 if that even applies, that is good for life. Both her ID and passport have short time limits.