N400

[Joepepper 0]

Please can someone help to clarify this for me?

First,  im about to file for my citizenship. Im divorced and im filing under the 5yrs rule. 

Part 10 question 2 says, if you are married,  is your spouse a current member of the U S armed forces? Please should i skip this question or say NO since im divorced and not currently married? 

Secondly,  my brothers children 3 of them have been under my custody  before i arrived in US. My brother and his wife were not acting responsibly and not taking good care of the children. So the entire family took note of this and was very concerned about the welfare of the children. The family called for a meeting and it was agreed by the family including my brother and his wife that the children should be under my custody of which till presently they are under my caring and doing great in school etc. Though they are with my dad back home and im still the one taking care of their welfare. When i was back home before i migrated to US, i was on the process of trying to file for legal custody of the children but while on the process, i migrated to the US. When i filed for my permanent resident card,  i included all 3 of the children and now that im about to file for my citizenship,  im also including them.

So my question is, should i say on the N400 part 11 that they are legally adopted or not legally adopted  or just say Adopted in the space provided?

Lastly,  will this even come up since the N400 form has nothing to do directly with the children? 

I will appreciate any guidance i received in regards to the above.

Thanks.,

Joepepper. 

Edited October 26, 2017 by Joepepper
Incomplete sentence

[aleful 1,905]

for the first one you are correct, you aren't married

 

but for the second there is confusion, because if you are their legal guardian, but you haven't legally adopted them and you don't have any adoption papers, they aren't your children and never should have been included in your petition as your children

 

so, have you legally adopted them? do you have their adoption papers?

[candybabe 46]

8 hours ago, Joepepper said:

Please can someone help to clarify this for me?

First,  im about to file for my citizenship. Im divorced and im filing under the 5yrs rule. 

Part 10 question 2 says, if you are married,  is your spouse a current member of the U S armed forces? Please should i skip this question or say NO since im divorced and not currently married? 

Secondly,  my brothers children 3 of them have been under my custody  before i arrived in US. My brother and his wife were not acting responsibly and not taking good care of the children. So the entire family took note of this and was very concerned about the welfare of the children. The family called for a meeting and it was agreed by the family including my brother and his wife that the children should be under my custody of which till presently they are under my caring and doing great in school etc. Though they are with my dad back home and im still the one taking care of their welfare. When i was back home before i migrated to US, i was on the process of trying to file for legal custody of the children but while on the process, i migrated to the US. When i filed for my permanent resident card,  i included all 3 of the children and now that im about to file for my citizenship,  im also including them.

So my question is, should i say on the N400 part 11 that they are legally adopted or not legally adopted  or just say Adopted in the space provided?

Lastly,  will this even come up since the N400 form has nothing to do directly with the children? 

I will appreciate any guidance i received in regards to the above.

Thanks.,

Joepepper. 

For Part 10 question 2, it would be No.

 

As far as the children - you are not their adoptive parent -

 

I would even go as far as saying you should have not included them on your green card -

 

That is misrepresentation and could actually lead to revocation of your Green Card.

 

During the citizenship interview, the officer will want to make sure that all derived beneficiaries of the benefit (US citizenship) such as you, all children listed or spouses are valid and legal beneficiaries.

 

They will ask you for legal paperwork / court decree showing that the children have been adopted by you before your applied for your GC, so they were eligible at the time to be listed on your GC application.

 

Without the court decree,  they are not eligible and because you included them on your GC, it invalidates the basis on which you were granted your permanent resident status to begin with.

 

I would probably contact a lawyer - And I would definitely not apply for citizenship until you talk to an immigration lawyer.

 

I am not an immigration specialist / lawyer

 

 

[Joepepper 0]

6 hours ago, aleful said:

for the first one you are correct, you aren't married

 

but for the second there is confusion, because if you are their legal guardian, but you haven't legally adopted them and you don't have any adoption papers, they aren't your children and never should have been included in your petition as your children

 

so, have you legally adopted them? do you have their adoption papers?

No i have not. I was on the process before i migrate.

[Joepepper 0]

1 hour ago, candybabe said:

For Part 10 question 2, it would be No.

 

As far as the children - you are not their adoptive parent -

 

I would even go as far as saying you should have not included them on your green card -

 

That is misrepresentation and could actually lead to revocation of your Green Card.

 

During the citizenship interview, the officer will want to make sure that all derived beneficiaries of the benefit (US citizenship) such as you, all children listed or spouses are valid and legal beneficiaries.

 

They will ask you for legal paperwork / court decree showing that the children have been adopted by you before your applied for your GC, so they were eligible at the time to be listed on your GC application.

 

Without the court decree,  they are not eligible and because you included them on your GC, it invalidates the basis on which you were granted your permanent resident status to begin with.

 

I would probably contact a lawyer - And I would definitely not apply for citizenship until you talk to an immigration lawyer.

 

I am not an immigration specialist / lawyer

 

 

Ok thanks. I appreciate your contribution.