US Citizenship Q's

[faithful12 28]

Hello, 

 

We are hopig to apply for US Citizienship soon - I have some Q's 

 

1) How have you come up with the money to pay for fees? Do you save or borrow from someone? 

2) Is it ok to get the kids citizhip later- son is 15 YO and daugter 10YO? (financial causes)

3) How long does it generaly take -say I were to start the process in Jan 2023? 

 

Thank you for any suggestions in advance! . 

 

 

[OldUser 6,890]

Are your children in the US with you? Are they green card holders?

Did you know about this?

 

"A child under the age of 18 automatically becomes a citizen when all of the following conditions are met:

• The child is a legal permanent resident;
• At least one of the child’s parents (biological or adoptive) is a U.S. citizen (either by birth or through naturalization); and,
• The child lives in the United States and is in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent.

Provided that each of these requirements are met, this is the simplest way for a child of a naturalized U.S. citizen to become a citizen"

[faithful12 28]

Thank you!

 

Yes they are GC holders- are they required to pay a separate fee to get citizenship? 

[Mike E 11,741]

1 hour ago, faithful12 said:

 

 

 

 

1) How have you come up with the money to pay for fees? Do you save or borrow from someone? 

 

When I was working, my paycheck paid my fees.  Now that I am retired, my savings covered my wife’s N-400 fees.  
 

A third option for you might be a fee waiver. https://www.uscis.gov/i-912
 

[OldUser 6,890]

1 hour ago, faithful12 said:

Thank you!

 

Yes they are GC holders- are they required to pay a separate fee to get citizenship? 

Not for children naturalization, it's automatic if all conditions are met.

 

Bare in mind, if you want your children's life easier in the future, you may want to file N-600 to get their certificate of naturalization. This is an optional, but also expensive step. You don't need to do it right away.

 

I don't think you have an option of filing N-400 for your children, if you're naturalizing and they're meeting criteria for automatic naturalization. The only reason they would ever need to file N-400 if they no longer leave in the US with you, or you don't naturalize for now, or they're over 21 when you naturalize.

 

Short term this saves you money. Just need to pay fees for your N-400, your US passport and their US passports.

 

 

Edited October 26, 2022 by OldUser

[faithful12 28]

12 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Not for children naturalization, it's automatic if all conditions are met.

 

Bare in mind, if you want your children's life easier in the future, you may want to file N-600 to get their certificate of naturalization. This is an optional, but also expensive step. You don't need to do it right away.

 

I don't think you have an option of filing N-400 for your children, if you're naturalizing and they're meeting criteria for automatic naturalization. The only reason they would ever need to file N-400 if they no longer leave in the US with you, or you don't naturalize for now, or they're over 21 when you naturalize.

 

Short term this saves you money. Just need to pay fees for your N-400, your US passport and their US passports.

 

 

Thanks much! 

[da95826 387]

1 hour ago, faithful12 said:

Yes they are GC holders- are they required to pay a separate fee to get citizenship? 

No, they will become citizens automatically by law if they are green card holders, and they meet all the conditions, that one of their parents becomes a US citizen, and they are under 18 years old and in the USA living with and in the care and custody of the US citizen parent.

 

To have proof that they are US citizens you would need to get a certificate of citizenship; to get one you would need to file an n600 application for each child. Unfortenchenly it is a costly application to file $1170, you may wish to apply for the fee waiver for the n600.

 

 Many parents choose to get a US passport for their minor children which is much cheaper $100 or $115 than the n600 $1170. A passport will work to allow travel and provides some proof of US citizenship but there are some government benefits the child may apply for in the future that require a certificate of naturalization. 

 

You can wait to file n600 as they will be US citizens automatically you just lack proof of cizenship. If you don’t file their n600 right away I would advise to preserve the evidence that they became a citizen so they can file later in life even if they have US passport. Save their green card info, evidence they live with a US citizen parent at the time the parent became a citizen (under 18), the USA citizen parent's naturalization certificate, birth records and so on. If you file the n600 years later it can be difficult to have the evidence for the n600 application years and years later.

[faithful12 28]

1 hour ago, da95826 said:

No, they will become citizens automatically by law if they are green card holders, and they meet all the conditions, that one of their parents becomes a US citizen, and they are under 18 years old and in the USA living with and in the care and custody of the US citizen parent.

 

To have proof that they are US citizens you would need to get a certificate of citizenship; to get one you would need to file an n600 application for each child. Unfortenchenly it is a costly application to file $1170, you may wish to apply for the fee waiver for the n600.

 

 Many parents choose to get a US passport for their minor children which is much cheaper $100 or $115 than the n600 $1170. A passport will work to allow travel and provides some proof of US citizenship but there are some government benefits the child may apply for in the future that require a certificate of naturalization. 

 

You can wait to file n600 as they will be US citizens automatically you just lack proof of cizenship. If you don’t file their n600 right away I would advise to preserve the evidence that they became a citizen so they can file later in life even if they have US passport. Save their green card info, evidence they live with a US citizen parent at the time the parent became a citizen (under 18), the USA citizen parent's naturalization certificate, birth records and so on. If you file the n600 years later it can be difficult to have the evidence for the n600 application years and years later.

Thank you so much! 

[faithful12 28]

3 hours ago, Mike E said:

When I was working, my paycheck paid my fees.  Now that I am retired, my savings covered my wife’s N-400 fees.  
 

A third option for you might be a fee waiver. https://www.uscis.gov/i-912
 

Thanks!