N400 Interview - Spouse US Citizenship Proof

[stag 62]

Just making sure - for the I-751/N400 combo interview based on 3 year marriage to US citizen, if US citizen spouse is derived citizen (so received citizenship as minor from naturalized parent), so they only have US passport as citizenship proof, bringing the US passport is enough to fulfill the requirement on the notice? The US passport was issued ~5.5 years ago. Thank you.

[Fr8dog 338]

Yes a valid US passport is proof of US citizenship.

[OldUser 9,551]

In rare circumstances I can see officer may want to establish how and when the spouse became US citizen. Certificate of citizenship would have been very helpful for that. But since you don't have it, the only option is to go to the interview and hope this doesn't come up. Maybe parent's certificate of naturalization could explain how US citizen got their citizenship.

 

Let us know how it goes!

Edited June 4 by OldUser

[stag 62]

3 hours ago, OldUser said:

In rare circumstances I can see officer may want to establish how and when the spouse became US citizen. Certificate of citizenship would have been very helpful for that. But since you don't have it, the only option is to go to the interview and hope this doesn't come up. Maybe parent's certificate of naturalization could explain how US citizen got their citizenship.

 

Let us know how it goes!

 

But given the US passport was issued years before our marriage isn't that enough to establish citizenship validity for the spouse? Per USCIS, US passport is valid proof for citizenship and I even have an A Number with which all of that can be verified in their system. 

[OldUser 9,551]

1 minute ago, stag said:

 

But given the US passport was issued years before our marriage isn't that enough to establish citizenship validity for the spouse? Per USCIS, US passport is valid proof for citizenship and I even have an A Number with which all of that can be verified in their system. 

Passport is issued by Deparment of State (DOS).

 

Certificate of citizenship is issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

 

The burden of proof is typically on petitioner, even if data is in USCIS system, which it may not be, because the kid never applied for N-600.

 

Some people got passports erroneously (you can google news) and were denied passport renewal decades later after having passport for most of their adult life.

 

USCIS may (not saying they will) need to establish fact the spouse was US citizen for 3+ years. I know, passport is 5+ years, but it doesn't say exact date somebody became a citizen unlike certificate of citizenship.

 

Not saying this will be a problem for sure, but there's small possibility.

 

 

 

 

 

[Lil bear 4,489]

13 minutes ago, stag said:

 

But given the US passport was issued years before our marriage isn't that enough to establish citizenship validity for the spouse? Per USCIS, US passport is valid proof for citizenship and I even have an A Number with which all of that can be verified in their system. 

It should be but it is not always the case 

[stag 62]

56 minutes ago, OldUser said:

Passport is issued by Deparment of State (DOS).

 

Certificate of citizenship is issued by United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

 

The burden of proof is typically on petitioner, even if data is in USCIS system, which it may not be, because the kid never applied for N-600.

 

Some people got passports erroneously (you can google news) and were denied passport renewal decades later after having passport for most of their adult life.

 

USCIS may (not saying they will) need to establish fact the spouse was US citizen for 3+ years. I know, passport is 5+ years, but it doesn't say exact date somebody became a citizen unlike certificate of citizenship.

 

Not saying this will be a problem for sure, but there's small possibility.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I would think USCIS is pretty familiar with derived citizenship, and I'm not sure what the error would have been, I can bring parents' naturalization certificates as well. Also, perhaps they should make N600 a requirement for filing K1 to begin with, but they accepted US passport as evidence of US citizenship. 

[OldUser 9,551]

16 minutes ago, stag said:

 

I would think USCIS is pretty familiar with derived citizenship, and I'm not sure what the error would have been, I can bring parents' naturalization certificates as well. Also, perhaps they should make N600 a requirement for filing K1 to begin with, but they accepted US passport as evidence of US citizenship. 

Just like with stock market, where past performance doesn't guarantee future returns, prior approvals / acceptance by USCIS doesn't guarantee prior decisions wouldn't be reviewed. The reason USCIS has multiple petitions required along the way and multiple interviews, is to catch fraud and its own errors. Any prior decision by USCIS technically can be revisited and overturned at next stage of immigration process.

 

Again, I don't doubt your prior cases were adjudicated correctly. Just saying, anything can be scrutinized, even if it was OK in the past.

 

Do I think you'll have issues? Probably not. Maybe 5% chance of them asking for additional proof of US citizenship.

 

Good luck!

 

 

Edited June 4 by OldUser

[Rekyrts 141]

Per established caselaw, a valid U.S. Passport is sufficient proof for USCIS proceedings. However, I do believe USCIS can challenge the validitiy of the passport per the guidance.