DaveE

This my last post on this as my daughters immigration journey is over. I was very concerned about her citizenship status because of all the conflicting guidance given by the State Department. For example, here Child Citizenship Act FAQ it says the only requirements are that the child be under 18, the adoption be final, proof that she is legally in the states, and proof that I am a citizen. Here it says basically the same thing State Department .Yet Mayliana is correct the reference they cited says that the adoption must be complete before the child is 16 years old.
My daughter was 16 in July 2012, and the adoption was not final until September 2012. I just said heck with it and took her to the post office and applied for a passport. I attached printouts of all the conflicting guidance and put in the the package with the passport application, basically asking which one of these is correct? I included the final adoption decree, a copy of her green card front and back, a copy of my passport ,photographs and $150.00 later I was out the door. Then the wait began. I heard nothing for two weeks, and then an ominous letter arrived from the State Department. I fully expected a rejection letter and them thanking me for the $150.00. Actually it was a very nice letter saying that I needed to send an NSO certified copy of her birth certificate back to them, (this is the one thing they never asked for on the web page). They even provided a link to the Philippine government web site where I could order one. We had a copy so we return mailed it to them.
Bottom line - today my daughters 10 year United States passport arrived in the mail. She is the newest citizen in the family. According to the USCIS, your US passport is your best proof of US citizenship, USCIS
Poor mom, doesn't even have her 10 year green card yet.

Remember my experience was five years ago. I hope they have fixed this by now.  I should not have had to remove conditions from my daughter since she was a US citizen. There would be no conditions to remove.
 
The problem arose when I was removing condition for her mother (my wife).  Vermont kept returning the paperwork saying the my wife's K1, and my daughter K2 were linked and had to be done together.
 
I made an infopass appointment in Atlanta and explained to them the situation.  They verified that my daughter was a citizen and did not have to remove conditions. However they said fighting with Vermont was basically useless and would take up to one year. Representatives told me the same thing.
 
In my case, Atlanta told me to go ahead and act as if my daughter had to remove conditions and just submit the package like that.  They also told me that when the permanent green card arrived for my daughter, to destroy it since she already had a US passport.
 
Kind of pissed me off and the couldn't answer the question I asked, "what if my daughter didn't like the states and had decided to go home?" How would my wife remove conditions in that case. All I got was blank stares.
 
Since the time, my daughter had been in and out of the states with her passport with no issues at tall.

After all the DIY success I have had in the immigration process, I wanted to jump to the next level. My step daughter asked me to adopt her as she is the only one with a different last name. She just turned 16, and I was so honored that she asked me to go forward with it.
Every attorney in the local area wanted around $4000 for their expertise. I said why not try to do it ourselves, how much harder than immigration paperwork can it be. Well we studied the laws on step child adoption, researched the necessary forms and procedures, and went to work. We thought we were pretty thorough so we took our package to the county court house and filed. The filing fee was $205, and the clerk said she had never seen anyone try an adoption without an attorney. She also said that if the Judge rejected our forms that our filing fee would not be refunded.
We waited almost a month and nothing from the court, (I thought we had messed up big time). While in California on business two weeks ago, I got an email from my step daughter saying that we had gotten a letter from the court, and attached a scanned copy.
The letter basically had two provisions. First, on August 20th, my step daughter and wife have to meet the judge to discuss the adoption, (and to make sure it is what they want). Secondly, my step daughter must affirm (sign), in the presence of the court, a document that states that she wants to be adopted. This is a requirement in Georgia for any child over 14. My step daughter just turned 16.
Second paragraph of the letter says that all of us must be in court on September 6th to finalize the adoption. What is neat is that he waived the publication order, and the home study order, thus saving a bunch of time.
As soon as the adoption is final, she becomes a US citizen and can apply for her passport under the Child Citizenship Act.
Poor mom, she will have to remove conditions alone, and her daughter will beat her to Citizenship by over a year.
I am stoked.

Unless the law has changed since we did it, no biological father permission was required.  Father was not listed on the birth certificate, and it wasn't even brought up during the K1/2 interview in Manila.

Tourist visa's are always iffy in the Philippines. All your sister can do is submit the paperwork, got to the interview, and hope for the best. 
 
Example:  Wife's cousin is a single mom with teenage son, she is a teller at a bank. They wanted to come visit us, and both were granted a 10 year tourist visa, first time applied.
My stepdaughter is in the states six or seven times a year, (flight attendant for Emirates), and has been refused twice for a tourist visa.
 

Speaking of the race card.

Speaking of the race card.

Speaking of the race card.

My situation was this;
 
No biological father was listed on the birth certificate, so there was no one to notify.
 
My county in GA allowed me to complete the adoption petition without a lawyer involved. I found most of the generic forms online: filled them out as best I could. The court clerk helped me change the ones that were specific to our court.  They ended up only using about a third of the forms I actually filled out. The did require a Philippine govt certified (NSO) copy of the birth certificate showing no father listed. Basically the court was very helpful and the clerk went out of her way to help me.
 
The approved adoption petition, and subsequent Georgia birth certificate were accepted by the passport agency as proof of citizenship. 
 
My advice to anyone contemplating this, is go to your local county superior court and talk to the clerk one on one.
 
Saved me a bunch of money.
 
 

It is frustrating and at times seems to make no sense.  My step daughter is 7 years into an 11 year wait for her immigrant visa.  She has been refused twice for a tourist visa. More frustrating is that she is a flight attendant for Emirates, and is in the states monthly on her crew visa, (wherever the A380 flies).
 
 

We are hosting a family reunion in February in the Philippines. Wife has 11 boxes ready to ship and working on more. Good thing here they drop the boxes off at the house and pick them up at the house.

After all the DIY success I have had in the immigration process, I wanted to jump to the next level. My step daughter asked me to adopt her as she is the only one with a different last name. She just turned 16, and I was so honored that she asked me to go forward with it.
Every attorney in the local area wanted around $4000 for their expertise. I said why not try to do it ourselves, how much harder than immigration paperwork can it be. Well we studied the laws on step child adoption, researched the necessary forms and procedures, and went to work. We thought we were pretty thorough so we took our package to the county court house and filed. The filing fee was $205, and the clerk said she had never seen anyone try an adoption without an attorney. She also said that if the Judge rejected our forms that our filing fee would not be refunded.
We waited almost a month and nothing from the court, (I thought we had messed up big time). While in California on business two weeks ago, I got an email from my step daughter saying that we had gotten a letter from the court, and attached a scanned copy.
The letter basically had two provisions. First, on August 20th, my step daughter and wife have to meet the judge to discuss the adoption, (and to make sure it is what they want). Secondly, my step daughter must affirm (sign), in the presence of the court, a document that states that she wants to be adopted. This is a requirement in Georgia for any child over 14. My step daughter just turned 16.
Second paragraph of the letter says that all of us must be in court on September 6th to finalize the adoption. What is neat is that he waived the publication order, and the home study order, thus saving a bunch of time.
As soon as the adoption is final, she becomes a US citizen and can apply for her passport under the Child Citizenship Act.
Poor mom, she will have to remove conditions alone, and her daughter will beat her to Citizenship by over a year.
I am stoked.

Doesn't matter. My daughter was a citizen and filled out her FAFSA as such. When FAFSA verfied the data, it did not match and her scholarships were being held up the second year because of the mismatch. If you don't want annoying issues, update social security with your new citizenship info. From the FAFSA website:
"If your citizenship status has changed from an eligible noncitizen to a U.S. citizen, you should contact the Social Security Administration (SSA) to update your citizenship status. If you do not update your citizenship status with the SSA, it could delay processing your student financial aid."
http://www.fafsa.ed.gov/help/fotw15a.htm

What war did they lose? Does it have a name? My tribe never fought a day against the Europeans, we were just lied to about Europeans keeping their word. Suggest you google "Walter Ashby Plecker", the most hated white man in Virginian indian culture. And yes, I am a card carrying tribal member.
A little snippet for you: Walter Ashby Plecker was the first registrar of Virginia’s Bureau of Vital Statistics, which records births, marriages and deaths. He accepted the job in 1912. For the next 34 years, he led the effort to purify the white race in Virginia by forcing Indians and other nonwhites to classify themselves as blacks. It amounted to bureaucratic genocide.

Frankily, I find you rude which your post above illustrates. Why would I bother continuing on with you?

Actually it is ok to make copies for governmental agencies: Every time we go to the doctor they make a copy to veryfy Tricare eligibility.
It is important to note that there are state and federal agencies that may legally require a copy of a military ID for authorized purposes such as verifying eligibility for TriCare, verifying eligibility for Veterans Administration benefits or services, or verifying active-duty or dependant military status for tax purposes. Government agencies have a duty to protect information in strict accordance to government policy, HIPPA and when applicable, the Privacy Act of 1974.
http://www.aerotechnews.com/lukeafb/2012/03/26/copying-military-identification-cards-prohibited-by-law/

My wife had a misspelling on her birth certificate, that had been legally corrected years before. At the interview they delayed her visa and made her get another NBI, with both the correct and incorrect spellings of her name..

The problem is not the citizenship, it is the passport. Even with the N600 the minor will not get a passport unless you have sole custody. If the desired outcome is proof of citizenship, the N600 is fine. If the desired outcome is a US Passport, it won't happen without the other parent signature unless you have sole custody.
From the State Department website:

One Parent
(with sole legal custody)
MUST:

Appear in person with the minor Sign Form DS-11 in front of an Acceptance Agent Submit primary evidence of sole authority to apply for the child with one of the following: Minor's certified U.S. or foreign birth certificate listing only the applying parent Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) or Certification of Birth Abroad (Form DS-1350) listing only the applying parent Court order granting sole custody to the applying parent (unless child's travel is restricted by that order) Adoption decree (if applying parents is sole adopting parent) Court order specifically permitting applying parent's or guardian's travel with the child Judicial declaration of incompetence of non-applying parent Death certificate of non-applying parent

The problem is not the citizenship, it is the passport. Even with the N600 the minor will not get a passport unless you have sole custody. If the desired outcome is proof of citizenship, the N600 is fine. If the desired outcome is a US Passport, it won't happen without the other parent signature unless you have sole custody.
From the State Department website:

One Parent
(with sole legal custody)
MUST:

Appear in person with the minor Sign Form DS-11 in front of an Acceptance Agent Submit primary evidence of sole authority to apply for the child with one of the following: Minor's certified U.S. or foreign birth certificate listing only the applying parent Consular Report of Birth Abroad (Form FS-240) or Certification of Birth Abroad (Form DS-1350) listing only the applying parent Court order granting sole custody to the applying parent (unless child's travel is restricted by that order) Adoption decree (if applying parents is sole adopting parent) Court order specifically permitting applying parent's or guardian's travel with the child Judicial declaration of incompetence of non-applying parent Death certificate of non-applying parent

udder nonsense

I doubt you will have any problem with the USCIS portion of your petition. Their real requirement is that you be legally able to marry at the time the petition is filed, and have you met in the last two years.
I would advise you to prep your future bride however about potential questions during the interview. Things like:
Did you know he was still married when your relationship began?
When was his divorce finalized?
If children, how many and what happened to them, (custody).
The interview is where the decision will be made to grant or deny the visa.

I can't believe anyone is buying this #######? Lol freewood post.com.
Look it up in snopes. You've been had by the Patriot again.
http://www.snopes.com/politics/satire/jimporter.asp

I am a little confused, CFO does not have consuls. Sounds like her interview at the Embassy more than CFO

No - the court determines what lesser charges are considered after argument from the prosecution and defense. The charges and lesser included charges allowed are part of the written instructions to the jury.

You have her poster? Use her for your avatar