Immigration Corner | Which application do I file for my daughter?

D ear Mrs Walker-Huntington,

I am a green card holder. I migrated to the USA with my family and I have been living here for five years going six years. I will be doing my application soon for my USA citizenship. I have a 10-year-old daughter. Do I need to file a N600 for her, or is it that once I do the N400 she will be good? The N400 application is what I’ll be filing for the rest of family.

Thank you.

WJ

Dear WJ,

An immigrant is eligible for US citizenship after being a lawful permanent resident for five years – three years if they obtained their US residency through marriage to a US citizenship and they are still married and living with that US citizen. During the relevant period, the immigrant must not have been absent from the US for six months or more, and they must have been in the United States more than they have been absent. They must be a person of good moral character, among other eligibility requirements.

The N400 Application for Naturalization is for persons age 18 and older, and all the eligibility requirements must be strictly met in order for one to legally qualify for US citizenship filing on their own. Listing family members on the application does not equate to applying for US citizenship for them – each person over age 18 must qualify and apply on their own.

If you are the parent of an immigrant under age 18 and that child is in your legal and physical custody, that child may acquire US citizenship from the parent. You have two options when that is the case:

1. Apply for a US passport; and/or

2. Apply for a Certificate of Citizenship using the N600 form.

Applying for a US passport is quicker, but the standard of proof to confer US citizenship on the child is the same. It is usually recommended that even after acquiring a US passport, that you still obtain a Certificate of Citizenship to document with the Department of Homeland Security that you are a US citizen. US passports are issued by the US Department of State. There are times when documents are lost or stolen, and decades later it can become problematic to prove that a person qualified for US citizenship as a child.

Dahlia A. Walker-Huntington, Esq, is a Jamaican-American attorney who practises immigration law in the United States; and family, criminal & international law in Florida. She is a diversity & inclusion consultant, mediator, and former special magistrate and hearing officer in Broward County, Florida. info@walkerhuntington.com