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February 27, 2001 Child
Citizenship Act How
to Get a Certificate of Citizenship for Your Child The Child Citizenship Act (CCA) which becomes effective on February 27,
2001, amends the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to provide U.S.
citizenship to certain foreign-born children—including adopted children—of
U.S. citizens. In general, children who are less than 18 years of age and
have at least one parent who is a U.S. citizen whether by birth or
naturalization-will benefit from this new law. Under the law, qualifying
children who immigrate to the United States with a U.S. citizen parent
automatically acquire U.S. citizenship; children who live abroad acquire
citizenship by application. INS will work with Congress, the adoption community and other stakeholders
to re-engineer and streamline the current process for obtaining a Certificate
of Citizenship for a child. However, if you wish to obtain a Certificate of
Citizenship for your child at this time, the process is explained below. In
addition, you may obtain a passport for your child from the Department of
State. What forms do I file and what are the fees?
I am filing for a foreign born biological child who lives in the United
States. What documents do I have to submit with the form? For children who have immigrated to the United States, parents will not be
required to submit any evidence that is already contained in the INS file,
including translations of documents. If your child has immigrated to the United States (has a "green
card"), you should submit:
I am filing for a foreign born adopted child who lives in the United
States. What documents do I have to submit with the form? For children who have immigrated to the United States, parents will not be
required to submit any evidence that is already contained in the INS file,
including translations of documents. If your child has immigrated to the United States (has a "green
card") after a full and final adoption abroad, you should submit:
If your child has immigrated to the United States (has a "green
card") to be adopted or re-adopted, you must submit:
I am filing for a child who lives abroad. What documents do I have to
submit with the form? If your child has not immigrated to the United States (does not have a
"green card"), you should submit:
I am filing for a child who lives abroad. How do I know if I need to
file the Form N-600/N-643, Supplement A? Under the Child Citizenship Act, the U.S. citizen parent of a child living
abroad must have five years of physical presence in the United States or its
outlying possessions with at least two years occurring after age 14, in order
to apply for citizenship on behalf of the child. If you cannot meet this
requirement, the law allows you to rely on the physical presence of your
citizen parent to apply for citizenship. If you are relying on the physical
presence of your U.S. citizen parent, you must file the Form N-600/N-643,
Supplement A. Where Should I File the Forms? If you are filing for a child who lives in the United States, file the
Form N-600 or N-643 at the INS district office or suboffice in the United
States with jurisdiction over your place of residence. If filing for a child, who lives abroad, you may file the Form N-600 or
N-643 at any INS district office or suboffice in the United States. You and
your child will need to travel to the United States to complete this
application process. What Resources Are Available to Answer Questions About the New Law? For more information about the CCA application procedures and forms, you
may go to the INS Web site at www.ins.usdoj.gov or contact our
National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. INS has also made
available field guidance and public materials to all information officers and
other front line staff to aid them in answering questions. – INS – |