If you are a U.S. citizen who has legally adopted a child from another country, your child is most likely eligible for U.S. citizenship. If you are residing in the United States with your child, U.S. citizenship can automatically be acquired once certain requirements are met. If you are residing abroad with your adopted child and do not maintain a U.S. address, you will have to apply for naturalization on behalf of your child once certain requirements are met. We'll get into the details below.
If you are residing in the United States, your foreign-born adopted child will automatically acquire U.S. citizenship once two sets of criteria are met:
Let's look more closely at each of these.
An adopted child, for U.S. immigration purposes, is one who satisfies all of the following requirements:
It is important to understand that you do not, in fact, have legal custody of your child until you resume responsibility under the laws of the state where you live and under the approval of a court of law or other appropriate government entity. This is true even if the child was residing with you before legal custody was granted.
Once your child meets the definition of an adopted child, he or she automatically acquires U.S. citizenship as soon as all of the following requirements are satisfied:
A child who has met all of the requirements for automatic acquisition of citizenship is considered a U.S. citizen. No other steps need to be taken, for legal purposes. However, it is a good idea to secure a Certificate of Citizenship from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) if it doesn't send you one of its own volition. This certificate will serve as evidence of your child's U.S. citizenship.
See U.S. Citizenship for Children by Birth To Citizen Parents (Acquisition) for further detail and discussion of legal issues.
Your child should automatically receive a Certificate of Citizenship from USCIS if and when the following conditions are met:
If these conditions have been met, your child will have been admitted to the United States in the IR-3 or IH-3 category and should receive a Certificate of Citizenship within 45 days of admission. There are a few exceptions to this, which can be found on the USCIS website.
If your child is not eligible to automatically receive a Certificate of Citizenship, you can apply for one from USCIS. This is filed using USCIS Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship. No fee is required when filing for an adopted child.
If you do not live in the United States, but you want your adopted child to have U.S. citizenship, you can apply to have your child naturalized. This application is filed on Form N-600K Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322. Here too, no fee is required when filing for an adopted child.
Know that this application will require you to travel to the United States with your child for an interview at a USCIS office before a final decision can be issued.
Before you file the N-600K Application for Citizenship, you will need to satisfy two sets of regulatory criteria. The first is that the child must meet the definition of an adopted child as set forth by the I.N.A. (described in "Definition of Adopted Child," above).
The second set of criteria is set forth in Section 322 of the I.N.A. or 8 U.S.C. Section §1433, all requirements of which must be satisfied before you can submit the N-600K Application for Citizenship. These are the following:
The parent and child can ordinarily be lawfully admitted as tourists (on B-2 visitor visas) if the only purpose of the trip is to participate in this USCIS interview.
If it is not clear that your child is eligible for U.S. citizenship, either by automatic acquisition or by Section 322, it is a good idea to consult with an immigration attorney to find out what your options are. An immigration attorney can also assist you in preparing and filing the necessary paperwork for either process.