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A. What is the First Step?
B. Ways of Becoming a United States Citizen
C. The Meaning of "Foreign Parent"
D. Forms Which Have to Be Filed
E. More Information
Before a foreign adopted child can become a United States citizen, that child must first become a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The child can become a permanent resident by entering the United States with an immigrant visa or by using a procedure called adjustment of status in the United States. The ways a child can qualify to do this based on an adoptive relationship have been explained in this publication.
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A foreign child who is adopted by United States citizen(s) does not automatically become a United States citizen. A foreign child who is adopted by foreign parent(s) and who has become a permanent resident does automatically become a United States citizen if the parent(s) are naturalized before the child is 18. The child, however, must be unmarried and living with them when they are naturalized. (If both parents are foreign, both must be naturalized.)
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For purposes of automatic United States citizenship for an adopted child, "foreign parent" includes the following:
1. The surviving parent when the other parent has died.
2. The parent who has legal custody of the child when the parents are legally separated.
3. The foreign parent when the other parent is a United States citizen.
4. The mother when the child is illegitimate.
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An adopted child who becomes a citizen automatically through the naturalization of his or her adoptive alien parent(s) may apply for proof of citizenship with the INS. The adoptive parent(s) may file a Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship, with the nearest Service office. The adopted child must be unmarried, under 18 years of age, and residing with the adopted parent(s) in the United States as a lawfully admitted permanent resident alien.
A child who is adopted by a United States citizen parent or parents does not automatically become a United States citizen. The citizen parent(s) of an unmarried adopted child who does not automatically become a citizen of the United States may choose to apply for United States citizenship on behalf of the child by either an INS administrative process or by a naturalization process through the court .
The administrative process requires that a Form N-643, Application for Certificate of Citizenship in behalf of an Adopted Child, be filed with the INS before the child is 18 years of age. The child must be unmarried, adopted while under 16 years of age, and a lawful permanent resident of the United States. The child is not a citizen until the Form N-643 is approved and the certificate of citizenship is issued.
This administrative procedure is an alternative to and does not replace the procedure by which the United States citizen parent(s) may petition for the naturalization of an adopted child.
Under the naturalization by court procedure, the United States citizen parent(s) must file a Form N- 402, Application to File Petition for Naturalization in Behalf of Child, with INS. There is no waiting period necessary. Form N-402 can be filed as soon as the child is both adopted and a lawful permanent resident as long as he or she is unmarried and under 18 years. If the child is fourteen years of age or older, a Form FD-258, Fingerprint Card, and Form C-325, Biographic Information sheet must also be submitted with the Form N-402 application. The child's naturalization (admission to citizenship by the court) must bc completed before the child reaches 18 years.
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There is another Service publication (Form N- 17, Naturalization Requirements and General Information) with more information about naturalization and citizenship. It is available at Service offices.
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