Derivative Citizenship and Child Citizenship Act

Derivative Citizenship

Derivative citizenship is conveyed to spouses of citizens at or during marriage.

Documents

Persons who have met all USCIS requirements to obtain derivative citizenship will have either an N-560 or N-561.

Child Citizenship Act (CCA)

The CCA, amends the INA to permit children born outside the U.S., including adopted children, to acquire citizenship automatically if they meet certain requirements. This Act became effective on February 27, 2001.

Requirements

Under this Act, a child born outside of the U.S. automatically becomes a citizen of the U.S. when ALL of the following conditions are met:

At least one parent of the child is a citizen of the U.S., whether by birth or naturalization,
The child is under the age of eighteen years,
The child is residing in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent and the child entered the U.S. lawfully for admission to permanent residence (admission in ANY immigrant category will satisfy the requirement that the applicant be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident), and
In the case of an adopted child, that child is under the age of sixteen and has resided in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent(s) for at least two years. Sibling children adopted by the same parent(s) have until the age of 18.

Documents

At the present time, the Bureau of USCIS is NOT able to automatically provide most parents with documentation of their foreign-born child’s citizenship. USCIS plans to eventually be able to provide a Certificate of Citizenship to ALL children who qualify for citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act.

Determination of Citizenship

Until the Certificate of Citizenship is issued, the EW must determine if the child meets this citizenship status by verifying ALL of the following elements:

The age of the child,
The legal relationship of the child to the parent,
The citizenship status of at least one custodial parent,
That the child entered the U.S. lawfully for admission to permanent residence (admission in any immigrant classification will satisfy the requirement that the applicant be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident), and
In the case of adopted children, that the child is under the age of sixteen and has resided in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent(s) for at least two years. Sibling children adopted by the same parent(s) have until the age of 18.

Foreign Birth Certificates

A foreign birth certificate that has been registered with the American Consulate in the foreign country indicates U.S. citizenship if the document has all of the following:

A written statement to this effect
The official stamp of the Consulate
The signature of an officer of the Consulate.

Persons holding these registered birth certificates are usually issued a U.S. passport.

When the child of U.S. parents first enters the country the foreign birth certificate of that child (U.S. person born abroad) stamped by USCIS at the time is NOT in itself proof of acquired citizenship. Although the child was legally admitted to this country, he/she must meet certain requirements to automatically obtain citizenship. The EW must make a determination whether the child met the requirements.

Refer to “Determination of Citizenship” above for instructions.

Date of Acquired Citizenship

A child acquires citizenship at whichever of the following occurs LATER:

The date the Act became effective (February 27, 2001) if he/she met ALL of the Child Citizenship Act requirements on that date, or
The date, after February 27, 2001, on which the child meets ALL of the Child Citizenship Act requirements.

Example 1 Example 1 A family consisting of a husband, wife and their 2 children (ages 3 and 5) entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1991. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998. On 02/27/01 (the date the Act became effective), their 13-year old daughter and 15-year old son automatically acquired U.S. citizenship.

Example 2Example 2A family consisting of a husband, wife and their 2 children (ages 3 and 5) entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1995. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 12/11/01. Their 10-year old daughter and 12-year old son automatically acquired U.S. citizenship on the date (12/11/01) that their father became a U.S. citizen.

Children who turned 18 years of age before the act became effective (February 27, 2001) do NOT qualify for citizenship under this act, even if they meet all of the other criteria. If they choose to become a U.S. citizen, they must apply for naturalization and meet eligibility requirements that currently exist for adult lawful permanent residents.

Example 3 Example 3 A family consisting of a husband, wife, 9-year old daughter and 10-year old son entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1991. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1998. Since both children turned 18 years of age before the Act took effective, they do NOT qualify to become U.S. citizens under this Act.

For noncitizen children who turned 18 years of age since February 27, 2001, EWs must explore if the child met the new citizenship rule anytime during the period of February 27, 2001 until the day prior to the child’s 18th birthday. A child who met the requirements, before turning 18, qualify for citizenship under this act.

Example 4Example 4On March 11, 2002, a family consisting of a husband, wife and their 18-year old son (DOB 07/23/83) apply for CalFresh. The family entered the U.S. as lawful permanent residents in 1995 and the father became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 06/30/01. The EW determines that the 18-year old child met the Child Citizenship Act requirements prior to his 18th birthday, and therefore has acquired citizenship under the Act.

Children who turn 18 years of age after February 27, 2001 but before meeting all of the other criteria, do not qualify for citizenship under this act. If they choose to become U.S. citizen, they must apply for naturalization and meet eligibility requirements that currently exist for adult lawful permanent residents.

Example 5 Example 5 A family consisting of a husband, wife, their daughter (DOB - 3/3/84) and their son (DOB - 4/16/83) entered the U.S. in 1991 as lawful permanent residents. The father became a naturalized U.S. citizen on 05/17/01. As of that date, their 17-year old daughter automatically acquired U.S. citizenship; however, their 18-year old son does NOT qualify for automatic U.S. citizenship because he turned 18 years of age BEFORE his father became a citizen.

Derivative Citizenship and Child Citizenship Act