Most parents would assume that once a child is legally theirs, their citizenship extends to that child. After all, plenty of parents serving abroad in the military or on business give birth overseas and their children are citizens. We have always been told that having one parent who is a U.S. citizen automatically makes a child a U.S. citizen.
Except, adopted children haven’t always had this protection. Until recently, children adopted from other countries had to go through a separate naturalization process (forms, filing fees, sometimes court appearance).
There have been cases in which adoptive parents assumed that their citizenship transferred to their children–as, after all, it did to their birth children born overseas. In one case, a teenager qualified for the U.S. Olympic team, only to have it discovered that she was not eligible to compete because her naturalization process had never been completed. In several more serious cases, older teens and young adults accused of crimes have not had the full protection of the law. In several cases involving felony marijuana use or sale, the subject was deported—back to a country where he knew no one and did not understand the culture or even speak the language.
Naturally I am not excusing felonies; however, if the parents had taken care to ensure their children’s citizenship these young adults could have served their sentences in the U.S., with family nearby to give them a better chance at rehabilitation when they got out.
Several changes have been made regarding adoption and citizenship in the past few years. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 became effective in February 2001. A separate naturalization process is no longer required for children entering the country after that time. A child who has been adopted in an overseas court, as is the case in Russian and Chinese adoptions among others, enters the country on an IR-3 visa and their citizenship takes effect when the enter the U.S.
In cases where the adoption is not finalized overseas, as is the case in adoptions from Korea and India for example, a child enters the U.S. on an IR-4 visa and becomes a citizen when the adoption is finalized in a U.S. court (or state court in the U.S.)
However, if you are a parent of a child adopted internationally before February 2001, this law does not apply and your child may not be a citizen. This means they not only risk being deported if they are ever convicted of a crime, but also they may have trouble adopting, qualifying for benefits, or proving themselves eligible for certain jobs (not only some government jobs, but some jobs with industries who manufacture for the Defense Department, such as the airline giant Boeing, require citizenship).
It is easier to apply for citizenship for a child under 16, and much more difficult after a child turns 18. Do not delay!
For more information on applying for citizenship for your child, or for proof of citizenship for a child who arrived after February 2001, click here.
Please see these related blogs:
A Maze of Paperwork: An American Passport for our Daughter