The Certificate of Citizenship fee is doubling on December 23, 2016, for children adopted internationally. Foreign born children who were adopted prior to 2002 may not have received their Certificate of Citizenship. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 was signed into law on October 30, 2000, and became effective on February 27, 2001. This law allowed internationally adopted children to be granted U.S. Citizenship automatically if they met certain requirements. However, not all adoptive parents received the child’s Certificate of Citizenship during the first couple of years after the implementation of this law. If your child is still in need of their Certificate of Citizenship, we encourage you to act now to get this permanent document of their U.S. Citizenship.
A child who immigrates to the United States as the adopted child of a U.S. citizen automatically becomes a U.S. citizen if the adoption is full and final before the child’s 18th birthday, if the child is “admitted” as a permanent resident before his or her 18th birthday, and if he or she “is residing” in the United States in the citizen parent’s legal and physical custody.
If you file Form N600 prior to December 23, 2016, the filing fee for an adopted child is $550. If you file Form N600 after December 23, 2016, the filing fee is $1,170.
Please click here for more information about the fee increase and obtaining proof of U.S. Citizenship for your adopted child.
Please click here for more information about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
