Adoption
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) states that foreign-born children who meet certain conditions automatically acquire US citizenship under Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The CCA went into effect on Feb. 27, 2001. The child must have been under the age of 18 on Feb. 27, 2001 to automatically acquire US citizenship under INA 320.
Under INA 320, adopted children will automatically acquire citizenship upon being admitted into the United States if they:
- Qualify as an “immediate relative” under INA 101(b)(1)(E), (F), or (G);
- Are admitted as a lawful permanent resident (LPR);
- Are residing in the United States in the US citizen parents’ legal and physical custody (unless an exception applies as noted below); and
- Are under 18 years old when they meet all of these conditions.
If the child does not qualify for a Certificate of Citizenship when admitted as an LPR under one of the visa classifications shown in the table below, they will automatically become a US citizen once they meet all the conditions listed above. If they cannot meet those conditions, they may remain an LPR and apply for naturalization under INA 316 once they are eligible. The chart below outlines the visa classifications, the process to obtain evidence of US citizenship, and the documents that generally serve as evidence of the child’s LPR status or US citizenship.
The child will receive a Green Card (also known as a Permanent Resident Card) by mail.
A child admitted on an IR-2 visa may also acquire U.S. citizenship under INA 320 upon being admitted into the United States.
However, because the IR-2 visa also includes stepchildren (who do not acquire citizenship under INA 320), we cannot assume that INA 320 applies to all children admitted with an IR-2 visa. For this reason, all IR-2 children receive a Green Card.
If the adopted child meets all the conditions of INA 320, the family can file Form N-600 with the fee. Upon its approval, the adopted child will receive a Certificate of Citizenship.
The child will receive a Green Card by mail.
Generally, an IR-4 or IH-4 child will acquire U.S. citizenship once the parents complete the adoption in the United States. If the adopted child meets all the conditions of INA 320 before the child’s 18th birthday, the family can file Form N-600 with fee to obtain a Certification of Citizenship.
The child will receive a Certificate of Citizenship by mail if the child meets all INA 320 requirements.
US Immigration authorities began automatically issuing Certificates of Citizenship on Jan. 1, 2004. If a child entered the United States on an IR-3 visa before this date, there was no automatically issued Certificate of Citizenship for the child. The family should file Form N-600 with the fee to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship.
If a child does not acquire citizenship from the original petitioning adoptive parents, they may still be eligible to acquire citizenship if later adopted by different US citizen parents as long as the child meets all the requirements of INA 320, including requirements applicable to an adopted child under INA 101(b) with the new adoptive parents.If a child does not acquire citizenship from the original petitioning adoptive parents, they may still be eligible to acquire citizenship if later adopted by different US citizen parents as long as the child meets all the requirements of INA 320, including requirements applicable to an adopted child under INA 101(b) with the new adoptive parents.
