The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA)Note 1 provides for the "automatic" acquisition, that is acquisition as a matter of law, of U.S. citizenship to many children (adopted and not adopted) of U.S. citizens (USC's) who are born abroad, provided that certain qualifications are met.Note 2 As a result, many foreign-born children who have been adopted by USC's have become citizens, without the need to apply for citizenship. For children adopted in the future, many will also automatically become U.S. citizens under the Act.Note 3

It depends. As a result of the "CCA Program", if your child entered or enters the United States on or after January 2004, on an IR3 classified visa (See comment number 7 below that discusses the difference between an IR3 and IR4 visa classification), after a "full and final" adoption abroad, your child should receive a Certificate of Citizenship (COC) from the U.S. Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS, previously the INS; see 3a However if your child entered the United States before January 2004, or entered on an IR4 visa, you will still have to apply for a COC from the USCIS or obtain a U.S. Passport from the Department of State, Office of Passport Services, to prove your child's citizenship. The following comments are directed at why and how to obtain proof of citizenship for your child."Note 4

No. You are not required to get proof. As emphasized by the USCIS and elsewhere, if your child meets the requirements of the CCA, he or she is a U.S. citizen "automatically", that is, without any further action on your part, and is entitled to all the benefits of being a U.S. citizen, whether or not you ever obtain proof of the citizenship.

Yes and I strongly recommend it. Even if your child has the status of USC under the law and you will ultimately prevail on this issue in the end, you may still be faced with the problem of having to convince others that your child has this status. Having this clear and tangible evidence immediately on hand will save you and/or your child from having to produce numerous documents, and probably having to re-explain the CCA, every time it is necessary to prove that he or she is a USC. Indeed, despite the CCA, many Social Security Offices require a Certificate of Citizenship or U.S. Passport before they will classify your child as a USC in their system.Note 4b Furthermore, there will be no doubt that your child has met all of the requirements under the CCA and indeed is a USC.

As most of you probably know, as of March 1, 2003, most of the INS functions were transferred to a new department, the "Department of Homeland Security" (DHS), and the "INS" no longer exists. Most of the immigrant service functions such as immigrant visa petitions (e.g., I-600 Orphan Petitions)), citizenship, etc., will be handled by the new U.S. Department of Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

Under the USCIS regulations, you can prove U.S. citizenship through either a COC or a U.S. Passport. However, I recommend that you get both.Note 6a The COC is advantageous because it is universally recognized, only one-page long and does not need to be renewed. It is very similar to the one page Certificate of Naturalization that is used by a naturalized USC to prove U.S. citizenship. Unfortunately the USCIS response time for issuing a COC has been very slow. The passport can usually be obtained fairly quickly. (But see comment 15 below) and will be necessary if you travel outside of the United States with your child. (See comment below) If at all possible, start the process for both. You can then wait for the USCIS to provide the COC.

If your child is issued a visa with an IR3 classificationNote 7 ("Immediate Relative -- Orphan Adopted Abroad by U.S. Citizen"), he or she will automatically become a U.S. citizen under the CCA upon entering the U.S., assuming the other qualifications are met. (See Note 2)

However, if the adoption was not completed abroad or considered "final", either by the country abroad, or U.S. immigration, the child will enter the U.S. on an "IR4" classification visa. ("Immediate Relative - Orphan to be Adopted in the United States by U.S. Citizen."). If so, additional action will have to be taken for the child to become a U.S. citizen.Footnote 8 An IR4 visa is issued in two types of situations.

The first situation arises because there has been no adoption proceeding abroad, when the adoption is not completed abroad and/or the adoption is not considered final by the foreign country. This is often seen in adoptions of children from India or Korea in which only a guardianship or custodial relationship is established between the child and parent(s) or the child and the agency. In this situation, an adoption must take place in the U.S. according to the law of the applicable U.S. state court where the parents, or sole parent, as applicable, reside, or where the court otherwise has jurisdiction. This is frequently referred to as an adoption "finalization". Once the adoption is "finalized", the child automatically becomes a U.S. citizen as of that date.

The second situation in which a child is issued an IR4 visa is when both parents, or the sole parent, as applicable, did not see the child before or during the adoption abroad, even if the foreign adoption was considered final under the law of the foreign country where the adoption took place. An IR4 visa is issued in this situation because the INS has interpreted the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) as requiring that both parents, or the sole parent, as applicable, see the child before or during the adoption abroad in order for the adoption to be "final" under the INANote 9 and the child eligible for U.S. citizenship In order for the adoption to be final for purposes of citizenship, the INS has generally required a readoption of the child in a U.S. state court. Note 10

The interim regulations regarding the implementation of the CCA (see reference 3 in Note 4) indicate that the USCIS may "waive" the readoption requirement if the applicable state "recognizes the foreign adoption as full and final under that state's adoption laws."Note 11 Unfortunately, the USCIS has been ambiguous about what type of "evidence" of state "recognition" will be sufficient for the waiver. As a result, absent a written state law that specifically provides for recognition of a foreign decree, or a procedure for court recognition, it is not clear what kind of evidence of recognition will be sufficient for a waiver.Note 12

Until more information is available about what kind of proof of recognition will be required for a waiver and how the USCIS will be implementing the regulations in practice, caution is advised. Most professionals still recommend a readoption in this situation rather than risk uncertainty regarding a child's citizenship, and I agree. However, should you decide not to readopt because your state recognizes foreign adoptions as valid under its law, do not assume that your child is a citizen. Make sure that you take the next step and obtain a COC to confirm that the USCIS has accepted the proof of state recognition that you have submitted and has waived the readoption requirement. Otherwise, and not until then, will you be certain that your child has acquired U.S. citizenship.

No. While you may have obtained a birth certificate for your child issued from a U.S. state as a result of readoption, registering the foreign adoption, etc., your child was not born in the U.S. Only the birth certificate of an individual born in the U.S. or one of its territories, can serve as proof of U.S. citizenship for that individual.

· If your child entered on an IR4 visa because you or your or your spouse, as applicable, did not see the child before or during the adoption, and you have readopted, you should also submit a copy of the adoption decree issued by your state court. If you have chosen not to readopt, you should provide the USCIS with "proof" that your state recognizes the adoption, and request that the readoption requirement be waived. (See comment number 8 within.)

· If your child entered on an IR3 visa, most of the USCIS publications state that you do not need to submit documents that it already has in its file, such as your child's foreign birth certificate, etc., unless requested specifically by the USCIS. As a result, you should only need to submit the $200 filing fee and the required photographs. However, there are reports that some USCIS offices are requiring copies of all documents even if they are already in their file. As a result, you may save time in the long run by submitting copies of all of the documents requested in the N-600 Instructions and Application. (The additional documents include: a copy of, as applicable: child's birth certificate from foreign country, final adoption decree from foreign country, US Permanent Resident Card, parent's marriage certificate, evidence of termination of any prior marriages, U.S. birth certificate or other evidence of US citizenship, and some evidence of U.S. residence, for example, an employment record.)

· If your child entered the U.S. on IR4 visa because the adoption was not completed abroad, etc., and you have finalized the adoption, you should submit a copy of the final adoption decree from the state court of your residence, along with the documents discussed above.

· If your child entered on an IR4 visa because you or your or your spouse, as applicable, did not see the child before or during the adoption, and you have readopted, you should also submit a copy of the adoption decree issued by your state court. If you have chosen not to readopt, you should provide the USCIS with "evidence" that your state recognizes the adoption, and request that the readoption requirement be waived. (See comments number 8 and 9 above)

· Regarding the photographs of your child, the instructions to the N-600 contain very specific requirements about the size, background, etc., that should be reviewed before the photograph is taken. Note that the USCIS has now changed the photograph specifications for the COC. They are now the same as those required for a U.S. Passport. See

· The fee should be paid by certified check or money order and made payable to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. You return receipt requested, to the USCIS District Office with jurisdiction over your place of residence.Note 13a13a

· Evidence of a full and final adoption through submission of a "certified copy of a final adoption decree." In practice, most passport offices require that the parent submit the "original" of the foreign adoption decree, with the English translation,Note 15 or if the adoption was finalized in the U.S., or the child readopted, a certified copy of the final adoption decree from the state court;

· Evidence of U.S. citizenship of at least one of the parents, for example: a birth certificate showing that a parent was born in the U.S., a parent's U.S. Passport, or a parent's Certificate of Naturalization, if the parent is a naturalized U.S. citizen.

According to the State Department Fact Sheet (See Note 4) you are not required to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship in order to obtain a Passport. However some offices are nevertheless requiring a Certificate before they accept the application. If unsuccessful, you should try another designated office that accepts Passport applications

Yes. The USCIS states in its publication " Child Citizenship Act Program Facts" that "Once the new IR-3 entrant program is established, the USCIS will expand the program to address other Immediate Relative visa cases so that additional children benefit from the CCA changes. Key elements to be addressed include development of a streamlined procedure for IR3 children who have already been admitted to the U.S. but have not filed the [Form N-600] for evidence of citizenship and families who fall within other visa categories. " ."(See reference 1 at Note 4)

So it may happen, but it will likely be a long wait. In the interim, your child will not have proof of his or her U.S. citizenship unless you apply for a Certificate of Citizenship or a U.S. passport. . I therefore recommend that you get the COC for your child now.

If you have any questions about the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 or other issues involving international adoption, immigration or citizenship, areas of immigration/citizenship law and adoption of foreign-born children adopted abroad or domestically, as well as the mother of a 10-year-old child adopted from China in 1994. I provide legal services and consultations to parents and agencies throughout the United States and abroad to address INS/BCIS or consulate visa issues or problems that issues in a specific adoption situation. I also handle domestic adoptions, adoption finalizations and readoptions in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania.