Two New Citizenship Application Forms Replace Three Withdrawn Forms

IMMIGRATION LAW & POLICY

Naturalization and Citizenship

Two new citizenship application forms replace three withdrawn forms
Immigrants' Rights Update, Vol. 17, No. 7, November 24, 2003

As of Nov. 1, 2003, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (CIS) is accepting applications for certificates of citizenship only on the revised Form N-600 (Application for Certificate of Citizenship) and Form N-600K (Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate under Section 322). These two forms have replaced three older forms: the previous edition of the N-600; Form N-643 (Application for Certificate of Citizenship on Behalf of an Adopted Child); and Form N-600/N-643 Supplement A (Application for Transmission of Citizenship Through a Grandparent). The current, acceptable Form N-600 bears an edition date of Nov. 15, 2002, or later, while the new Form N-600K bears an edition date of Apr. 30, 2003, or later.

Although the instructions on the current editions of these two forms state that the filing fee is $195 for applications filed on behalf of anyone other than an adopted child, or $155 if the application is filed on behalf of an adopted child, the correct fees are $185 and $145, respectively. At the time the forms with the Nov. 15, 2002, and Apr. 30, 2003, edition dates were printed, a new "rulemaking" that would have raised the fees was pending, but it has not yet received "clearance," according to the Federal Register notice announcing the implementation of the new forms.

Applications submitted on older editions of the Form N-600 (i.e., forms bearing an edition date before Nov. 15, 2002) or on Form N-643 that were mailed, postmarked, or otherwise filed on or before Oct. 31, 2003, will be accepted for the purpose of establishing a filing date. However, applicants who are subject to current eligibility requirements that these now obsolete forms do not address may be required to complete and submit either additional information or a valid current Form N-600 or N-600K in order to complete their application. Those who are required to submit such a supplemental filing will not have to pay an additional fee, however.

Implementing the new forms and withdrawing the old ones was made necessary, according to the Federal Register notice, by changes in eligibility requirements and procedures resulting from the enactment of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 and Public Law 107-273 (enacted Nov. 2, 2002). The former act made it possible for certain foreign-born children residing in the U.S. to automatically acquire U.S. citizenship without having to apply for naturalization. The latter act, according to the notice, "prescribes procedures by which children born of or adopted by a [U.S.] citizen parent and residing abroad may be naturalized under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act . . . , on the application of their U.S. citizen legal guardian or grandparent."

Copies of the current N-600 and N-600K can be obtained by calling the CIS Forms Line at 1-800-870-3676, or the forms can be viewed at and printed out from the CIS Web site at www.uscis.gov. 68 Fed. Reg. 56643-44 (Oct. 1, 2003).