If you are in the process of becoming a U.S. citizen, also called naturalizing, and you have children and/or stepchildren, you are probably wondering what your naturalization will mean for your kids if they are not already U.S. citizens. It is possible for your children or stepchildren to become U.S. citizens automatically when you do, but your family has to meet specific criteria in order for this to happen. The criteria for a biological child to automatically become a citizen when you do also apply to your stepchild, but there are a few extra requirements for stepchildren.
Biological Children: In order for your biological child to automatically gain citizenship when you do, the following conditions must apply:
- The child must have one parent who is a U.S. citizen, so that would be you once you are sworn in at your naturalization ceremony.
- The child must be under the age of 18 when you naturalize.
- The child must be a lawful permanent resident, meaning the child is a green card holder.
- The child must be residing in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent. That means that you, the parent applying for citizenship, need to be the legal guardian of your child. Additionally, the child needs to be living with you.
If your biological child meets all four of these criteria, the child will become a U.S. citizen when you do and can receive a certificate of citizenship and a U.S. passport. However, if the child is missing just one of the above requirements, he or she needs to apply for citizenship on his or her own after being a permanent resident for 5 years, or 3 years if he or she has been married to a U.S. citizen and been a permanent resident for 3 years.
Stepchildren: As stated above, in order to get automatic citizenship when you naturalize, your stepchild will need to meet all of the same criteria as your biological child, plus a few more. The only way for your stepchild to gain citizenship automatically when you do is if your family meets all of the following requirements:
- The child must have been in the legal and physical custody of the permanent resident stepparent for at least 2 years. This means you need to have legally adopted your stepchild over 2 years ago and lived in the same home as him or her for at least 2 years.
- The child must have been under the age of 16 when legally adopted by you.
- The child’s legal parent-child relationship with his or her previous parent needs to be terminated. For example, if you are married to the child’s mother, you would need to make sure the child is no longer in the legal custody of the father.
- The child must have one parent who is a U.S. citizen, so that would be you once you are sworn in at your naturalization ceremony.
- The child must be under the age of 18 when you naturalize.
- The child must be a lawful permanent resident, meaning the child is a green card holder.
- The child must be residing in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent. That means that you, the parent applying for citizenship, need to be the legal guardian of the child. You would, of course, already be the legal guardian if you adopted your stepchild. Additionally, the child needs to be living with you.
The main difference between getting your biological child and getting your stepchild citizenship automatically when you do is that you need to have legally adopted your stepchild at least 2 years ago, and you need to have lived with him or her for at least 2 years as well. Only if you meet all seven of the criteria can your stepchild automatically become a U.S. citizen when you naturalize.
What if your stepchild doesn’t meet all of the above requirements? You can still petition for your stepchild to become a permanent resident, even if you haven’t legally adopted or lived with him or her. You can do this if they are inside or outside of the country. An immigration attorney can help you through this process to get your stepchild permanent resident status, so he or she can one day apply for citizenship.
See our recent blog post, “The Benefits of Citizenship,” if you want to learn about the advantages your children and/or stepchildren will have if they too become citizens.