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February 27, 2001
Information for Adoptive Parents The Child Citizenship Act (CCA) is effective on February 27, 2001. The CCA represents a significant and important change in the nationality laws of the United States. Under the new law, most foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizens will automatically acquire U.S. citizenship on the date they immigrate to the United States. In the past, adoptive parents had to apply for naturalization for their foreign-born children, who did not acquire citizenship until the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) approved the application. On occasion, delays in the old application process left adopted children subject to deportation from the United States. The change made by the CCA to automatic acquisition of citizenship by operation of law permanently protects the adopted children of U.S. citizens from deportation. INS will work with Congress, the adoption community and other stakeholders to re-engineer and streamline the process for receiving a Certificate of Citizenship. In the interim, parents who would like to wait for the re-engineered process before filing for a Certificate of Citizenship but wish to have documentation of their child’s status as a citizen, may file for a U.S. passport. How many children will automatically become citizens on February 27, 2001? INS estimates that 70,000 to 75,000 children will automatically become citizens on February 27, 2001. In addition, U.S. citizens adopt and immigrate approximately 20,000 foreign-born children each year. The vast majority of these children will benefit from the automatic citizenship provisions of the CCA. Does my child qualify for automatic citizenship under the CCA? Under the CCA, your child will automatically acquire U.S. citizenship on the date that all of the following requirements are satisfied:
No. If your child satisfies the requirements listed above, he or she automatically acquires U.S. citizenship by operation of law. If you completed a full and final adoption abroad, your child automatically becomes a citizen on the day he or she is admitted to the United States as an immigrant. If you complete the adoption or have to re-adopt your child after your child has been admitted to the United States as an immigrant, your child automatically becomes a citizen on the day the full and final adoption is completed. Your child’s citizenship status is no longer dependent on INS approving a naturalization application. Will INS automatically provide me with documentation of my child’s citizenship? Unfortunately, INS is not able to automatically provide adoptive parents with documentation of their child’s citizenship at this time. However, INS will work with Congress, the adoption community and other stakeholders to re-engineer the current process of issuing Certificates of Citizenship for adopted children. This re-engineering will address both the application process and costs. What documentation can I get of my child’s citizenship? If you want documentation of your child’s U.S. citizenship, you may obtain a Certificate of Citizenship from INS and/or a U.S. passport from the Department of State. You do not need a Certificate of Citizenship issued by INS in order to obtain a passport for your child. What forms do I file and what are the fees to obtain a certificate of citizenship? If you want to file for a Certificate of Citizenship for your child at this time, file Form N-643, Application for Certificate of Citizenship in Behalf of an Adopted Child, with a $125 filing fee. What documents do I have to submit with the Form N-643? For children who have immigrated to the United States, parents will not be required to submit any evidence that is already contained in the INS file, including translations of documents. If your child has immigrated to the United States (has a "green card") after a full and final adoption abroad, you should submit the following with the Form N-643:
If your child has immigrated to the United States (has a "green card") to be adopted or re-adopted, you should submit the following with the Form N-643:
Will INS require an interview to adjudicate the Form N-643? An interview generally will not be required for obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship under the CCA. However, INS may request an interview if discrepancies between the application and INS records need to be resolved. Where Should I File the Form N-643? File the Form N-643, with required supporting documents, at the INS district office or suboffice in the United States that has jurisdiction over your place of residence. Will my child be harmed if I wait for INS to re-engineer its process to document my child’s citizenship? No. Your child’s citizenship status will not be negatively affected if you wait for INS to re-engineer its process before you document your child’s citizenship. If your child satisfies the requirements for automatic acquisition of citizenship, his or her citizenship is obtained by operation of law and cannot be lost by failure to document it. You can obtain a passport from the Department of State, even if you decide to wait for INS to re-engineer its process. As part of those efforts INS intends to implement a streamlined process for the automatic issuance of Certificates of Citizenship. Will the re-engineering address the affidavit of support requirement? Yes. The INS intends to remove the Affidavit of Support (Form I-864) requirement for children adopted abroad who will receive citizenship at the time of entry as lawful permanent residents. This is the vast majority of cases. However, children born and residing outside of the United States or children who will not be adopted until after they enter the United States will still require the affidavit of support. Is automatic citizenship provided for adopted children living outside the United States? No. In order for a foreign-born child living outside the United States to acquire citizenship, the U.S. citizen parent must still apply for naturalization on behalf of the child. The naturalization process for such a child cannot take place overseas. The child will need to be in the United States temporarily to complete naturalization processing and take the oath of allegiance. To be eligible, a child must meet the following requirements:
Is automatic citizenship provided for those who are 18 years of age or older? No. Individuals who are 18 years of age or older on February 27, 2001, do not qualify for citizenship under the CCA, even if they meet all other criteria. If they wish to become U.S. citizens, they must apply for naturalization and meet eligibility requirements that currently exist for adult lawful permanent residents. Will INS publish regulations on the new CCA procedures? The INS is working to streamline and re-engineer the current process for obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship. In the meantime, INS has issued field guidance on the interim process and is working on regulations to codify procedures for adjudications under the CCA. What is INS doing with currently pending applications for certificates of citizenship? For pending applications filed to recognize citizenship status already acquired, INS will continue to adjudicate such applications under the relevant law applicable to the case. For applications that required INS approval before an individual could be deemed a U.S. citizen, INS will adjudicate those cases under current law until February 27, 2001. On February 27, 2001, INS will adjudicate those cases under the new law and, for applicants who automatically acquire citizenship as of the effective date, INS will issue certificates of citizenship reflecting the person’s citizenship as of that date. What other resources are available to answer questions about the new law? For more information about the CCA application procedures and forms, you may go to the INS Web site at www.ins.usdoj.gov or contact INS’ National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283. INS has also made available field guidance and public materials to all information officers and other front line staff to aid them in answering questions. The Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 Approval of the Hague Convention Regarding Intercountry Adoptions On October 6, 2000, the United States enacted the Intercountry Adoption Act of 2000 to approve the provisions of the Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Co-operation in Respect of Intercountry Adoption (Hague Convention). However, the United States has not yet implemented the Hague Convention provisions. Implementation will occur only after the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) and the Department of State publish implementing regulations in the Federal Register. That is expected within the next two years. Objectives The Hague Convention sets minimum international standards and procedures for adoptions that occur between implementing countries to ensure greater protection from exploitation of children, birth parents and adoptive parents alike. The Hague Convention's objectives are to:
Hague Countries The Hague Convention will apply only when the child to be adopted resides in a country that has implemented the Hague Convention-termed "Hague country." U.S. citizens may still adopt a child from any country that allows intercountry adoption. As of January 2001, the following countries have implemented the Hague Convention on intercountry adoption and thus are Hague countries: Central Authority Each country that is a party to the Hague Convention must designate a central authority to monitor requests for intercountry adoption. The Department of State has been designated the central authority for the United States. The central authority will coordinate matters between countries of origin and the United States. It will also control the accreditation of adoption agencies. Changes in Current U.S. Immigration Law The new law adds two new sections to the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), Section 101(b)(1)(G) and Section 204(d)(2). These sections apply only when the child to be adopted resides in a Hague country. A child adopted from a country that has not implemented the Hague Convention will still need to qualify as an orphan or adopted child under Section 101(b)(1)(E) or (F) of the INA. The new Section 101(b)(1)(G) will permit the adoption of some children who do not qualify as "orphans" under existing immigration law [Section 101(b)(1)(F) of the INA]. Under this new section of law, the adopted child's two living natural parents must be incapable of providing proper care for the child. In addition, they must freely give their written irrevocable consent to terminate their legal relationship with the child, and to allow the child to be adopted and to emigrate. The written irrevocable consent also may be given by a single parent when the child has one sole or surviving parent because of the death, disappearance, abandonment or desertion by the other parent, by previous adoptive parents, or by other persons or institutions that retain legal custody of the child. Also, under the new Section 101(b)(1)(G), the Attorney General must be satisfied that the purpose of the adoption is to form a bona fide parent-child relationship, and the parent-child relationship of the child and the biological or previous adoptive parents has been terminated. The other new section of the INA, Section 204(d)(2), requires, for children adopted from Hague countries, an adoption or custody certificate to be issued by the central authority. This certificate will be conclusive evidence of the relationship between the child being adopted and the adoptive parent(s) and will help streamline documentary requirements for Hague country adoptions. As previously noted, these changes to immigration law will not be effective until INS and the Department of State publish implementing regulations in the Federal Register. INS will inform the public when regulations and procedures are finalized. In the meantime, the adoption procedures under Section 101(b)(1)(E) and (F) continue to govern intercountry adoptions.
Child Citizenship Act of 2000
AT THE SECOND SESSION Begun and held at the City of Washington on
Monday, the twenty-fourth day of January, two thousand
An Art
To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act
to modify the provisions governing acquisition of citizenship by children born
outside of the United States, and for other purposes. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of
Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. This Act may be cited as the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 .
TITLE I. CITIZENSHIP FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES SEC. 101. AUTOMATIC ACQUISITION OF CITIZENSHIP
FOR CERTAIN CHILDREN BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. (a) IN GENERAL.. Section 320
of the Immigration and Nation-ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1431) is amended to read as follows:
. . CHILDREN BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES AND RESIDING PERMA-NENTLY IN THE UNITED STATES; CONDITIONS UNDER WHICH CITI-ZENSHIP AUTOMATICALLY ACQUIRED . . SEC. 320. (a) A child
born outside of the United States auto-matically becomes a citizen (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.. The table of sections of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to
section 320 and inserting the following: . . Sec. 320. Children born outside the United
States and residing permanently in the United States; conditions under which
citizenship automatically ac-quired. . . . SEC. 102. ACQUISITION OF CERTIFICATE OF
CITIZENSHIP FOR CER-TAIN CHILDREN BORN OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES. (a) IN GENERAL.. Section 322
of the Immigration and Nation-ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1433) is amended to read as
follows: . . CHILDREN BORN AND RESIDING OUTSIDE THE UNITED STATES; CONDITIONS FOR ACQUIRING CERTIFICATE OF
CITIZENSHIP . . SEC. 322. (a) A parent
who is a citizen of the United States may apply for naturalization on behalf of a
child born outside of the United States who has not acquired
citizenship automatically under section 320. The Attorney General shall
issue a certificate of citizenship to such parent upon proof, to
the satisfaction of the Attorney General, that the following conditions have been ful-filled:
. . (1) At least one parent is a citizen of the
United States, whether by birth or naturalization. . . (2) The United States citizen parent. . . (A) has been physically present in the
United States or its outlying possessions for a period or
periods totaling not less than five years, at least two of
which were after attaining the age of fourteen years; or . . (B) has a citizen parent who has been
physically present in the United States or its outlying
possessions for a period or periods totaling not less
than five years, at least two of which were after attaining
the age of four-teen years. . . (3) The child is under the age of eighteen years.
. . (4) The child is residing outside of the
United States in the legal and physical custody of the
citizen parent, is temporarily present in the United States
pursuant to a lawful admission, and is maintaining such lawful status.
. . (b) Upon approval of the application (which
may be filed from abroad) and, except as provided in the last
sentence of section 337(a), upon taking and subscribing before an
officer of the Service within the United States to the oath of
allegiance required by this Act of an applicant for naturalization,
the child shall become a citizen of the United States and shall be
furnished by the Attorney General with a certificate of citizenship. . . (c) Subsections (a) and (b) shall apply to
a child adopted by a United States citizen parent if the
child satisfies the require-ments applicable to adopted children under section 101(b)(1).. . .
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.. The
table of sections of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to
section 322 and inserting the following: . . Sec. 322. Children born and residing
outside the United States; conditions for ac-quiring certificate of citizenship.. . .
SEC. 103. CONFORMING AMENDMENT. (a) IN GENERAL.. Section 321
of the Immigration and Nation-ality Act (8 U.S.C. 1432)
is repealed. (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.. The
table of sections of such Act is amended by striking the item relating to section 321.
SEC. 104. EFFECTIVE DATE. The amendments made by this title shall take
effect 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply to individuals who satisfy the requirements of
section 320 or 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as in
effect on such effective date. TITLE II. PROTECTIONS FOR CERTAIN ALIENS VOTING BASED ON REASON-ABLE BELIEF OF CITIZENSHIP SEC. 201. PROTECTIONS FROM FINDING OF BAD
MORAL CHARACTER, REMOVAL FROM THE UNITED STATES, AND CRIMINAL PENALTIES. (a) PROTECTION FROM BEING CONSIDERED NOT OF GOOD MORAL CHARACTER.. (1) IN GENERAL.. Section
101(f ) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(f )) is
amended by adding at the end the following: . . In the case of an alien who makes a false
statement or claim of citizenship, or who registers to vote or
votes in a Federal, State, or local election (including an initiative,
recall, or referendum) in violation of a lawful restriction of such
registration or voting to citizens, if each natural parent of the
alien (or, in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of
the alien) is or was a citizen (whether by birth or
naturalization), the alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining
the age of 16, and the alien reasonably believed at the time
of such statement, claim, or violation that he or she was a
citizen, no finding that the alien is, or was, not of good moral
character may be made based on it.. . . (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.. The
amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be effective as if included in the
enactment of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat. 3009.
546) and shall apply to individuals having an application for
a benefit under the Immigration and Nationality Act pending
on or after Sep-tember 30, 1996. (b) PROTECTION FROM BEING CONSIDERED INADMISSIBLE.. (1) UNLAWFUL VOTING.. Section
212(a)(10)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C.
1182(a)(10)(D)) is amended to read as follows: . . (D) UNLAWFUL VOTERS.. . . (i) IN GENERAL.. Any alien
who has voted in viola-tion of any Federal, State, or local
constitutional provi-sion, statute, ordinance, or regulation is
inadmissible. . . (ii) EXCEPTION.. In the case
of an alien who voted in a Federal, State, or local election
(including an initiative, recall, or referendum) in
violation of a lawful restriction of voting to citizens, if each
natural parent of the alien (or, in the case of an adopted
alien, each adoptive parent of the alien) is or was a citizen(whether by birth or naturalization), the
alien perma-nently resided in the United States prior to
attaining the age of 16, and the alien reasonably
believed at the time of such violation that he or she was
a citizen, the alien shall not be considered to be
inadmissible under any provision of this subsection based
on such violation.. . . (2) FALSELY CLAIMING CITIZENSHIP..
Section 212(a)(6)(C)(ii) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1182(a)(6)(C)(ii)) is amended to read as follows:
. . (ii) FALSELY CLAIMING CITIZENSHIP.. . . (I) IN GENERAL.. Any alien
who falsely rep-resents, or has falsely represented, himself or
her-self to be a citizen of the United States for any purpose or benefit under this Act (including
section 274A) or any other Federal or State law is inadmis-sible.
. . (II) EXCEPTION.. In the case
of an alien making a representation described in
subclause (I), if each natural parent of the alien (or,
in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive
parent of the alien) is or was a citizen (whether by
birth or naturalization), the alien permanently
resided in the United States prior to attaining the
age of 16, and the alien reasonably believed at
the time of making such representation that he or she was a citizen, the alien shall not be
considered to be inadmissible under any provision of
this sub-section based on such representation.. . . (3) EFFECTIVE DATES.. The
amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be effective as if included in the
enactment of section 347 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsi-bility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat.
3009. 638) and shall apply to voting occurring before,
on, or after Sep-tember 30, 1996. The amendment made by paragraph (2)
shall be effective as if included in the enactment
of section 344 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat.
3009. 637) and shall apply to representations made on or
after September 30, 1996. Such amendments shall apply to
individuals in pro-ceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act on
or after September 30, 1996. (c) PROTECTION FROM BEING CONSIDERED DEPORTABLE.. (1) UNLAWFUL VOTING.. Section
237(a)(6) of the Immigra-tion and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1227(a)(6)) is
amended to read as follows: . . (6) UNLAWFUL VOTERS.. . . (A) IN GENERAL.. Any alien
who has voted in violation of any Federal, State, or local
constitutional provision, statute, ordinance, or regulation is deportable.
. . (B) EXCEPTION.. In the case of
an alien who voted in a Federal, State, or local election
(including an initiative, recall, or referendum) in violation of a
lawful restriction of voting to citizens, if each natural parent
of the alien (or, in the case of an adopted alien, each
adoptive parent of the alien) is or was a citizen (whether by
birth or naturalization), the
alien permanently resided in the United States prior to attaining the age of
16, and the alien reasonably believed at the time of such
violation that he or she was a citizen, the alien shall
not be consid-ered to be deportable under any provision of this
subsection based on such violation.. . . (2) FALSELY CLAIMING CITIZENSHIP..
Section 237(a)(3)(D) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8
U.S.C. 1227(a)(3)(D)) is amended to read as follows: . . (D) FALSELY CLAIMING CITIZENSHIP.. . . (i) IN GENERAL.. Any alien
who falsely represents, or has falsely represented, himself to be a
citizen of the United States for any purpose or benefit
under this Act (including section 274A) or any Federal
or State law is deportable. . . (ii) EXCEPTION.. In the case
of an alien making a representation described in clause (i), if
each natural parent of the alien (or, in the case of an
adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien) is
or was a citizen (whether by birth or
naturalization), the alien permanently resided in the United States
prior to attaining the age of 16, and the alien
reasonably believed at the time of making such
representation that he or she was a citizen, the alien shall
not be considered to be deportable under any
provision of this subsection based on such representation.. . .
(3) EFFECTIVE DATES.. The
amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be effective as if included in the
enactment of section 347 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsi-bility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat.
3009. 638) and shall apply to voting occurring before,
on, or after Sep-tember 30, 1996. The amendment made by paragraph (2)
shall be effective as if included in the enactment
of section 344 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat.
3009. 637) and shall apply to representations made on or
after September 30, 1996. Such amendments shall apply to
individuals in pro-ceedings under the Immigration and Nationality Act on
or after September 30, 1996. (d) PROTECTION FROM CRIMINAL PENALTIES.. (1) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR VOTING BY ALIENS IN FEDERAL ELECTION.. Section 611 of title 18, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following: . . (c) Subsection (a) does not apply to an alien if.
. . (1) each natural parent of the alien (or,
in the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the
alien) is or was a citizen (whether by birth or naturalization);
. . (2) the alien permanently resided in the
United States prior to attaining the age of 16; and . . (3) the alien reasonably believed at the
time of voting in violation of such subsection that he or
she was a citizen of the United States.. . . (2) CRIMINAL PENALTY FOR FALSE CLAIM TO CITIZENSHIP.. Section 1015 of title 18, United States Code,
is amended by adding at the end the following: of the alien (or, in
the case of an adopted alien, each adoptive parent of the alien) is or was a citizen
(whether by birth or natu-ralization), the alien permanently resided in the United
States prior to attaining the age of 16, and the
alien reasonably believed at the time of making the false statement or
claim that he or she was a citizen of the United States.. . . (3) EFFECTIVE DATES.. The
amendment made by paragraph (1) shall be effective as if included in the
enactment of section 216 of the Illegal Immigration Reform and
Immigrant Responsi-bility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat.
3009. 572). The amendment made by paragraph (2) shall be
effective as if included in the enactment of section 215
of the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant
Responsibility Act of 1996 (Public Law 104. 208; 110 Stat. 3009. 572).
The amendments made by paragraphs (1) and (2) shall apply to
an alien pros-ecuted on or after September 30, 1996, except in the
case of an alien whose criminal proceeding
(including judicial review thereof) has been finally concluded before
the date of the enact-ment of this Act. Speaker of the House of Representatives. Vice President of the United States and President of the Senate. |
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