A GUIDE TO YOUR CHILD'S
U.S. CITIZENSHIP

   To help facilitate this process, we have compiled some general information that will save you time and hopefully make this a quick and easy step for you and your child. The form most commonly used for the citizenship of children adopted internationally is the N-643. This form requires you to have finalized your child's adoption in the U.S.

The documents that must accompany this form are:

• Child's Alien Registration Card
• Child's Birth Certificate
• Final Adoption Decree
• If the child's name has been legally changed since entry, submit evidence of the name change if not included in the adoption decree (INS cannot change your child's legal name. If you want it changed, you must do so with the adoption decree or through a separate court process.)
• Evidence of U.S. citizenship of adoptive parents (birth certificate, passport, etc.)

   For each document needed, you may submit the original documents or a clear, readable copy (INS may still require the originals). Any document in a foreign language must be accompanied by an English translation. The translator must certify that he/she is competent to translate and that the translation is accurate.

   The N-643 also requires that you submit three color photographs of your child taken within 30 days of the date of filing of the application. These photos cannot be retouched or mounted in any way, and must have a white background. The dimension of the face should be about 1 inch from the chin to the top of the hair. His/her face should be a 3/4 frontal view of the right side with the right ear visible. The photographs must be in natural color and taken without a hat. They must be on thin paper with a light background. Photo stores that offer passport photograph services may also take INS photographs as well. Call a store in your area for more information. You should print the child's name and alien registration number in the center of the back of each photograph in pencil.

   We would also like to provide you with some shortcuts that will help you get the forms and information you need in a timely manner. To receive a free copy of the N-643 "Application for Certificate of Citizenship on Behalf of an Adopted Child", call toll free 1-800-870-3676 (INS's free form hotline). Once you have received and completed this form, you must submit it to the INS office that has jurisdiction over your place of residence. To locate the INS office in your area, call toll free 1-800-755-0777. After selecting English or Spanish, press 7 to find out the address and phone number of the INS office nearest you. Using these numbers will help to minimize the amount of time that you may spend waiting on hold for an INS official to answer your questions.

   Please feel free to call us if you have any concerns or questions regarding this process. Gaining citizenship for your child secures his/her future. No one likes to think about the possibility of accident or illness, but if something were to happen to you and your spouse, without citizenship your child's future in this country would be uncertain. U.S. Citizenship guarantees full rights to your child as a U.S. citizen, including the right to reside permanently in the United States. Another advantage to completing your child's citizenship immediately is that the process is relatively quick and simple. If citizenship is not completed before your child's eighteenth birthday, he/she will be required to pass an examination on his/her English literacy and knowledge of the government and history of the United States as well as be required to attend an oath ceremony. In all respects, it is best to gain U.S. citizenship for your child as soon as possible.

   Reminder: If your family plans on taking a vacation outside of the country before the process of citizenship can be completed (including Canada), please remember to have available at all times: 1) your child's passport issued in his/her country of origin, and 2) your child's green card. Check the expiration dates on both the passport and the green card to make sure they have not expired. This will help facilitate reentry in the U.S.