Complicated: Sister-in-law USC but her daughter isn't. Have filed everything whatnext

[andrewcb88]

My sister-in-law is a USC, was naturalized some years back. She had a daughter in Cambodia and never bothered to do anything about it. She was naturalized at the time but did not have a full complete 5 years in the US and does not have 5 years to this date yet, but she is close. I filed a I-130, got the i-797C, filed a I-864/a and she did the interview and everything is good. So now her daughter came come. She also has a 2 year old son who was born here which made everything easier as he is automatically a USC. She was not able to pass on her naturalization to her daughter due to the 5 year limitation. I thought after filling all of this out and if she came here to finish her 5 years she could pass it on but I was told now the daughter has to wait until she is 18 to apply for a N400. TBH it is hard to get a straight answer, my sister-in-law doesn't ask freaking questions at the embassy and USCIS and NVC won't give me all the information I need since I am not the petitioner.

What are the options for my sister-in-law to pass on naturalization to her daughter? Can she finish the 5 years then do it or does her daughter now have to wait until she is 18? Her daughter is like 5 years old and it is weird that the mom is a USC, the son is a USC but the daughter isn't. The father isn't in the picture so don't worry about him. Just wondering what the options are.

Thank you,
Andrew

[newacct]

My sister-in-law is a USC, was naturalized some years back. She had a daughter in Cambodia and never bothered to do anything about it. She was naturalized at the time but did not have a full complete 5 years in the US and does not have 5 years to this date yet, but she is close. I filed a I-130, got the i-797C, filed a I-864/a and she did the interview and everything is good. So now her daughter came come. She also has a 2 year old son who was born here which made everything easier as he is automatically a USC. She was not able to pass on her naturalization to her daughter due to the 5 year limitation. I thought after filling all of this out and if she came here to finish her 5 years she could pass it on but I was told now the daughter has to wait until she is 18 to apply for a N400. TBH it is hard to get a straight answer, my sister-in-law doesn't ask freaking questions at the embassy and USCIS and NVC won't give me all the information I need since I am not the petitioner.

What are the options for my sister-in-law to pass on naturalization to her daughter? Can she finish the 5 years then do it or does her daughter now have to wait until she is 18? Her daughter is like 5 years old and it is weird that the mom is a USC, the son is a USC but the daughter isn't. The father isn't in the picture so don't worry about him. Just wondering what the options are.

Thank you,
Andrew

The 5 years of physical presence is physical presence in the US in any status (or no status). I find it hard to believe that she naturalized a few years back and still haven't been physically present in the US in any status (including as a US permanent resident, nonimmigrant, or even illegal immigrant) in her entire life up to now.

In order to have naturalized, she must have been a permanent resident for 5 years (though it could have been 3 years if she was married to a US citizen). It is true that naturalization only requires physical presence for half that time (2.5 years out of the last 5 years), most people aren't away from the US for very long during the 5 years they use to qualify for naturalization.

(Also note that in the case the daughter was born out of wedlock, since she was born before 2017, to a US mother, the physical presence requirement is instead 1 continuous year of physical presence, not 5 cumulative years.)

In the unlikely case that the daughter really didn't get US citizenship at birth, your sister-in-law would petition her to immigrate by filing I-130, as it seems she has. Once the daughter enters the US with her immigrant visa, she will immediately become a US permanent resident, and also immediately become a US citizen due to being a permanent resident under 18 living in the US with a US citizen parent under INA 320. This becoming a US citizen is automatic and involuntary, and does not require any application. Once she has entered the US and become a US citizen, she can apply for a US passport at any time if she wants to.