Question on N-400: IS YOUR FATHER A US CITIZEN?

[uscitizentobe]

On the N-400 application, and on part 6: section 3 it asks: IS YOUR FATHER A US CITIZEN?

Facts: My mother is only a green card holder and my father was a NATURALIZED US citizen but he passed away last year, should I answer the question with yes or no? Please provide your legal reasoning.

[newacct]

say Yes

[SuperSanta]

Aside from being President and Vice President US law doesn't make much distinction between being a citizen from birth or being a citizen via naturalisation. Therefore the only major requirements are:

- One parent be a citizen (via any method) at the time of birth.
- The parent must have spent at least 5 years living within the US.

I just flicked through USCIS's guide and they only say "citizen" with no specifics. So the big question is WHEN your father gained citizenship (i.e. before or after birth) and had he spent 5 years or more living in the US (I'm guessing, yes, given the naturalisation).

Just to be clear, even if you answered the question incorrectly the worst that could happen is the loss of the application fee. You'd go to the interview, explain your father's status accurately and provide documentation (e.g. his naturalisation certificate). They'd assess that and tell you if there was a problem. You can always reapply if you get denied.

Only thing that gets people into trouble is intentionally lying (e.g. creating **** documents).

PS - If your father gained naturalisation AFTER birth you still may be eligible (see USCIS's guides).

[newacct]

I interpret your question as about whether you should answer that your father "is" still a citizen (in the present tense) if he is dead. Although it is debatable whether someone who is not alive can have citizenship, the proper response in this case should be based on his citizenship status at the time he died. This is because the purpose of the question is to determine whether you are already a citizen, in which case you are not eligible for naturalization. For the purposes of this determination, it makes no difference whether your father is currently dead or alive; what they want to know is that your father was at some point a citizen, and if so what time he became a citizen, etc. Even if your father is dead, you could have potentially automatically gotten derived citizenship when he naturalized when he was alive.