Spouses proof of citizenship in Naturalization Interview N400

[sstz]

Hello,

I am in the process of applying for citizenship through marriage. At filing, the application requested proof of spouse's citizenship, and they listed "passport bio page" as an acceptable document. So I submitted that.

Just today, I received my notice for naturalization interview (yay!). On the notice, however, they ask me to bring to the interview certain documents including spouse's proof of citizenship. This part is worded as follows:

"If applying for NATURALIZATION AS THE SPOUSE of a United States Citizen;
[Bring] Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship."

On the notice there is no mention of passport as an option which is concerning to me. My spouse acquired citizenship from her parents when she was younger than 18 yo. This means she did not receive any of the three documents listed in the notice (and she happened to never applied for later). The only proof she has is the passport.

The issue now is that it take a long time to apply certificate of citizenship (7-9 months is the estimate for my area). It likely wont be ready by the interview time, which is next month.

Does anyone know if her passport can serve as proof of citizenship during the interview, despite the wording on the notice?

Thanks in advance. Your help is much appreciated.

[suziq38]

Hello,

I am in the process of applying for citizenship through marriage. At filing, the application requested proof of spouse's citizenship, and they listed "passport bio page" as an acceptable document. So I submitted that.

Just today, I received my notice for naturalization interview (yay!). On the notice, however, they ask me to bring to the interview certain documents including spouse's proof of citizenship. This part is worded as follows:

"If applying for NATURALIZATION AS THE SPOUSE of a United States Citizen;
[Bring] Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship."

On the notice there is no mention of passport as an option which is concerning to me. My spouse acquired citizenship from her parents when she was younger than 18 yo. This means she did not receive any of the three documents listed in the notice (and she happened to never applied for later). The only proof she has is the passport.

The issue now is that it take a long time to apply certificate of citizenship (7-9 months is the estimate for my area). It likely wont be ready by the interview time, which is next month.

Does anyone know if her passport can serve as proof of citizenship during the interview, despite the wording on the notice?

Thanks in advance. Your help is much appreciated.

I am not sure a passport would work here, but you can try. Depending on the officer, it may be enough.

Another route is to obtain a "Certificate of Naturalization" for your spouse. You can apply for this through USCIS directly. Here is the link:https://www.uscis.gov/n-600 the cost is high! It will cost you $1,170.00 just for this certificate. It MIGHT not be necessary.
If it were me (because I am NOT wealthy) I would try it first without the expensive certificate. It is all up to you. If you have the time to apply and the money to pay, I would go ahead and apply just to remove any question that the IO might have with respect to your spouse being an American citizen. One student paid for all three of her underage children for this certificate, because money was not an issue for her. Other students just use the passport, and it is interesting to see how only having the passport may question the verifiability of the citizenship from parents.

Good luck, and please let me know what you have decided to do. I can use this information to assist many other students! Thank you!

I am NOT a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

[Mac3]

How about bringing your wife parents Certificate of Naturalization? The IO will recognize how your then under 18 obtain citizenship thru her parents. Include her birth certificate which shows her mom and dads name. Cheaper option but the truth.

[sstz]

I am not sure a passport would work here, but you can try. Depending on the officer, it may be enough.

Another route is to obtain a "Certificate of Naturalization" for your spouse. You can apply for this through USCIS directly. Here is the link:https://www.uscis.gov/n-600 the cost is high! It will cost you $1,170.00 just for this certificate. It MIGHT not be necessary.
If it were me (because I am NOT wealthy) I would try it first without the expensive certificate. It is all up to you. If you have the time to apply and the money to pay, I would go ahead and apply just to remove any question that the IO might have with respect to your spouse being an American citizen. One student paid for all three of her underage children for this certificate, because money was not an issue for her. Other students just use the passport, and it is interesting to see how only having the passport may question the verifiability of the citizenship from parents.

Good luck, and please let me know what you have decided to do. I can use this information to assist many other students! Thank you!

I am NOT a lawyer and this is not legal advice.

Thanks for the info suziq38. My main issue is time. The N600 processing time is 7-9 months in my area. It will not be ready in time. I also don't mind at all saving $1,170!

[sstz]

How about bringing your wife parents Certificate of Naturalization? The IO will recognize how your then under 18 obtain citizenship thru her parents. Include her birth certificate which shows her mom and dads name. Cheaper option but the truth.

I think that is the best option I have at the moment. Thanks for the tip!

[Gaz49]

I think that is the best option I have at the moment. Thanks for the tip!

Hey This is a long time ago I know but did this work for you? I am in the same boat and just wondering if the passport, birth certificate and Mothers certificate was enough for you?

Thanks in advance

[ShibuM]

I did some reading recently on the benefit of having Certificate of Naturalization and a lawyer mentioned in that, USCIS will know if a person is a Citizen only based on the Certification of Naturalization or Certificate of Naturalization. I do not know if this is true statement, but if it is, then having a Passport alone may not help.

I am not a lawyer but I would suggest you talk to an Experienced Immigration Attorney to get this clarified.

[gmorrell]

I think that is the best option I have at the moment. Thanks for the tip!

I know this is an old thread but did any of the above work.. or what did you do

I am in the same situation now

[ST2022]

These documents clearly establishes the date one became a US citizen ( US birth cerificate, Certificate of Naturalization (N-400), or thru derived citizenship by getting Certificate of Citizenship (N-600)). They each have date and are non-expiring documents.

USCIS will generally request one of these 3 any time any immigration benefits are sought as it answers ‘ when did you get citizenship ?’

US passports can not be used to validate the exact date one first acquired citizenship, needed for USCIS to extend immigration benefits to relatives/spouse.US passports have expiration dates.



my 2 cents …

[aph]

I am in a similar situation and I will be glad if anyone can throw more light on how you handled yours.

thanks

[Mike E]

Hello,

I am in the process of applying for citizenship through marriage. At filing, the application requested proof of spouse's citizenship, and they listed "passport bio page" as an acceptable document. So I submitted that.

Just today, I received my notice for naturalization interview (yay!). On the notice, however, they ask me to bring to the interview certain documents including spouse's proof of citizenship. This part is worded as follows:

"If applying for NATURALIZATION AS THE SPOUSE of a United States Citizen;
[Bring] Your spouse's birth or naturalization certificate or certificate of citizenship."

On the notice there is no mention of passport as an option which is concerning to me. My spouse acquired citizenship from her parents when she was younger than 18 yo. This means she did not receive any of the three documents listed in the notice (and she happened to never applied for later). The only proof she has is the passport.

The issue now is that it take a long time to apply certificate of citizenship (7-9 months is the estimate for my area). It likely wont be ready by the interview time, which is next month.

Does anyone know if her passport can serve as proof of citizenship during the interview, despite the wording on the notice?

Thanks in advance. Your help is much appreciated.

You can try bringing her passport. Otherwise bring her parent’s naturalization certificates, their marriage certificate, her birth certificate, her green card, and evidence she was living with her parents when they naturalized.
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[aph]

Thanks

[aph]

I had my interview and oath ceremony same day. And these are the specific documents I brought as my spouse didn’t have a naturalization certificate of her own (she got her citizenship through her parents):

1. All her passports (expired and current)
2. Her parent’s naturalization certificates,
3. Her birth certificate that’s proves her parents
4. Her expired green card, and
5. An old school card/report and her parents’ ID that show she was living with her parents when they naturalized.

I’m glad I can now put all of this behind me.

Super grateful for the support this platform provided me such that I did everything by myself.

All the very best to everyone.