New US citizen: Immigration process for child born and living outside the US

[Gavs]

Hello, forum!

I hope you can help me out with a question. I have done some research and I think I understand most of it.


Context

• As I'm posting this, I'm still a Green Card holder, but I actually have my oath ceremony tomorrow, so I'll officially be a US Citizen tomorrow.
• I have a daughter that's currently 9 years old and she lives in Mexico (where she was born) with her mom. My daughter currently doesn't have a Green Card, not even an American visa (never had one).
• I was already a US Permanent Resident years before my daughter was born, but not a Citizen.

According to the information I've found, I'm aware my daughter is not eligible for automatic citizenship, I know that in order for that to be an option, my daughter needed to previously have a Green Card, so at the moment I become a Citizen, she would have had an "automatic" status upgrade, but I know this is not the case because of the following reasons:

• I wasn't a Citizen before she was born.
• She currently doesn't have a Green Card.

Obviously, I'm interested in investing in my daughter's future and giving her this opportunity that a lot of people would like to have and doesn't, so, as far as I understand, the option I have is the following:


My assumptions
I can't request for her to become a Citizen without being a Permanent resident first. So I need to fill a I-130 form (Petition for alien resident) so she can become a Green Card holder and eventually a US Citizen.

My questions

• Am I correct with my assumption, is that the process I need to follow in this case?
• If that's the process to follow, would she need to wait the usual 5 years after the Green Card before applying for naturalization or would it be less time in this case?

Thanks in advance!

[Xaxaza]

I would talk to an immigration attorney for proper guidance..

[newacct]

Yes, you would petition for her to immigrate to the US by filing an I-130 petition. When she enters the US on her immigrant visa, she will immediately become a US permanent resident (i.e. green card holder), and, if she is under 18 and living in the US in your legal and physical custody, she will also immediately become a US citizen under INA 320. After that, as a US citizen, she would be able to apply for a US passport (or the parents would be able to apply for a US passport for her if she is underage) at any time, with the evidence of her permanent residency (e.g. her green card or immigrant visa), evidence of your US citizenship, and evidence that she was in your legal and physical custody, like your marriage certificate. She does not have to get any certificate before applying for a US passport. She can also apply for a Certificate of Citizenship if she wants, though that is far more expensive.