How to claim my Hague adopted son's US citizenship

The Hague Convention doesn't have much to do with your child's citizenship. The Hague Convention was designed primarily to ensure that international adoptions are conducted so as to protect children, their birthparents, and their adoptive families from unethical, deceptive, fraudulent, and exploitive practices. While the Hague Convention encourages countries to grant internationally adopted children the privileges of citizenship, it does not require the granting of automatic and immediate citizenship; a naturalization process may be required.The main U.S. law that governs immigration and citizenship is the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), which spells out the terms under which a non-citizen can come to the U.S. and obtain citizenship. For adopted children, that law is supplemented by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, and subsequent interpretations by the USCIS, which grant automatic U.S. citizenship to CERTAIN children adopted by U.S. citizens.Unfortunately, the Child Citizenship Act focuses primarily on children under 18 who are adopted by U.S. citizens living in the U.S., and whose parents have gone through either the I-600/600A (non-Hague) process or the I-800A/I-800 (Hague) process to allow the USCIS to determine both whether the parents are eligible to bring the child into the U.S. on an adoption visa and whether the children meet the INA definition of "eligible orphan". IF these conditions are met, the children may be given IR-3, IR-4, or IH (Hague) visas. Children who have been given IR-3 or IH visas become automatic U.S. citizens upon entering the U.S., and a Certificate of Citizenship is provided automatically. Children who have been granted IR-4 visas because they were not seen by both parents (in a two parent family) prior to the issuance of a final decree of adoption overseas become automatic citizens only after their parents readopt the child in their home state or do a recognition of the foreign adoption in their home state; these families need to apply for a Certificate after the readoption/recognition.As I understand it, children who are adopted by U.S. citizens living overseas who have EITHER obtained an I-600 or I-800 during their adoption process OR had physical and legal custody of the children for at least two years do NOT qualify for automatic citizenship. If the parents plan to continue living abroad for a while, they may apply for a B-2 tourist visa for the child and bring him/her to the U.S. specifically for the purpose of naturalizing him/her and returning to the foreign country. For your child to obtain a B-2 tourist visa, you must demonstrate that you have had physical and legal custody of the child for two years, or you must present an approved I-600/I-800. When applying for a nonimmigrant visa for your child, you must also show that you have made arrangements with the USCIS office for naturalization and that you intend for your child to continue living abroad. You will need to file the N-600K (NOT the N-600) with the USCIS before you travel to the U.S., recognizing that it may take a few months before expedited naturalization can occur. (You can download the N-600K, and the instructions for completing it, from the USCIS website.) Parents who qualify under the two-year legal/physical custody rule and who will continue to reside abroad can avoid the cost and paperwork of both the I-130 and the I-600 by using this procedure. Expeditious naturalization in all cases must be complete before the child turns 18.I hope this helps. Sharon

Thank you for your reply, Sharon. Sorry for the delay. I have been working with the adoption.com team to remove my full name from my post! Sorted now, anyway:)I'm filling in the N600K now and have chosen a USCIS field office from the list on their website. By any chance, do you (or does anyone) know if it is OK to already be visiting the US before your appointment or if you have to enter just before your interview appointment? To clarify: I want to visit my parents in the US with my adopted son for the (New Zealand) summer school holidays which are December and January. If I turn in my N600K now, within their 90 day ahead of desired appointment time requirement, the timing should be quite good with a big window. I'm wondering if it's OK that I might enter the US in the beginning of December if our appointment is, say, in mid-January? Or, if they'd want you to just enter a few days before the interview? The only thing it says on the form is that they advise you to wait for the notification of the appointment before travelling, which we should have received by this point anyway.

Thank you for your kind words.I'm sorry that I don't have information about when you can enter the U.S., before your naturalization appointment. You would do well to contact the U.S. Embassy where you are living, or to contact the U.S. State Department.Sharon