I have 3 adopted internationally. 1 from Russia in 1999 and 2 from China in 2004 and 2006. For the first adoption from Russia, we were told we fell under the Citizenship Act of 2000 and he was a citizen and we didn’t have to do anything else. That was true - until he wanted a drivers license. Then we had to go through everything. We sent in his adoption certificate and birth certificate - both originals and translations - in order to get his passport. Now we use that for any citizenship questions. He is currently a rising senior applying to colleges. The passport is cheaper than the Certificate of Citizenship and comes faster. My other 2 internationally adopted kids came far enough after the Citizenship Act that we were mailed Certificates of Citizenship automatically for both of them. Easy Peasy.
It is a pain - every sports team where we had to prove age etc…People don’t think of the problems when all of your documents are in another language.
We did NOT have to readopt here in PA. All of our adoptions were finalized in their birth country when we were there with them.
I also have one not adopted and she, of course, hasn’t had to answer any questions and no one asked me any questions when I had her,lol. Quite a difference from the homestudies and very personal questions asked to adopt!
Interesting thread - lots of things we have to think about that others don’t. I used to travel with copies of my adopted kids adoption papers when we traveled anywhere just to make sure that no one asked me anything since they were of different racial backgrounds.
I was also told, when my kids were little, to always have a family picture in my wallet just in case anyone got suspicious over crying kids who didn’t look like their parents. We are just beginning our college journey (oldest is going to be a junior). It will be interesting to see what her ethnicity and background have to do with that process, if anything.
Though it doesn’t prove citizenship, I was able to use my 14-year-old daughter’s current US passport and her original social security card to get a PA photo ID this morning. The requirement said to bring ONE of the following: original birth certificate or current US passport. I brought both. The lady asked for the birth certificate first, then changed her mind and asked for the passport. I was glad I had thought to bring them both. It was a quick and easy process, and now she has official state ID. Yay!
Sorry, twoinanddone, my wording wasn’t precise. I meant that I knew the PA state ID wouldn’t prove US citizenship.
It’s interesting, though. It took me 14 years after the adoption of our daughter to apply for the Certificate of Citizenship, because I too thought it was an either/or: passport or CoC, and getting a passport was a simpler, less expensive process.
What finally convinced me was the dual agency aspect: from what I understand, passports are issued by the Dept of State and are considered “strong evidence” of citizenship. Certificates of Citizenship are issued by USCIS and are considered “proof” of citizenship. Passports can expire; the CoC does not expire. The two agency databases are not linked. Therefore, it’s probable that until our CoC app is approved, my daughter will still be listed in the USCIS database as a resident alien, not as a US citizen.
The other thing that convinced me was this thread, and the stories of the difficulties some internationally adopted children have faced when trying to get driver’s licenses and FA for college, and the hoops they’ve had to jump through to prove citizenship.
I know we shouldn’t have to have a CoC, but there are going to be times, places and bureaucrats who don’t give a hoot what the law says. Those are people standing between you and whatever you are trying to do. A CoC is absolute proof that is accepted anywhere. I looked at it as the final piece of paperwork for both our adoptions.
Funny side story: The morning we had to travel three hours away to get my second child’s certificate (back in those days you had to drag even babies and toddlers for an interview) my oldest woke up sick as a dog. As you know, you can’t reschedule those things without a lot of drama. I’m not even sure I had a phone number. Anyway, we went and we got everything we needed. As we were leaving, my oldest puked all over the floor of the lobby. I felt really bad for the poor security guy who just smiled and said to take care of her. But I felt the INS deserved that one, lol.
:))
I kind of do that too . . . both of mine were adopted, but when they were younger, people would come up to me and ask, “Are they adopted?” and for a minute I would think, “How did they know that?” (Kids are ethnically Chinese; I am extremely white.)
When my older daughter, adopted from China, applied for financial aid four years ago, we actually had to send all of her original paperwok off to get an American passport as proof of citizenship.
@bearcatfan: there was a gap between when the Citizenship Act kicked in and when they began sending the CoC automatically to adoptive families… many families didn’t get them. And as of 12/23/16, I am told, the fee for a CoC is going up to $1,150., about double the current fee. That’s a lot of money for one document, thought it is an important one. I know many families who have gotten passports for their kids and have used those as proof of citizenship with no issues… and others who have not been able to get passports without a CoC!
You can definitely get a passport without a C of C. You just need to have the ‘A’ number from the Chinese passport or a green card. The passport agency/state department can look up the A number and see that the child came in on a IR-3 visa and is a citizen under the Child Citizenship Act (if that is in fact the case; if they came in under an IR-4 and you needed to take steps to get citizenship like re-adoption, you then have to prove that you took those steps). My child did use her C of C to get the original passport, and I have never used it since. Always use the passport.
She has never been questioned about citizenship. Her status with the SSA is ‘citizen’ and none of her university paperwork was ever questioned. They never asked to see a passport, the original SS card, a birth certificate. She attends a school that is 35% international students, and they have no issues with who is a citizen and who isn’t.
Holy cow they charge a lot for the CofC these days … because they can.
My first came home before the CofC was automatic and we applied and got one. My second came home after that, but because I traveled without my husband we had to apply anyway to get one (both parents had to travel to get it automatically sent back then, maybe it’s changed). I’m glad we have ours. It is funny, though, that the picture on the certificate is them when they were tiny toddlers. I wonder how relevant it really is, in terms of saying “yes, this is you on the paper.”
I have one adopted from Ukraine in 2001 and one from Belarus in 2002 and always assumed we were good as it was after 2000. We both traveled and finalized in country. We got passports ASAP upon return and have just renewed them. Freaked me out to send original documents to get them but they were safely returned. My kids are dual citizens until 18 and can renounce at that time if they choose.
^^ as someone said above I’ll play that card if it helps with college options!!
When we had to send all my son’s original documents (it was right after they announced you needed to passport to get into Canada and Mexico and passport offices were overwhelmed) it became a huge ordeal. S’s summer camp was going there on a trip to Canada and because his birth cert says he was born in S. Korea he couldn’t use that, so he had to have a passport.
We sent all of his originals with application and they got caught up in some snafu and no one couid tell us where they were or why. I called both my Congressman and Senators and finally Congressman’s office was able to find out that they were in a “lock box” in New Hampshire - but not why they were there. They were able to work their magic and got them unlocked and his passport issued and fed exec overnight right before he was leaving for camp.
@emilybee similar story here! Came home in June 2001 and made appointment to get laser vision for myself in Canada in late-September of 2001. Yup right after 9/11 trying to re-enter the US with a child with no passport and a carload of people wearing cataract glasses. Quite the ordeal…
there was a gap between when the Citizenship Act kicked in and when they began sending the CoC automatically to adoptive families… many families didn’t get them. And as of 12/23/16, I am told, the fee for a CoC is going up to $1,150., about double the current fee. That’s a lot of money for one document, thought it is an important one. I know many families who have gotten passports for their kids and have used those as proof of citizenship with no issues… and others who have not been able to get passports without a CoC!
Exactly. Oldest DD still doesn’t have her COC but she does have her passport. She applied to and was accepted to several colleges and universities, public and private last year. She was also awarded scholarships and a little gap FA. We were never asked for any proof from anyone.
Thanks to everyone for the excellent info. Although he has a US passport, we applied to Homeland Security for a C of C for our adopted foreign born son (HS Junior) because of the current anti-immigration climate. I wanted to warn those who need a C of C that we are STILL waiting–4 months later. There must be a huge backlog. Also, because the entire country is transitioning to the “Real ID” by 2020, kids like mine must bring copious vital records, including adoption decree etc etc to the DMV in order for their kids to get their learners permits & drivers license.
