Hey guys, I had a quick question regarding proving citizenship for FAFSA. So for some reason my citizenship can’t be confirmed and so i must submit some documents to prove of my citizenship. http://www.sjsu.edu/faso/docs/USCT14.pdf
My birth of certificate says I was born in France so it wouldn’t help, I don’t have a passport because of my stubborn parents, so the only thing I have is my certificate of citizenship. Now the school only lists certificate of naturalization as once of it’s option. Now a week ago I mailed in some docs and a photocopy of my certificate of citizenship to the office and a couple of days later I get in my portal that they still can’t confirm my citizenship and that I need to go in person to prove it. I know I’m a citizen i just don’t understand if it’s a social security or a school issue? Will the school accept a certificate of citizenship over a certificate of naturalization? For those wondering I am not 18 yet so I still have the citizenship certificate. Sorry for the long read
Thanks
It’s a school issue. Call, or ask one of your parents to call, and see if you can get it straightened out.
You should apply for your US passport ASAP.
The schools (or anyone) cannot accept a copy of your C of C. It says right on it NOT to photocopy it for ‘official purposes’ and this is an official purposes - you are using it to prove your citizenship. You must take the original certificate to the school’s FA office, they can make a copy (that copy is just to prove they saw the original). If you are going to a college in a different city, you must send the original, and I’d make sure it was going to a specific person, and arrange to get it back.
This probably happened because your SSN lists you under a status other than Citizen. In order to change that, you need to take the C of C (or a passport) to a SSA office in person. SS card, ID, CofC needed.
If you do apply for a passport, you’ll have to give them the original C of C and they’ll mail it away. You’ll get it back, but you won’t have it for the time it takes to issue you a passport (3-8 weeks) so if you need it for FA, make sure you go to the college first. If you are 18, you can apply for the passport on your own (photo ID, birth certificate, Cof C, passport photo, money). If you are under 18, both parents must appear with you, with their ID’s (or one can submit a notarize form of permission).
A certificate of citizenship fulfills the same legal requirements as a certificate of naturalization. Depending on when the documents were issued, they have different names.
You and your parents should probably pay a visit to the closest Social Security Office, so that your records get fixed. Once that is done, you won’t have problems with the FAFSA in the future.
I applied for a new social security card so my citizenship status is updated
I don’t really know what that means “I applied for a new card” Did you really apply for a new card and number? That isn’t allowed unless you never had a number before. Did you update your citizenship status? If so, you should receive a new card with the same number. It may look exactly the same as your old card if your old card didn’t list a restrictive status (‘alien allowed to work’ is one).
Did the person apply for a new card because they lost the first? I also don’t get the certificate of citizenship paper. My husband has a Naturalization certificate which states (very boldly) that it can’t be reproduced. The best thing to do is apply for a passport. They have the expedited ones, which cost more, but may be worth it.
Certificate of Citizenship is issued in some cases (when children become citizens through their parents), naturalization in others. It just depends on how that person became a citizen. Yes, just like the Naturalization document, the C of C cannot be copied for purposes of proving citizenship, just like you can’t use a copy of your passport. Because the SSN came up as issued to a non-citizen and the student’s financial aid application said ‘citizen’ the student will now need to show the C of C to the financial aid officer.
When your citizenship status changes, you need to go to the SS office with your documents, and they change the SS records and issue a new SS card with the old number but without the “valid for work only with XYZ” printed on it.
Just a note on OP’s statements “Will the school accept a certificate of citizenship over a certificate of naturalization? For those wondering I am not 18 yet so I still have the citizenship certificate.” OP - you’ll never have a certificate of naturalization, even when you’re over 18. Since you have a certificate of citizenship, not a certificate of naturalization, you must not have acquired your US citizenship by naturalization. Possibly you acquired your US citizenship under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, as a consequence of the naturalization of a parent. In such case, the parent is naturalized and the child acquires citizenship automatically.