Confused over N-400 & N-600

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Hi everyone! I was born in the Philippines on Aug. 22, 1988. My father became a naturalized citizen before i reached the age of 18.
I was petitioned before i turned 18 but my Green card was approved when i was 19.
So basically, i entered US when i was already 19 in 2007.

I would want to apply for naturalization but i am confused on what form to use.

N-600 :
You could use this form if you became a citizen of US after birth, but before you turned 18 years old, the law in effect when the last qualifying condition was met.
Further it said, generally the ff conditions must be met before you turn 18 years old:

1) Your parent must be a US citizen
2) You must be the biological child of that US Citizen parent
3) You must be lawfully admitted to the US for permanent residence; and
4) You must be living in the US in the legal and physical custody of your US permanent parent.

I am totally confused on numbers 3 & 4. I already turned 19 when it was approved, but the processing started before i turned 18..
Please help me interpret.. Thanks so much..

[rayb]

The law in effect at the time of your birth is what determines your derived citizenship.

From what you reported below, I don't believe you can use the N-600 form, since you did not have Permanent Resident status before you turned 18.

A quick test would be to apply for a U.S. passport, using your dad's Naturalization Certificate and your Green Card and birth certificates as presumed proof of your derived citizenship. I think the passport would be denied, though sometimes passports based on derived citizenship claims are denied, but N-600 later accepted.

Frankly, though, since the N-600 fee is $600 and the N-400 fee is $680, but eligibillity for use of the latter is already present (if you have been in the U.S. four years and nine months, you should go with the N-400 Natauralization application (rather than risk loss fo the $600 or th N600 submittal).

--Ray B

Hi everyone! I was born in the Philippines on Aug. 22, 1988. My father became a naturalized citizen before i reached the age of 18.
I was petitioned before i turned 18 but my Green card was approved when i was 19.
So basically, i entered US when i was already 19 in 2007.

I would want to apply for naturalization but i am confused on what form to use.

N-600 :
You could use this form if you became a citizen of US after birth, but before you turned 18 years old, the law in effect when the last qualifying condition was met.
Further it said, generally the ff conditions must be met before you turn 18 years old:

1) Your parent must be a US citizen
2) You must be the biological child of that US Citizen parent
3) You must be lawfully admitted to the US for permanent residence; and
4) You must be living in the US in the legal and physical custody of your US permanent parent.

I am totally confused on numbers 3 & 4. I already turned 19 when it was approved, but the processing started before i turned 18..
Please help me interpret.. Thanks so much..

[[email protected]]

N-400

The law in effect at the time of your birth is what determines your derived citizenship.

From what you reported below, I don't believe you can use the N-600 form, since you did not have Permanent Resident status before you turned 18.

A quick test would be to apply for a U.S. passport, using your dad's Naturalization Certificate and your Green Card and birth certificates as presumed proof of your derived citizenship. I think the passport would be denied, though sometimes passports based on derived citizenship claims are denied, but N-600 later accepted.

Frankly, though, since the N-600 fee is $600 and the N-400 fee is $680, but eligibillity for use of the latter is already present (if you have been in the U.S. four years and nine months, you should go with the N-400 Natauralization application (rather than risk loss fo the $600 or th N600 submittal).

--Ray B

Thank you Mr. Ray B for the quick response. Using N-600 is really risky as you implied considering i didn't meet all the requirements.
I was thinking at the outset that since N-600 is just a certification it has lesser waiting time than N-400.
Do u have any idea on N-400's waiting time in Vermont?
Thanks again and Happy New Year!

[rayb]

Charmie,

From what I am hearing on several forums by recent applicants, N-400 processing is averaging 4-6 months in most parts of the U.S. On the West Coast, where I am, everything runs fairly smoothly, with 4 months being about average.

--Ray B

Thank you Mr. Ray B for the quick response. Using N-600 is really risky as you implied considering i didn't meet all the requirements.
I was thinking at the outset that since N-600 is just a certification it has lesser waiting time than N-400.
Do u have any idea on N-400's waiting time in Vermont?
Thanks again and Happy New Year!