[rapf777]

I got a letter from Homeland Security today....(It says Infopass on top but I did not make any appointments)

and it says for appointment type: to speak with immigration officer....etc, etc, etc, AND than on the very bottom of the orange paper is a white sticker that says.............................................. ....


Issuance of Citizenship Certificate.......


IS THIS HER COC THAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A YEAR + AND WILL SHE BE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ON THIS DAY....OR am I getting my hopes up high and it is just an appointment for something else???

this is how I am feeling right now

[becky]

Sounds like that is your CofC appointment. Congrats!

She is already a citizen, but it will be nice to have the paper to prove it

[DeeVee]

Sounds to me like you will get that CoC at the appointment. Congratulations!

[cborsa7]

Congrats, Man that was a wait!!!

[DPline]

Yup. Sure sounds like your appointment to get her COC. She has been a citizen since you readopted like Becky said, but I am sure you will be SO glad to have that paper to prove it! Congrats!

[cborsa7]

IS THIS HER COC THAT WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR A YEAR + AND WILL SHE BE AN AMERICAN CITIZEN ON THIS DAY

She's been a citizen since you completed your adoption in your state. Whatever that court date was is her citizenship day! Congrats again !!!

[cbmstephanie]

Sounds like her COC..yay!!

[busterleroy]

If you did not have her escorted home, she has been a citizen since the day she landed on American soil. We have not yet completed our daughter's readoption but she has an American passport and COC.

[cborsa7]

If you did not have her escorted home, she has been a citizen since the day she landed on American soil. We have not yet completed our daughter's readoption but she has an American passport and COC.
__________________
BusterLeroy

It's not possible to have a COC on an IR-4 Visa until you do a re adoption in your state. You don't become a US citizen until a re adoption is completed, court finalized in your state.

Busterleroy- You have to be an IR-3 Visa if you have your COC. Your adoption was then completed in Guatemala and re adoption is something you are doing additional. Not a required step for this.

[jules17]

Originally Posted by cborsa7

It's not possible to have a COC on an IR-4 Visa until you do a re adoption in your state. You don't become a US citizen until a re adoption is completed, court finalized in your state.

I don't understand this? Our sons came home on an IR-4 and we were automatically sent COCs for both of them. Even when we went to the Social Security office weeks after they came home, they were in the system as "citizen." We were told state re-adoption was fine, but not necessary.

[DPline]

They must have come home on IR3's. If both parents (assuming married) see the child prior to the child's case exiting PGN, the child will be issued an IR3 visa and will become a US citizen upon landing in the US. And a COC will be issued within a month or two of entering the US.

If both parents (again, assuming married) do not see the child prior to the case exiting PGN, the child will be issued an IR4 visa. They will receive a Green Card and be a legal resident until the parent(s) readopt (or whatever the process is in their state) to establish citizenship.

[jules17]

Originally Posted by DPline

They must have come home on IR3's. If both parents (assuming married) see the child prior to the child's case exiting PGN, the child will be issued an IR3 visa and will become a US citizen upon landing in the US. And a COC will be issued within a month or two of entering the US.

If both parents (again, assuming married) do not see the child prior to the case exiting PGN, the child will be issued an IR4 visa. They will receive a Green Card and be a legal resident until the parent(s) readopt (or whatever the process is in their state) to establish citizenship.

Oh, gosh - I had my visas mixed up. Yes, we visited, so IR-3 and citizenship. Ay! See what happens when you have a 3-year-old, a 2-year-old, and an 11-week-old?

[DPline]

That fact that you can type a complete sentence with a 3 year old, a 2 year old, and an 11 week old, impresses me! A little confusion (heck, a lot of confusion!) is quite understandable!

[doczig]

After paying so much for the adoption, we decided instead of applying for his COC (which was $435) we just skipped ahead and applied for his US Passport. He received it in 2 weeks and that's all the proof we need of his citizenship. (We brought him home on an IR-4 visa and did a domestication of foriegn adoption in South Carolina).

[DPline]

You don't have to get a COC, but personally I feel that it is important.

I feel that especially in this post-9/11 society and continuously increasing US security measures, I want my children's full and correct legal names on file with USCIS as citizens and want that certificate to prove it without a shadow of a doubt.

They may never need it (though it is my understanding that for things like joining the military, government jobs that require security clearance, some college scholarships, things like that, it may be necessary and if they want to adopt internationally one day, they will need it to prove their citizenship) I want it 'just in case.' A passport can show citizenship, but it expires and is issued by the State Department, not USCIS/Homeland Security. I want to be sure that USCIS has on file my child's status as a US citizen.

Personally I feel better having the COC even if they are never in a position to need it. After all the money and time involved with our adoptions, I feel that getting the COC (or getting a new one after a name change) is a very important final step to ensure my children's citizenship can not be called into question.

Off my soapbox now!