Clients have asked if they need a Certificate of Citizenship if they already have a U.S. passport and social security number for their foreign born child. Our recommendation is YES! If child does not apply for his Certificate of Citizenship, his file with USCIS is left open. The government doesn’t knows if the adoption was finalized or if the child qualified under the Child Citizenship Act. Therefore, if that child grows up and has an issue with the law or even stays outside of the US for more than one year, USCIS has no way to verify that the child is already a United States Citizen. By obtaining the Certificate of Citizenship, the child’s file is complete and you have concrete evidence that the child is a citizen. Many 30 and 40 year old adoptees simply do not know if they are citizens, and have to file a request pursuant to the Freedom of Information Act to find out, In addition, if there is a second adoption, the original adoptive parents frequently do not give the second set of adopting parents all of the child’s documents and this can create a nightmare. Over 60 adoptees have been deported as adults!!! Get the Certificate of adoption and everyone can have peace of mind. You can lose a lot of documents, but USCIS will always have a record.
