Immigration Site

Need some help here. Im a U.S. citizen. I moved back to the States in 2009 and brought my Japanese wife and her son from her first marriage with me on CR-1 and CR-2 visas, respectively. I legally adopted my son in Japan when my wife and I got married; hes in Japanese records as my adopted son and took my last name (we still have the records and translations). However, when we did our I-130s, they said that since he hadnt lived with me for at least 2 years, he couldnt be considered my son for immigration purposes, so hed have to come on a CR-2 as my wifes child instead of an IR-something as my adopted child.

They also said that after hed been in my physical and legal custody for 2 years, hed automatically attain U.S. citizenship and we wouldnt have to do anything further for him, i.e., we wouldnt have to submit I-751 by the 2-year anniversary of him arriving in the States. However, not doing anything would leave him with no record of U.S. citizenship since he doesnt have an American birth certificate, American passport, etc., so we were considering getting a Certificate of Citizenship (N-600) for him since its been over 2 years that hes been with me and we should be able to get one. We went to our local USCIS office (Honolulu) to ask if that sounded like the right idea and if so, how we should fill out the part of I-751 that asks about dependents who immigrated with my wife. The USCIS officer there told us we have to list him on I-751 with my wife and to just attach a note explaining the situation and that we werent planning to pay the $85 biometric fee for him because wed be filing for an N-600 later on (but soon).

We did what she recommended, but we got a letter back today from USCIS in California stating that they cant do anything until we pay the extra $85 for our son... despite doing exactly what the local USCIS officer told us (of course none of that is in writing).

So were kind of not sure what do do now. Heres what were thinking:

1) If we go ahead and file for the N-600--and assuming we get it soon enough--, we were thinking we could send that back to USCIS and say my son is now a citizen so he doesnt need to do the biometric check, please give my wife her new green card, etc. But Im kind of afraid that theyd then say, "Youll have to resubmit I-751 for your wife only without your child listed and repay the $505 fee plus $85 biometric fee," and, since theyve already cashed my first check, thatd really screw us over by an extra $590.

2) Weve also thought about resending them a letter again stating that were preparing N-600 for my son because hes already become a citizen under Sec. 320 of INA, so he shouldnt need the biometric check (all of which I put in the original letter), etc., and try to get them to say in writing that if we submit a copy of his N-600, they wont re-require the whole $505 + $85 for my wife to refile or any sneakiness.

3) We could just pay the extra $85 for my son and get his green card extended for a few years and worry about the N-600 at a later date. This would be the cheapest and safest option, I think (especially since I think theyre just trying to screw us out of more money), since we have it in writing that we just need to submit $85 for him and all will be good, but if my sons already become a citizen, Id kind of like him to not have to have a green card anymore, you know?

So thats the dilemma. We have 87 days to reply for my wifes I-751. Any help? Its been hard to figure out what to do because our situation is kind of unique. I spent hours reading the relevant laws and stuff, and I thought I had it all figured out, so either I missed something, theyre incompetent, or theyre just trying to dick us out of more money (maybe all three!).

As a side note, does USCIS purposely try to screw people of money?

Thanks.

Jeff

See a lawyer who is familiar with international adoption. It can be very complicated. Due the the complexities and bureaucracies involved with international adoption and the fact that you didnt live with him for 2 years before he moved to the US, you may or may not have to readopt him in the US for him to become a citizen. You probably should just file I-751 and pay the fees so youre assured of keeping him in legal status while you sort this out.

Yeah, thats what I was thinking. I just dont know why we were told by more than one USCIS officer at different times that we wouldnt have to do anything for him and hed "automatically attain citizenship" if it turns out not to be true.

The USCIS people are very unreliable and inconsistent if you ask them anything about "how, when, if" etc. If you actually file a case theyll have weeks or months to open up the manual and follow the procedure, but asking them something on the spot is a recipe for disaster.

There have been many horror stories with adoptive parents who suddenly found out they need to readopt in the US. Get a lawyer to sort this out.