N600 or US Passport ?

[Nicole]

I am a US Citizen born abroad (in Canada), and have never lived in the US. Thus I do not meet residence requirements to pass US citizenship on to my son (born August 2001 in Canada). But, my mother, his grandmother (now deceased) was born in the US and does meet the residence requirements.

I emailed the US Consulate in Toronto and they said that as long as he is under 18 he can claim US citizenship through his grandmother. "Claim to US citizenship through a grandparent may only be processed through the US Citizenship and Immigration Service from within the US." They proceeded to tell me that I need to file form N-600K, Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate Under Section 322. (The fee is utterly ridiculous!)

All I have to prove I'm American is my US Passport. I do not understand why I cannot just take all my supporting documentation (including proof of grandmothers physical presence) to a US Passport Agency and just get a US passport for my son.

The US Consulate in Toronto no longer has a phone number for inquiries and I would like to talk with someone directly about this issue. They used to but they only rely on email now.

I have tried to call the US Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) at 1-800-375-5283 and the National Passport Information Centre (NPIC) at 1-877-487-2778 but neither one of these numbers can be reached from my calling area. I have to be in the US for the phone call to get connected.

Does anyone know of anyway I can reach specifically the NPIC office without having to go to the US? My sister in Michigan is only an hour away so it's not THAT big of a deal.

Any information you may have would be a great help.
Thank you.

[Nicole]

I just found the following information from www.immigration-information.com

It seems to answer my question...just not what I really wanted to hear


"Q. CAN I USE MY PARENTS' (THE CHILD'S U.S. CITIZEN GRANDPARENTS') PHYSICAL PRESENCE IN THE UNITED STATES TO JUST APPLY FOR A U.S. PASSPORT AND FOREIGN SERVICE REPORT OF BIRTH OF THE U.S. CITIZEN ABROAD AND AVOID THE VISA AND NATURALIZATION PROCESS?
A. NO. THE TECHNICAL CORRECTION ACT OF 1994 DID NOT AMEND SECTION 301(G) OF THE IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY ACT REGARDING ACQUISITION OF U.S. CITIZENSHIP OF CHILDREN BORN ABROAD. SECTION 322 INA CREATED A PROCEDURE FOR EXPEDITIOUS NATURALIZATION OF AN ALIEN CHILD BORN TO A U.S. CITIZEN PARENT."


I would still like to talk to one of the government agency's to be 100% sure before I send US$460 to get the N-600k