You came to the United States on a work visa. Your career flourished, and you were able to get a green card. After that, you worked your way through the naturalization process.
Now you are a naturalized U.S. citizen. You have all of the rights of a citizen. It doesn’t expire. This is what you’ve dreamed of for years.
It also took years, and a lot happened during that time. Your children largely grew up in the U.S., despite being born abroad. Now that you are a citizen, does this impact their status? Or will they have to go through the same process that you did?
How old are your children?
The big question here is age. If your children are older than 18, and they were not born here, then they are legal adults who need to become citizens on their own.
If your children are still minors, though, they are probably citizens. Typically, when minor children have a parent who becomes a naturalized citizen, they also become citizens along with them. This is one reason that parents take this step. They want to make things easier for their kids.
Moreover, if your children were born in the United States, they are probably already citizens by birth. This is true even if you were not yet a citizen when they were born. They do not have to go through the entire process.
Moving through a complex process
It’s true that citizenship can be complex and confusing, especially if you are from another country and didn’t grow up with American laws. The more you can learn about the legal side of this process, the more smoothly things will go.