Anybody had a similar case to mine?

[janurabi 0]

Hello,

I have a bit of a situation that I may have acquired U.S. citizenship at

birth. Right now I'm dealing with the U.S. Consulate in Calgary as I currently reside in

Canada. I'm awaiting the decision on my U.S. Passport application to the U.S. Consulate. It's

been over 9 weeks since I applied and haven't heard anything from them, not even an RFE. Here's

my scenario:

My mom just obtained her U.S. passport. My mom had found out that she had been a U.S. citizen

since the day my grandparents became naturalized citizens in 1964. My mom was 14 years old and

had a Green Card at the time. By law, according to the Calgary Consulate, of the time says any

minor with a Green Card automatically becomes a citizen once the parents are naturalized. Now

I'm just wondering, since she would've been a citizen since the day her parents were

naturalized, is it possible that I may have acquired citizenship from birth? I was born

November 15, 1978 and my parents were married.

My mother provided letters that my parents wrote back and fourth to

each other from '64 to '68. My mother lived in the U.S. from May 1958 to August 1968. She

married my father (a Canadian citizen) when she was 19. My mother also provided high school and

elementary school records to the Consulate. My grandparents lived and died U.S. citizens after

their naturalization in 1964. My grandparents resided in Minneapolis from 1958 till their

deaths respectively in 1974 and 1984.

I've been trying to consult with the Department of State and USCIS but either doesn't seem to

know anything about anything. My mother encountered this same frustration when she first began

looking into her situation. USCIS even went so far as to tell my mom that there's no way she's

a citizen. And yet, the Calgary consulate total contradicted that and treated her like one even

before approving her passport application.

We decided on dealing with the Consulate directly since USCIS initially had misinformed my

mother and the State Department is telling me that since my mother wasn't herself naturalized

that there's no way I could claim it through her and there's no way of verifying that she was a

citizen at the time of my birth. But there IS verification, my grandparent's naturalization

papers and my mother's alien #, such and such. Otherwise the Consulate would never have

approved my mother for a passport. The State Department also commented that if I was going

through my Grandparents that I would have to contact immigration.

Is there a good chance that I'm a U.S. citizen or is our proof not enough to prove my mother's

physical presence? If I get denied what's my next step? Will it hurt my chances at a visa? I

also have an employer whose willing to sponsor me for a Visa.

Also does the USC parent need to be a USC for the entire 10 years of their residing. She was a PR from the age of 8 to the age of 14, then became a USC.

[Krikit 1,163]

You might try PM'ing Trailmix. She's no longer active on the board but, hopefully, she will see your PM. She'll be able to answer your question(s). Alternatively, you may want to do a search on her posts.

[LiLMermaid 2]

My grandfather was a US citizen, I grew up on a border town so it was common. My father had claim to US citizenship but never had any reason to bother with it. I looked it to it because of my husband and that sure would have made this a lot easier but since my father never actually lived in the US after his 14th birthday I have no claim. They changed the laws a few times so it depends on the year your mother became a citizen and the year you were born.

The laws governing whether or not a child born outside of the United States acquires U.S. citizenship from parents have changed several times. You'll need to look at the law that was in effect on the date of the child's birth (and the parents' birth, if grandparents were U.S. citizens) for guidance. These laws differ for the following time periods:

• prior to May 24, 1934
• May 25, 1934 to January 12, 1941
• January 13, 1941 to December 23, 1952
• December 24, 1952 to November 13, 1986, and
• November 14, 1986 to present.

Here is an article that explains the different laws but unless she lived in the US for at least 5 years after her 14th birthday then unfortunately you probably don't.

[janurabi 0]

My grandfather was a US citizen, I grew up on a border town so it was common. My father had claim to US citizenship but never had any reason to bother with it. I looked it to it because of my husband and that sure would have made this a lot easier but since my father never actually lived in the US after his 14th birthday I have no claim. They changed the laws a few times so it depends on the year your mother became a citizen and the year you were born.

The laws governing whether or not a child born outside of the United States acquires U.S. citizenship from parents have changed several times. You'll need to look at the law that was in effect on the date of the child's birth (and the parents' birth, if grandparents were U.S. citizens) for guidance. These laws differ for the following time periods:

• prior to May 24, 1934
• May 25, 1934 to January 12, 1941
• January 13, 1941 to December 23, 1952
• December 24, 1952 to November 13, 1986, and
• November 14, 1986 to present.

Here is an article that explains the different laws but unless she lived in the US for at least 5 years after her 14th birthday then unfortunately you probably don't.

Thanks to you both. Actually I got a hold of trailmix and we were able to chat a bit about the situation.