US girlfriend (permanent resident) can't get a passport (help!)

[US-DK 2]

My girlfriend is a Permanent Resident in the US, and has an old Korean passport (and citizenship I guess) from when she was a baby, and was adopted to the US. The Korean passport (expired long ago) has her old Korean birth-name, and she now has a different name, which she has had in a very long time. The only document she has of the name change, is a very small piece of paper, with her old and new name, and a price and a date. Nothing else is on there. It's like it was just printed on an old cash register. She went to the Korean Consulate today, and her application was rejected because she didn't have any valid document connecting her current ID (Permanent Resident Card, Texas Drivers License) to her old passport (the one from when she was a baby). So she needs some kind of document so she can get a new Korean Passport. She thinks the small document with both her names on, is from INS in El Paso, Texas, where she grew up. What should we do to get her a passport asap?

[US-DK 2]

She also has her Social Security card!

I found the copy of the receipt. It's for an I-90 form costing $130 back on 06/05/03. It states her old and new name, a number starting with "A" followed by 8 other numbers, and it's from INS District Office, El Paso, TX.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

Using the A-Number she should be able to get copies of her Immigration File. If she was adopted by US Citizens then she may (should) have claim to US Citizenship.

[US-DK 2]

Using the A-Number she should be able to get copies of her Immigration File. If she was adopted by US Citizens then she may (should) have claim to US Citizenship.

Where would we call to get such copies? She should have gotten a US Citizenship, if her adoptive parents hadn't been on drugs all her childhood, and in general just terrible parents. We are looking into getting her US Citizenship application started on of these days when we get the $680 it costs to apply, but we haven't seen each other in 3 months, and was counting on her being able to go to Denmark for 3 months when she got her new Korean passport. I wonder if we can start the US Citizenship process with our current documents?! Although the absolute best thing would be to find a way to get her a new Korean Passport very soon.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Either your girlfriend is a US citizen already and doesn't know it, in which case she shouldn't have a Green Card, or the first thing she should do instead of wasting her time and money on a Korean passport is to apply for naturalization. That means she either has to file an N-600, or an N-400. The former costs $600, and the latter $680.

In any case she needs to find out, and that means talking to her parents in the US and digging out the adoption paperwork.

[US-DK 2]

I doubt she is a US citizen already. Her adoptive parents never did anything for it, and after she turned 18, she found out that she could have gotten it pretty easily if they had just applied for it. We just got her green card replaces a month ago. So I doubt she is a citizen, but how can we find out? And even though it's important to get her naturalization started, things are just a way right now, where we just want her to come to Denmark for 2-3 months, and then get it started when she comes back to the US. So the question is, how do we get the needed paperwork. Oh and her parents has NO paperwork like that we can use

[Anh map 2,098]

Her INS (USCIS now) file would likely have what you need. Adoption papers for example. If the parents are uncooperative then it's going to take some extra work. Perhaps you could travel to the US and assist in the process?

[Sergi9 110]

I doubt she is a US citizen already. Her adoptive parents never did anything for it, and after she turned 18, she found out that she could have gotten it pretty easily if they had just applied for it. We just got her green card replaces a month ago. So I doubt she is a citizen, but how can we find out? And even though it's important to get her naturalization started, things are just a way right now, where we just want her to come to Denmark for 2-3 months, and then get it started when she comes back to the US. So the question is, how do we get the needed paperwork. Oh and her parents has NO paperwork like that we can use

Doesn't sound like your trip will happen unless you have all the documents you need. File for FOIA and get her immigration file, and chances are if her adoptive parents were that messed up the original paperwork you need for the Korean passport doesn't exist. Good luck

[Ready to do it 101]

I have a feeling all those "things" you have from 2003 revolve around her getting her permanent residency. As others have pointed out, I would have her apply for citizenship asap.

As for docs... easy. Have her fill out the "Freedom of Information Act" form and send it in requesting her entire immigration file.

[Brother Hesekiel 2,236]

Frankly,

given your posts and your girlfriend's situation, I would just file an N-400 now. It will take 4 months and she'll be a US citizen either way. Time is money, and even the N-600 takes time.

End of story.

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Frankly,

given your posts and your girlfriend's situation, I would just file an N-400 now. It will take 4 months and she'll be a US citizen either way. Time is money, and even the N-600 takes time.

End of story.

Agreed. If she's been a permanent resident for at least five years then she's eligible to become a US citizen. File the papers, take the test, have the interview, take the oath. It's pretty simple.

[US-DK 2]

Thank you so much for all your replies! I've been looking at the N-400 and the N-600, and can't really figure out which one to go with, but it seems you agree on the N-400? Would she still need to apply for the FOIA first?

[US-DK 2]

Oh and I have thought about going to the US to help her get all this done, but I'm not sure they are going to let me in again. I went 3 times last year (1+2+4 weeks) and then I also went there from 1st December (2010) to 28th February (2011) which is about 3 months. Upon that entry, the customs agent warned me that the VWP is for vacation only, and what I was doing wasn't considered vacation anymore, so I shouldn't expect being able to do that again. Even a shorter trip is risky I feel

[JimVaPhuong 4,863]

Thank you so much for all your replies! I've been looking at the N-400 and the N-600, and can't really figure out which one to go with, but it seems you agree on the N-400? Would she still need to apply for the FOIA first?

Forget the FOIA request. Those can take years. She doesn't need it.

The N-400 is the form she needs to file. The N-600 is for people who have a claim to US citizenship, and need a document to prove it.

Here are the VJ guides for naturalization:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=naturalization_guide

Oh and I have thought about going to the US to help her get all this done, but I'm not sure they are going to let me in again. I went 3 times last year (1+2+4 weeks) and then I also went there from 1st December (2010) to 28th February (2011) which is about 3 months. Upon that entry, the customs agent warned me that the VWP is for vacation only, and what I was doing wasn't considered vacation anymore, so I shouldn't expect being able to do that again. Even a shorter trip is risky I feel

If you've already been admonished about misusing the VWP then you'll probably be denied entry if you try to use it again anytime soon. Next time maybe she should come visit you.

[US-DK 2]

Forget the FOIA request. Those can take years. She doesn't need it.

The N-400 is the form she needs to file. The N-600 is for people who have a claim to US citizenship, and need a document to prove it.

Here are the VJ guides for naturalization:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/index.php?autocom=custom&page=naturalization_guide

Okay cool. Thank you. The N-400 it is.

If you've already been admonished about misusing the VWP then you'll probably be denied entry if you try to use it again anytime soon. Next time maybe she should come visit you.

Yeah that was the whole plan. She would come to Denmark when she got her new passport, which should have been in about a month. But then that plan got shot down when she was denied a new Korean passport because she didn't have the proper documents tying her from her old Korean name she had as a baby in her old Korean passport, to her current name that she has on her Driver's License, Permanent Resident Card, and Social Security. So unless we find someway to get some paperwork so she can get a new passport, we can't see each other for another 6+ months or however long that takes, and we've already been apart for the last 3 months. That's why it was so important that she got here soon.