Please help....not sure what to do!!!!

[litlerunninwater 0]

I don't know if i'm posting this in the right section here or not but im looking for advice...this is rather complex so please bare with me!

Ok, my boyfriend has a predicament. He was born in the UK in 1975, his mom is a US citizen, she was born in the us, all her family are US citizens, at age 14 she moved to the UK with her family, she married there and my boyfriend was born, his birth was registered in the UK so he has a British birth certificate. His mom divorced his dad and at a year old, he travelled back to the US with her. He has no contact with his British father, or any connection to the country other than the fact that he was born there and spent the first 12 months of his life there.

Here lies the problem, his mother never told the relevant authorities that he had been born abroad. He went to school, graduated, worked, he had no reason to believe he wasn't a citizen, he has a social security card which his mother gave to him, there are no restrictions on this. He even had a driving license in a different state the one that he is currently in, he had to show a year book picture in order to get this. He didn't realize there was a problem until he went to get state id in Texas, on trying to obtain this they looked at his British birth certificate and wouldn't issue it as he has no other proof of citizenship, nothing at all, no green card, nothing that says that he has permanent right to stay here, nothing to say that he came into the country, no stamp saying he was born abroad to a US citizen, because of this he cannot work legally, he can't get a passport, he can't drive (he's misplaced his license and they won't issue another as he can't prove his citizenship or provide photo id)

What on earth does he do now? He wants to go out to the UK to see where he was born etc, he can get a British passport easily as he has a British birth certificate but as all his family are in the states, he wouldn't be able to re-enter, other than on an ESTA and that would only give him 90 days, he's lived there for 36 years, this is his life, this is where his family are, where he was brought up, he knows nothing of England. He has tried to get a US passport but this is proving difficult, again because he has no government picture id.

Does he need to apply for the N-600 or be naturalized with the N-400 or is it a change of status? Maybe he is already a citizen as it seems strange that this would not have been picked up on before now as he's worked his entire life and paid taxes etc but we have no idea, his mom isn't very helpful in the matter!

I'm really hoping that someone here can point us in the right direction as we have been dealing with this for months and months now.

Any advice would be appreciated.

[Ryan H 3,790]

Talk to a lawyer.

[aaron2020 11,651]

Sorry about your boyfriend's situation.

Unfornutately, your boyfriend is not a US citizen. His mom illegally immigrated him to the US. There is no basis for him to get US citizenship. He is living in the US illegally.

First, your boyfriend did not gain US citizenship from his mom. She moved to the UK at age 14, she does not meet the residency requirement to pass on US citizenship when he was born. Read here; http://www.greencardlawyers.com/citizenship/citizenbybirth.html#Chart%20to%20Determine%20Citizenship%20Rules

Second, he cannot apply for a US passport. He is not a US citizen. PLEASE GO SEE A LAWYER IF YOUR BOYFRIEND CLAIMED HE IS A US CITIZEN. HE IS NOT A US CITIZEN AND MAY HAVE MADE A FALSE CLAIM TO US CITIZENSHIP BY APPLYING FOR A US PASSPORT ON WHICH HE CLAIMED US CITIZENSHIP.

Third, it doesn't matter to US immigration that he lived here for 36 years and this is all he knows. He is no different from others children who are brought illegally to the US by their parents. He is still living illegally in the US since he is not a US citizen and does not have permission from the US government to live here.

Fourth, he has spent more than 1 year in the US illegally after age 18, so he is subject to a 10 years ban from the US. He will not be able to use ESTA/VWP to visit the US. If he leaves the US, don't expect any legal way for him to come visit for the next 10 years.

-------------

At this point, there is nothing that his mother can do for him. If she files a petition for him, it would take at least 7 years (if he stays single) and 12 years (if he is married).

If you are a US citizen, then you are his only chance of staying. Since his entry was lawful, he can get a green card by marrying you.

Edited May 19, 2013 by aaron2020

[litlerunninwater 0]

Thanks guys, he has a sister who is 11 months older than his too, she has managed to get hers but had to pay $1000 fine for being there, I believe it's something to do with the fact that they had no idea that there was a problem as she hadn't informed them, the system is crazy, surely if you are brought into the country by a parent as a baby, that is obviously not your choice and there is nothing you can do about it, the blame should lie on the shoulders of the parent, no matter how old you are? He has been told that he needs and infopass interview to sort it out, his sister did this and this is how she sorted out her problems. He didn't even realize that he had been born in the uk until he asked his mom for his birth certificate so he could apply for a passport. She initially said she had lost it. It's so difficult as he has kids in the US too, the authorities know where he is, he just set up a child support payment plan through the courts so he is in the system. You would have thought that someone would have come and said he was an illegal if that was the case. What on earth does someone do in that situation! not like he knows anyone or anywhere in London!!!!

[litlerunninwater 0]

his sister also has a passport, this was issued because when she applied she didn't know that there were gaps after the time his mom was 14 due to them not realizing that they were born outside of the US. He hasn't applied as such, he was trying to get secondary identification together so that he could apply.

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

USCIS discusses it here http://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartH.html

His mother did return to the US in 1977 so lived in the US prior to the birth and also after she was 14... About 35ish years that she has been back living in the US. Seems like N-600 may be an option.

[litlerunninwater 0]

Thankyou, that is what he was told, to do the N-600 It's just such a mine field! She was only in the uk for a relatively short period of time as you say and she has returned, she's actually been back in the country since 1976. She remarried and his step father was in the military, they went to Germany with the army for a year too, I know there are special circumstances with the services but she must have had a passport for him to get him there I would have though, he was about 5 or 6 at the time she thinks, (can't remember go figure!) a childs passport, even in the UK would only last for 5 years so not sure how that would have been done, I would have thought that bringing two children back into the states after they had been absent for a year would have raised issues in immigration at that point too???

[VanessaTony 3,567]

He needs an attorney, a good one. He *might* be able to file N-600.

His only other choice is to get a GC first through marriage to you (a USC).

Otherwise he can never leave the US. He is illegal here. He is subject to deportation at any time.

[fantonledzepp 159]

Ok, my boyfriend has a predicament. He was born in the UK in 1975, his mom is a US citizen, she was born in the us...

Am I missing something? It seems that the mother is a US citizen. Why wouldn't he be a US citizen? I understand that she didn't apply for a passport when he was born at the US consulate, but still, children of US citizens are automatically US citizens. No?

You learn something new on this website everyday...

Edited May 20, 2013 by fantonledzepp

[litlerunninwater 0]

You would think right? There seems to be so many different laws on it its a little crazy, when he spoke to the passport agency, and they know what will qualify you as a citizen or not, they said that he does have everything and will be a citizen, he just can't prove it, yes his mom left the states at the age of 14 but she returned 6 or 7 years later where she has remained, he has never left the states, other than his family being relocated due to his step-fathers commitments in the army but this doesn't count and is still classed as being resident...the link that nich-nick posted from the USCIS policy manual would indicate that he can in fact get his citizenship sorted as she was resident up to age 14 and for 36 years after returning to the US. The whole thing is just a little crazy, all this only came to light on him moving state, due to this he can now not work, he has no life due to it, he's worried about going anywhere incase he gets stopped and asked for id

The main issue comes from the fact that his mother should have informed people and didn't, once you turn 18 it is then your responsibility, just that in this case he had no idea, why would you? You've been to school, you've graduated, worked, paid your taxes, everything is just the same as everyone else...he had no reason to suspect anything until he wanted to get a passport!!!!

[mrs.smithelia 2]

Am I missing something? It seems that the mother is a US citizen. Why wouldn't he be a US citizen? I understand that she didn't apply for a passport when he was born at the US consulate, but still, children of US citizens are automatically US citizens. No?

You learn something new on this website everyday...

Actually, yes and no...these seem to be the rules for married parents (according to Wikipedia anyway). It doesn't look like they would apply in this case, unfortunately.

Under certain circumstances, children may acquire U.S. citizenship from their parents. The following conditions affect children born outside the U.S. and its outlying possessions to married parents

• If both parents are U.S. citizens, the child is a citizen if either of the parents has ever had a residence in the U.S. prior to the child's birth
• If one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other parent is a U.S. national, the child is a citizen if the U.S. citizen parent has lived in the U.S. for a continuous period of at least one year prior to the child's birth
• If one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other parent is not, the child is a citizen if
  • the U.S. citizen parent has been "physically present" in the U.S. before the child's birth for a total period of at least five years, and
  • at least two of those five years were after the U.S. citizen parent's fourteenth birthday.

The funny thing is that the article goes on to say ''Title 8 U.S.C. § 1409 paragraph provides that children born abroad after December 24, 1952 to unmarried American mothers are U.S. citizens, as long as the mother has lived in the U.S. for a continuous period of at least one year at any time prior to the birth.''

It just doesn't make any sense. But I guess the same can be said about most immigration rules

Edited May 20, 2013 by mrs.smithelia

[Nich-Nick 3,353]

As an example, there is a member on here called LauraDP from Scotland. The family lives in the UK. Her husband is American and he is petitioning for her and their boys. Why aren't the boys US citizens? Because the Dad left the US to permanently live in Scotland when he was a teen. He never lived in the US again. He is only a few months short of meeting the residency in the US that would allow the boys to claim immediate citizenship based on their American Dad, so they must get visas/greencards first. That's a rough paraphrase of their situation.

There are various laws/requirements depending on the parent citizenship and relationship, residency, as well as the the year of birth of the child. Some are "grandfathered" under older laws, while others must go by newer laws in effect at the time of birth. There are lots of things to sift through...more than I want to study. But the OP may have a shot with the N-600 and a lot of documentation on himself and his mother.

[bigdog 376]

See an attorney, not DIY, sorry.

[Autumnal 25]

I second the suggestion to get a lawyer experienced in these kinds of cases, if your boyfriend can afford to do so. He needs counsel familiar with nationality issues.

The N-600 is a bear to fiddle with and I don't think his case is cut and dry enough (e.g., he's a few months over 18 and learned this) to make an easy application. That may not be the ideal situation, and I wish I could offer better advice.

He should not, under any circumstance, leave the US to visit the UK because he is here illegally. It's easier to deal with immigration issues inside the US than abroad. His situation sounds full of complications that USCIS may use to reject his petition and refuse to let him enter the country.

[litlerunninwater 0]

Thanks for all you advice guys, he's been advised by an infopass interview to do the n-600 so think that's the way we shall try and move forward. Again, thanks for all your help and advice