Immigrant visa for kids

[Jabshir 0]

I'm a mother of two children born in the USA. My kids were born in the middle East. I now want to move with them to the states from Africa which is where we live. 

Need guidance on where to start n which form to be filled. 

Plz advise

[Michelle13 39]

I'm confused by your post. 

Were your children born in the United States (US Citizens) or born in the Middle East? 

[f f 725]

we're you a usc when they were born?

 

just to confirm you were born in the us and your kids were born in the middle east. if this is true they are already usc and you need to get a record of birth abroad and thier us passports

[geowrian 22,335]

4 minutes ago, f f said:

you were born in the us and your kids were born in the middle east. if this is true they are already usc

If that's the case, then they probably are USCs. The USC must have lived in the US for at least 5 years - of which at least 2 years were after age 14 - to pass citizenship to the children at birth. Otherwise, they need an immigrant visa and can become USCs once they enter on those visas.

[Ortolan 381]

Yep, if you're the US citizen and you fit the description geowrian gave, go to the U.S. consulate with their birth certificates, and have them help you do a Consular Report of Foreign Birth.

[f f 725]

I didn't think the residency requirment was for people born in the us just those born abroad.

[Jabshir 0]

Sorry I must have caused a confusion.

I was born in Minnesota.

My kids were born in the middle East.

I reside in Tanzania now and want to relocate with them.

Do I need to register their birth first? At the American embassy in Tanzania?

What form do I need to fill and sumbit for them with which documents?

I haven't lived in the USA. So I need to use the immigrant visa way.

And where do I lodge from? Will I lodge from the USA or from my residence embassy?

 

[f f 725]

how old were you when you moved out of the us?

how old are the children?

[milimelo 4,193]

Sounds like you need to petition them via I-130 - can't do that in Tanzania need to send the papers and fees to Chicago lockbox. Each child needs a separate I-130 though you can send them together in one envelope. 

[Jabshir 0]

My kids are now 11 and 8.

- Along with the form what documents do I need? I have an orignal birth certificate.

- do I need to register their birth? In Tanzania ? Or in the USA?

- I can mail these forms in can I?

- how long wud the visa take to process?

[kzielu 1,147]

5 hours ago, Jabshir said:

My kids are now 11 and 8.

- Along with the form what documents do I need? I have an orignal birth certificate.

- do I need to register their birth? In Tanzania ? Or in the USA?

- I can mail these forms in can I?

- how long wud the visa take to process?

They're either citizens (depends on how much time you spent in US prior to departing) and therefore you file CRBA with the embassy or they're not and you have to petition them for their GC.

[Aburashid 10]

Everyone's answer is spot on. I'm a USC by birth and successfully petitioned for CRBA for my twins about 4 months ago. They were born in Ghana. The residency requirement is crucial in that you had to have lived in the USA for a total of 5 years PRIOR to the birth of the children. You'll have to present evidence that meticulously documents those 5 years. If you can't do that, then you'll have to go the I-130 route. If you qualify, you can apply for CRBA at the embassy where you reside (Tanzania). The U.S. Embassy websites generally have the CRBA applications available for download. Hope this helps.

[abum 324]

yeah, USC by birth HAS TO SPEND minimum 5 years in the USA - 2 years after 14 years old before the citizenship can be passed automatically to the offspring.

 

UNLESS you are married to a USC as well (and the those child are his/hers too) - then the child would definitely be a USC at birth regardless of where the child was born.

 

There are other rules depending on the situation too, for example, if the child was born out of wedlock, this is the rule to follow to check if you qualify to pass the citizenship

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartH-Chapter3.html#S-C

 

Child of a U.S. Citizen Mother 

 

A child born out of wedlock outside of the United States and its outlying possessions acquires citizenship at birth if:

 

•The child was born after December 23, 1952;

•The child’s mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child’s birth; and

•The child’s U.S. citizen mother was physically present in the United States or outlying possession for one continuous year prior to the child’s birth. ^[13] 

 

 

[jan22 2,898]

5 hours ago, abumiqdad said:

yeah, USC by birth HAS TO SPEND minimum 5 years in the USA - 2 years after 14 years old before the citizenship can be passed automatically to the offspring.

 

UNLESS you are married to a USC as well (and the those child are his/hers too) - then the child would definitely be a USC at birth regardless of where the child was born.

 

There are other rules depending on the situation too, for example, if the child was born out of wedlock, this is the rule to follow to check if you qualify to pass the citizenship

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartH-Chapter3.html#S-C

 

Child of a U.S. Citizen Mother 

 

A child born out of wedlock outside of the United States and its outlying possessions acquires citizenship at birth if:

 

•The child was born after December 23, 1952;

•The child’s mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child’s birth; and

•The child’s U.S. citizen mother was physically present in the United States or outlying possession for one continuous year prior to the child’s birth. ^[13] 

 

 

A couple of clarifications here, since citizenship adjudication can be very complicated:

• If a child is born abroad to two US citizen parents, that child is probably -- not definitely -- a US citizen. There are still some residency requirements, however. At least one of the parents had to have been resident (not just physically present) in the US at some point prior to the birth of the child. For example, a child is born abroad to two US citizen parents who were themselves also both born abroad. Neither of those parents ever actually lived in the United States; rather, they only visited in the US, staying with family or in hotels. They never had an established residence in the United States. A child born to these two US citizens does NOT acquire US citizenship.  Rare -- but it happens.
• While it does not apply in this case, given the age of the OP's children, it may be important in other cases. As of June 11, 2017, there is no difference between the citizenship transmission requirements for a child born out-of-wedlock whether it is a US citizen mother or US citizen father.  For children who were/are born after this date, the physical presence requirement is five years, two of which had to be after the citizen was 14 years old.

 

OP:  You can apply for the consular report of birth abroad for your children at the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  However, it will have to be sent by that Embassy to the Middle East country where the children were born. That is the Embassy that has jurisdiction for the case. It may take a little longer for the process because of that.  If there is a possibility that your children are US citizens, you must have that adjudicated before you can apply for visas for them.

Edited September 15, 2017 by jan22

[abum 324]

34 minutes ago, jan22 said:

A couple of clarifications here, since citizenship adjudication can be very complicated:

• If a child is born abroad to two US citizen parents, that child is probably -- not definitely -- a US citizen. There are still some residency requirements, however. At least one of the parents had to have been resident (not just physically present) in the US at some point prior to the birth of the child. For example, a child is born abroad to two US citizen parents who were themselves also both born abroad. Neither of those parents ever actually lived in the United States; rather, they only visited in the US, staying with family or in hotels. They never had an established residence in the United States. A child born to these two US citizens does NOT acquire US citizenship.  Rare -- but it happens.
• While it does not apply in this case, given the age of the OP's children, it may be important in other cases. As of June 11, 2017, there is no difference between the citizenship transmission requirements for a child born out-of-wedlock whether it is a US citizen mother or US citizen father.  For children who were/are born after this date, the physical presence requirement is five years, two of which had to be after the citizen was 14 years old.

 

OP:  You can apply for the consular report of birth abroad for your children at the US Embassy in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.  However, it will have to be sent by that Embassy to the Middle East country where the children were born. That is the Embassy that has jurisdiction for the case. It may take a little longer for the process because of that.  If there is a possibility that your children are US citizens, you must have that adjudicated before you can apply for visas for them.

Thanks for clarifying @jan22 . 

 

For natural born USC (born in the USA), and resided there with his/her parents (say the parents were on 1 year attachment in the USA) then returned to the parents home country - would that satisfy the requirement "being a resident" even though it is just for maybe months?

 

In the 2 USC born abroad and never resided in the USA, how can they, in the future , try to prove that they had established residence? Like how long must they stay in the USA as a proof? Or it is the same as establishing domicile? 

As of June 11, 2017 <-- has there been any amendment to the law regarding this matter?