Amerasian citizenship

[Luvsphuoc 0]

I need some help decifering citizenship rules.  My husband is 46, came to the USA in 1990 via the Amerasian Homecoming Act.  I have since Found his American father via Ancestry DNA.  (They have a great relationship so it is possible.)

 

Now the issue is, he is an American Citizen via his dad, but one place says he can’t become a citizen because he wasn’t legitimized prior to the age of 18, and another says he can apply for Adult Derivative citizenship.  Ultimately all we want is his US passport so he can go to Mexico with my company next April!!!

 

I don’t know what Info is right and what is wrong.  We were told he can’t get a Vietnamese passport because of the Amerasian Status.  I’m so confused and even USICS says just to file the N-600, but their website says out of wedlock must be legitimized.  Anyone have any ideas?  

 

I have other clients whose fathers i have found, no doubt this question will come up in abundance as I find more.  Thanks!

[Ontarkie 14,967]

~~Moved to US Citizenship Discussion, from Progress Reports~~

[gnakr 43]

3 hours ago, Luvsphuoc said:

I need some help decifering citizenship rules.  My husband is 46, came to the USA in 1990 via the Amerasian Homecoming Act.  I have since Found his American father via Ancestry DNA.  (They have a great relationship so it is possible.)

 

Now the issue is, he is an American Citizen via his dad, but one place says he can’t become a citizen because he wasn’t legitimized prior to the age of 18, and another says he can apply for Adult Derivative citizenship.  Ultimately all we want is his US passport so he can go to Mexico with my company next April!!!

 

I don’t know what Info is right and what is wrong.  We were told he can’t get a Vietnamese passport because of the Amerasian Status.  I’m so confused and even USICS says just to file the N-600, but their website says out of wedlock must be legitimized.  Anyone have any ideas?  

 

I have other clients whose fathers i have found, no doubt this question will come up in abundance as I find more.  Thanks!

In my opinion AVVO.com 's immigration section may be the best place to ask this. If they don't give straight answers, I would not recommend DIY'ing this case. It may be worth speaking to a reasonably priced immigration attorney. It seemed that people who came to the U.S. under AHA came here as LRPs (e.g. Green Cards), whether or not finding their biological father could help later help them achieve citizenshipship, I'm unsure of. It's especially important to talk to a professional, because if he's always thought he was a U.S. citizen through his dad, he might have claimed U.S. citizenship on forms, or voted, which could lead to problems if he isn't actually a citizen.

 

When he was obtaining documents like his driver's license etc... what type of documents did he typically bring with him? They usually ask for proof of citizenship, or legal presence. Assuming he wasn't a U.S. citizen he would've had to have brought his green card or something.

 

Since he's 46 (born before 1986) I think there's a rule that may allow him to do that derivative adult citizenship thing, but I'm unsure.

Edited August 13, 2018 by gnakr

[williamAR 17]

If he was born out of wedlock and he is was born before 1986 the old law applies to him see below

 

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Appendix-Nationality2.html

 

now legitimated can happen in several ways one is acknowledge the child before he was 21 or another one is if the father married the mother after he was born.