Citizenship for child born in Canada to US Citizen mother in 1962?

[n604 1]

Hi. I'm helping a friend with his situation that follows:

US Citizen mother was born in the US in 1928.
She went for a vacation to Canada in 1961.
She met her future husband, a non US citizen, who was living in Canada at the time.
Their child was born in Canada in 1962.
They got married in Canada in 1963.
The parents and the child moved back to the US in 1964.
The husband got his green card in 1964.
The husband became a US Citizen in 1968.
The child applied for N-600 in 2008, but was denied for lack of evidence.
The mother died in 2010.
The father still lives and is 85 years old.
The child is now almost 60 years old, lives in the US and has no green card and no US Citizenship.

I looked it up, all he needs to prove is that the US Citizen mother lived in the US continuously for at least one full year before her child's birth, and then he gets the US Citizenship immediately. But the problem is, there is no evidence. Even thought the mother lived in the US all her life from 1928 to 1961, there is no way to prove this. She passed away in 2010. No records, no documentation can be found. No school records, work records, tax records, medical records, etc... nothing!

How can the child acquire US citizenship in this case?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

[dwheels76 5,459]

9 minutes ago, n604 said:

Hi. I'm helping a friend with his situation that follows:

US Citizen mother was born in the US in 1928.
She went for a vacation to Canada in 1961.
She met her future husband, a non US citizen, who was living in Canada at the time.
Their child was born in Canada in 1962.
They got married in Canada in 1963.
The parents and the child moved back to the US in 1964.
The husband got his green card in 1964.
The husband became a US Citizen in 1968.
The child applied for N-600 in 2008, but was denied for lack of evidence.
The mother died in 2010.
The father still lives and is 85 years old.
The child is now almost 60 years old, lives in the US and has no green card and no US Citizenship.

I looked it up, all he needs to prove is that the US Citizen mother lived in the US continuously for at least one full year before her child's birth, and then he gets the US Citizenship immediately. But the problem is, there is no evidence. Even thought the mother lived in the US all her life from 1928 to 1961, there is no way to prove this. She passed away in 2010. No records, no documentation can be found. No school records, work records, tax records, medical records, etc... nothing!

How can the child acquire US citizenship in this case?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

He doesn't know where mom went to school? There's no living relatives in US to talk to? Surely there's something she just died 11 years ago. Start with place of birth. Go to ancestry.com and register. But I would think he would know where mom was born and raised and school attended. even college, job held.
His dad has no clue about his wife's life?

[mushroomspore 3,043]

15 minutes ago, n604 said:

Hi. I'm helping a friend with his situation that follows:

US Citizen mother was born in the US in 1928.
She went for a vacation to Canada in 1961.
She met her future husband, a non US citizen, who was living in Canada at the time.
Their child was born in Canada in 1962.
They got married in Canada in 1963.
The parents and the child moved back to the US in 1964.
The husband got his green card in 1964.
The husband became a US Citizen in 1968.
The child applied for N-600 in 2008, but was denied for lack of evidence.
The mother died in 2010.
The father still lives and is 85 years old.
The child is now almost 60 years old, lives in the US and has no green card and no US Citizenship.

I looked it up, all he needs to prove is that the US Citizen mother lived in the US continuously for at least one full year before her child's birth, and then he gets the US Citizenship immediately. But the problem is, there is no evidence. Even thought the mother lived in the US all her life from 1928 to 1961, there is no way to prove this. She passed away in 2010. No records, no documentation can be found. No school records, work records, tax records, medical records, etc... nothing!

How can the child acquire US citizenship in this case?

Any suggestions are appreciated!

How is it possible that there is ZERO paperwork about the mother?? Was it all destroyed or lost? If the father is still alive, surely there must be something in his records?? 

[MarJhi 912]

Well, from an outside perspective, if I was in charge of the case I would be very suspicious. For someone to live in the US the first 33 years of their life (15 as a legal adult) and not leave a mark would be a huge problem, even during that time in history. No job, no school, no medical records in 33 years is insane. Do you know her home town? Maybe some local records are available, high school yearbooks might give some clues.

 

What does it say on the child's Canadian birth certificate about the nationality of the parents?

Edited January 20, 2022 by MarJhi

[SteveInBostonI130 3,319]

Did the mom pay taxes between 1928 and 1961?

[mushroomspore 3,043]

48 minutes ago, MarJhi said:

Well, from an outside perspective, if I was in charge of the case I would be very suspicious. For someone to live in the US the first 33 years of their life (15 as a legal adult) and not leave a mark would be a huge problem, even during that time in history. No job, no school, no medical records in 33 years is insane. Do you know her home town? Maybe some local records are available, high school yearbooks might give some clues.

 

What does it say on the child's Canadian birth certificate about the nationality of the parents?

Agreed. I just don't get how it is possible for a US citizen who lived in the US for most of their life to have ZERO paperwork related to them?? Especially considering they have a spouse who is still alive as well.

[Mike E 11,723]

Born in 1928, went to Canada in 1961. At least 32 years old.  
 

And she worked for zero years between age 21 and 31? Doubtful. 
 

So look at her social security record.  It will show that she worked in the USA and dispel reasonable doubt about one year of physical presence 

[Boiler 43,425]

This makes no sense

 

Probably a lot your friend has not told you

[MarJhi 912]

2 minutes ago, Boiler said:

This makes no sense

 

Probably a lot your friend has not told you

Like the mom is not an American and lied to her son his entire life.

[aaron2020 11,651]

29 minutes ago, MarJhi said:

Like the mom is not an American and lied to her son his entire life.

Let's bring this back to reality.

 

If mom wasn't an American, then how did her husband get a green card and US citizenship?

 

ANALOG.  Before everything became digital, we had paper and microfilm.  Records from the 50's are NOT EASY TO GET.   

[MarJhi 912]

22 minutes ago, aaron2020 said:

Let's bring this back to reality.

 

If mom wasn't an American, then how did her husband get a green card and US citizenship?

 

ANALOG.  Before everything became digital, we had paper and microfilm.  Records from the 50's are NOT EASY TO GET.   

Forgive me, I was under the impression there were other ways of getting a green card. haha

 

As for the records, my grandfather at age 9 and his 3 younger siblings were the only survivors of a tornado from a family of 12 in rural Alabama in 1932....somehow, they have school records, medical records, birth certificates and other things available. Is it easy to find? Nope, but it's there. I guess it depends on how much you want to work for it

Edited January 20, 2022 by MarJhi

[Coco8 1,039]

There's a US census in 1940 available and the names are on there; you can check on the genealogy websites. 

 

Like others said, there should be school records or records of her family living in the US. If you can find anything about her parents living the US, then obviously the child (his mother) would be living in the US. Old obituaries, a news article, maybe they owned a store or had a job, owned property, etc.

Edited January 20, 2022 by Coco8

[jane.doe 14]

Why can't your friend petition with his father if he's a naturalized citizen?

[Mike E 11,723]

1 hour ago, jane.doe said:

Why can't your friend petition with his father if he's a naturalized citizen?

Decades of wait since the friend is over age 21

[nastra30 1,979]

Op, looks like your friend needs professional help tracking down mom's early records, if they are unable to do so themselves.