Tough Situation...Need Advice

[JackInTheBox 0]

This forum was highly recommended to me and I hope someone on here can help.

My finacee is from the Philippines and has a mother that was born as a US citizen. We filed for a K-1 because her mother did not live in the USA long enough for my fiancee to claim the right to US Citizenship. The problem is is that we have no idea how to prove this. I have read that someone with a right to US Citizenship cannot file for a K-1. She does not talk to her mom because her parents split up but her mom lives in another part of the Philippines far away. HEr mother and her have nothing to do with each other.

We noticed on the DS230 it asks whether the mom or dad is a US citizen. Should we "accidentally" put no and hope it slips through? If it is noticed we could say it was a mistake? I can't believe that having a US citizen as a parent would be a punishment. Any advice on what to do. We are worried that she may be denied because of her mom. We have no idea even how to try to prove she has a claim to US citizenship or how to prove she doesn't. All we want to to start our lives together and not be seperated longer because of government BS.

Please help.

Edited February 26, 2009 by JackInTheBox

[payxibka 10,044]

This forum was highly recommended to me and I hope someone on here can help.

My finacee is from the Philippines and has a mother that was born as a US citizen. We filed for a K-1 because her mother did not live in the USA long enough for my fiancee to claim the right to US Citizenship. The problem is is that we have no idea how to prove this. I have read that someone with a right to US Citizenship cannot file for a K-1. She does not talk to her mom because her parents split up but her mom lives in another part of the Philippines far away. HEr mother and her have nothing to do with each other.

We noticed on the DS230 it asks whether the mom or dad is a US citizen. Should we "accidentally" put no and hope it slips through? If it is noticed we could say it was a mistake? I can't believe that having a US citizen as a parent would be a punishment. Any advice on what to do. We are worried that she may be denied because of her mom. We have no idea even how to try to prove she has a claim to US citizenship or how to prove she doesn't. All we want to to start our lives together and not be seperated longer because of government BS.

Please help.

If the person has a claim to citizenship, it will preclude the issuance of a visa but could result in the issuance of a US passport... that to me would not be punishment but a better result.

[JackInTheBox 0]

This forum was highly recommended to me and I hope someone on here can help.

My finacee is from the Philippines and has a mother that was born as a US citizen. We filed for a K-1 because her mother did not live in the USA long enough for my fiancee to claim the right to US Citizenship. The problem is is that we have no idea how to prove this. I have read that someone with a right to US Citizenship cannot file for a K-1. She does not talk to her mom because her parents split up but her mom lives in another part of the Philippines far away. HEr mother and her have nothing to do with each other.

We noticed on the DS230 it asks whether the mom or dad is a US citizen. Should we "accidentally" put no and hope it slips through? If it is noticed we could say it was a mistake? I can't believe that having a US citizen as a parent would be a punishment. Any advice on what to do. We are worried that she may be denied because of her mom. We have no idea even how to try to prove she has a claim to US citizenship or how to prove she doesn't. All we want to to start our lives together and not be seperated longer because of government BS.

Please help.

If the person has a claim to citizenship, it will preclude the issuance of a visa but could result in the issuance of a US passport... that to me would not be punishment but a better result.

How? We applied for the K-1 Visa. They may deny us and then our other option is to prove that she has a claim....which she doesn't. That could take forever and in the end fail too. We don't even know how to go about proving that she has a claim. She could be denied on both counts. The better result is whatever gets us together sooner. We are waiting through this whole K-1 process and don't want to turn around and start another.

[Loolie 56]

jackinthebox...do you own it?hehehehhe

[MMW 2]

You want some good advice? DON"T lie on a visa application that can have even greater problems than the one you listed. A life time ban would be a terrible result and thinking that you can just say it was a mistake if questioned. That is not being realistic. Do your self and your girl a favor and do it the right way.

If her mother was born a US citizen then what does the length of time her mother spent in the US have anything to do with it? She is the child of a USC. Maybe i am missing something, can you explain what her length of stay has to do with her being a natural born USC?

Edited February 26, 2009 by MMW

[MMW 2]

Has she ever tried to apply for a US passport at the Embassy in Manila? She will need her Birth certificate and her mothers SS number if she had one which if she was a US citizen she should have. I would suggest she try that route first before making incorrect claims on the visa application. You may have a simple answer to your problem by doing that.

[-B&T- 1]

This forum was highly recommended to me and I hope someone on here can help.

My finacee is from the Philippines and has a mother that was born as a US citizen. We filed for a K-1 because her mother did not live in the USA long enough for my fiancee to claim the right to US Citizenship. The problem is is that we have no idea how to prove this. I have read that someone with a right to US Citizenship cannot file for a K-1. She does not talk to her mom because her parents split up but her mom lives in another part of the Philippines far away. HEr mother and her have nothing to do with each other.

We noticed on the DS230 it asks whether the mom or dad is a US citizen. Should we "accidentally" put no and hope it slips through? If it is noticed we could say it was a mistake? I can't believe that having a US citizen as a parent would be a punishment. Any advice on what to do. We are worried that she may be denied because of her mom. We have no idea even how to try to prove she has a claim to US citizenship or how to prove she doesn't. All we want to to start our lives together and not be seperated longer because of government BS.

Please help.

Hi there… this is just an opinion. If your fiancé doesn’t need parental consent (she’s old enough to get married) embassy will not be too concern on this matter. Her mom is also a Philippine citizen by blood even though she was born as a US citizen bottom line is it’s her mom and if she can make amend and patch things up with her it will be for the better. After all, it’s her mom you cannot say ‘she has nothing to do with her’. If you really want to make sure everything's ok, best thing to do is cosult a lawyer.Goodluck

[JackInTheBox 0]

You want some good advice? DON"T lie on a visa application that can have even greater problems than the one you listed. A life time ban would be a terrible result and thinking that you can just say it was a mistake if questioned. That is not being realistic. Do your self and your girl a favor and do it the right way.

If her mother was born a US citizen then what does the length of time her mother spent in the US have anything to do with it? She is the child of a USC. Maybe i am missing something, can you explain what her length of stay has to do with her being a natural born USC?

Her mom would have had to live in the US for 2 years after she was 14. Her mom didn't. So potentially we could be blocked either route.

Has she ever tried to apply for a US passport at the Embassy in Manila? She will need her Birth certificate and her mothers SS number if she had one which if she was a US citizen she should have. I would suggest she try that route first before making incorrect claims on the visa application. You may have a simple answer to your problem by doing that.

We don't want to give up the K1 if this fails. Can we do both?

[childress_london 3]

You want some good advice? DON"T lie on a visa application that can have even greater problems than the one you listed. A life time ban would be a terrible result and thinking that you can just say it was a mistake if questioned. That is not being realistic. Do your self and your girl a favor and do it the right way.

If her mother was born a US citizen then what does the length of time her mother spent in the US have anything to do with it? She is the child of a USC. Maybe i am missing something, can you explain what her length of stay has to do with her being a natural born USC?

Her mom would have had to live in the US for 2 years after she was 14. Her mom didn't. So potentially we could be blocked either route.

Has she ever tried to apply for a US passport at the Embassy in Manila? She will need her Birth certificate and her mothers SS number if she had one which if she was a US citizen she should have. I would suggest she try that route first before making incorrect claims on the visa application. You may have a simple answer to your problem by doing that.

We don't want to give up the K1 if this fails. Can we do both?

Well it looks like you answered your own question. Obviously just having one parent who is a U.S. citizen does not automatically make you eligible for citizenship. I would answer the questions on the petition honestly, but include an attachment that explains the reason your fiance is not eligible for U.S. citizenship.

[angel_eyes1976 0]

i'm not sure what episode of citizen pinoy it was or when it was aired but i heard atty michael gurfinkel say that if the mom is a US citizen and wasn't able to pass that citizenship to the daughter because of not fulfilling the years the mom lives in the US, the daughter can obtain citizenship by way of the grandparents.... i'm not really sure how it's done or what's the requirement but it certainly is worth exploring into.... i suggest a consultation with a good immigration lawyer.... your fiance may be a US citizen and she might not need to apply a visa anymore....

a good example of someone obtaining US citizenship through a grandparent is Christopher de Leon's son...

Edited February 26, 2009 by angel_eyes1976

[JackInTheBox 0]

i'm not sure what episode of citizen pinoy it was or when it was aired but i heard atty michael gurfinkel say that if the mom is a US citizen and wasn't able to pass that citizenship to the daughter because of not fulfilling the years the mom lives in the US, the daughter can obtain citizenship by way of the grandparents.... i'm not really sure how it's done or what's the requirement but it certainly is worth exploring into.... i suggest a consultation with a good immigration lawyer.... your fiance may be a US citizen and she might not need to apply a visa anymore....

a good example of someone obtaining US citizenship through a grandparent is Christopher de Leon's son...

Can anyone recommend a good immigration lawyer that won't rip me off and will do a good job?

We want what ever comes first...K1 or US Citizenship. If proving her citizenship takes a long time then we don't want to go that route. We talked about it and just want to be together as fast as possible. You guys have been great!

[payxibka 10,044]

have you considered talking directly to the consulate?

[JackInTheBox 0]

We may try that. We are worried that we may lose our spot in the K1 process though if we can't file for both at the same time. We have waited long enough. If we talk to the consulate they won't dismiss our K-1 app will they?

[payxibka 10,044]

have you even submitted the prerequisite I-129F?

[JackInTheBox 0]

have you even submitted the prerequisite I-129F?

Yeah we applied for the K-1 in October and are waiting for NOA2. It should be coming really soon