Colleen68

You'll want to start at this link:

http://www.visajourney.com/forums/topic/212749-from-tn-status-to-green-card/

Also look for posts by Warlord. He went from TN status (not visa) to greencard.

Thanks for your help!

C

Hello...

I am a Canadian citizen who married a USC two weeks ago. I have been in the USA on a TN-Visa for several years. My TN-Visa expires on December 30, 2012. I am in the process of gathering together my green card application (which should be submitted within the next two weeks) and will apply for work authorization at the same time. I have read in several spots online that I would be able to continue my present employment even if I have not received employment authorization when my TN-Visa expires. Is this true? I've read that any time out-of-status is forgiven upon marriage to a USC.

If I cannot continue my present employment until the work authorization has been granted, is there any way to expedite the process of getting my work authorization processed? I am an attorney, so it presents a very substantial hardship to me both professionally and financially if I cannot maintain continuity of work with my clients!

I appreciate any help you can offer. Thanks!

Colleen

Ohio

We got a US Passport for our son and now are filing the N600 for the Certificate of Citizenship. Do you feel that a COC is needed to prove citizenship or that a US Passport is all the proof that would ever be needed?

One of the government websites says that while a passport might be enough, there may come a need to have the COC for things like college loans, etc. I think that makes it worth getting, but I'm going to go ahead and get his BC right away first.

C

http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_5199.html

There is an email address at the bottom of this page.

The way to do this from abroad is to have the father initiate the Consular Report of Birth Abroad. I am not sure if that changes since the child is in the US now.

Thank you for this link and information. This link makes it sounds so easy, but how does one go about getting official documentation for this without filing something like the N-600 form? Can I simply take the custody papers to the post office and apply for a passport?

Thanks again...

C

http://travel.state.gov/law/family_issues/birth/birth_593.html

You can try to get a Consular Report of Birth Abroad now, or you can apply for the baby's passport directly, using "Secondary evidence of US Citizenship."

Were you ever married to the father? The secondary evidence appears to only work if you were married. http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/secondary_evidence/secondary_evidence_4315.html

You are in a bit of a quagmire here because as I said, the baby should have never been issued a TD visa because citizens are not eligible for visas. What happened at the border when you got your visas?

My son had not been legitimized when we moved into the U.S., so I got a TD Visa for him. They never inquired as to the citizenship of his father. No, we never were married.

C

Your son was born abroad, so he could derive citizenship through his father, under 5B, in the first page of the instructiions: http://www.uscis.gov/files/form/n-600instr.pdf

The link you provided says that "Legitimation for INA benefits requires that the child be in legal custody of the legitimating parent(s) at the time of legitimation." At the time paternity was acknowledged, my son was in my custody by operation of Ohio law wherein unmarried females have custody by default from the time of birth until a court rules otherwise. We did not do any thing legal about custody until after paternity was established.

C

You have a few things to work out. Has the father always been a USC? At the time your son was born, was the father a USC and how long had he resided in the US?

If your son was a USC at birth "through blood" from his father, he should have never been issued a TD visa, but should have been required to get a US passport to enter the US.

I take it you did not submit a "Consular Report of Birth Abroad?"

My son's father has always been a USC and had resided in the US his entire life.

How does one get a US passport without a birth certificate saying that he was born in the U.S.??

No, we did not submit a Consular Report of a Birth Abroad. Frankly, it never occurred to me at the time as we were living in Canada and hadn't considered moving to the U.S. at all.

C

I can answer 1/2 of your question. If you are in good terms with the father, you should consider the N-600, for your son's American citizenship is his birthright, whereas with AOS he would end up as a LPR first and then as a citizen if he were to become naturalized. As his birthright, his derived citizenship is not affected by your custody.

I am on good terms with his father, but the more research I do, the more it seems that I cannot file for citizenship as is his birthright because I'm the one with custody, not his father. I would prefer to go this route, as, like you said, my son is entitled to this! But, the custody thing is what throws me off.

Thanks..

C

Hello...

I am a Canadian citizen presently living in the US under a TN-Visa. My minor son was born in Canada and lives with me under a TD-Visa. His father is a U.S. citizen and paternity has been established in Ohio, but I have always had custody of him. I am getting married to a U.S. citizen in October and plan to apply for an AOS to get a green card/employment authorization.

I'm confused as to whether I should apply for an AOS for my son or whether it is more appropriate for me to submit the N-600 form. I'm confused about whether he would be approved using the N-600 form because I'm a non-citizen/non-permanent resident and I'm the one who has custody.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

BTW...I'm an attorney and I have been researching immigration questions as they relate to my own situation and this stuff is soo complex, I'm amazed that anyone can get through this!!

Thanks...

C

Hello...

I am a Canadian citizen presently residing in the US under a TN-Visa. My minor son was born in Canada and I have always had custody of him. His father is a US citizen who has always lived in the US. We have never married, but paternity was established through the Ohio legal system several years ago. I would like to establish my son's citizenship in the US. I believe that I am supposed to submit the N-600 form. I have most of the necessary supporting documentation already accumulated, but I am concerned about two things:

1) His US citizen father has never had custody of him -- does this mean that I cannot apply for citizenship for him this way?

2) We are here only on a TN-Visa, therefore we are not considered "lawful permanent residents" -- is this a concern?

For what it's worth, I am getting married to a US citizen in October (not my son's father) and will be applying for adjustment of status for myself.

I'm open to any and all suggestions as to how to proceed!

Thank you..

C

Hello all...

I am the mother of an illegitimate son whose father is a U.S. Citizen. My son presently resides in the U.S. with me. I am in the U.S. under a TN-Visa and am a Canadian Citizen. My son's father has acknowledged his birth and pays child support through the State of Ohio. I would like to claim U.S. citizenship for my son and it is my understanding that I will need to submit a Consular Report of Birth form to a U.S. Consulate to do so. How do I go about doing this if my son's father will not cooperate with me? From what I can tell, I will need some sort of U.S. documentation for his father in order to establish his citizenship.

Has anyone successfully claimed U.S. citizenship for their child without the U.S. citizen's cooperation?

Thank you for any and all advice...

Colleen