Hello Tufa4311,

I do hope that its not too late for you to assist with my question!

In 1998 when I was aged 12, I first came to the US through my step mother who had long been a US naturalized Citizen and my biological Father who was merely a Permanent Resident after his marriage to her in his country of birth in 1994 and having first arrived in the US in 1996. After my arrival, 2 weeks later my stepmom and I visited my homecountry and she absconded with my travel documents back to the US.

Two years later in 2000, when I was 14 I went back to live my my stepmother and dad. I had completed middle school that year, as I began in the 8th grade, graduated and was on summer break. My step mom and I once again took a trip back to my home country supposedly on summer vacation, she once again left me there (here) and took my green card, Home country passport, Social Security card (which was already in the US as I was expecting to return) and other relevant documents back to the US with her. I have not seen them since. I have been residing in my home country since 2000 up until this point.

My father acquired his citizenship in the year 2003, I turned 18 in 2004. My green card has an issue date of 1998 and an Expiration date of 2008. I was indeed residing in my home country at the time he acquired his citizenship, but not due to any fault of my own as outlined above. How should I proceed?

I did reside in the US at some point - 1998 and then 2000. I only have a graduation certificate from my middle school, but that's about it.

I do not want to apply for a certificate of citizenship as this is an expensive process, I would like you, prefer to apply for an American passport.

It is to be noted that my documents are still in the US. I can have access to them now however, as my father and stepmother are now divorced (approx 3 yrs) and he has them in his sole possession.

I would be able access to my expired green card, Expired homeland passport, his certificate of naturalization, his birth cert, my birth cert but what to do?

Do I get a visitor's visa, and process this application in person? Can I ask him to do the processing and send whatever he needs? Will I really need the certificate of Citizenship? Can the mere fact that I was not present in the US by no fault of my own, alone caused me to not have acquired Derivative Citizenship?

I would really like to begin this process before more time passes hence, what to do?

Hi Nat_Ber,

First, unless your step-mother legally adopted you I don't think her citizenship status can assist you. I believe it must be a legal parent-if she legally adopted you then her status could have been able to assist. So this is just between you and your father. Next, I don't think that it matters that your step-mother took all your documents-while this may have not been nice, I don't think the fact the she took your documents then will help you now, mostly likely because you were a minor and your father was ultimately responsible for you and your documents and it was his responsibility to get your documents back at the time.

So, moving on, with derivative citizenship what is important is the "date of the last act". To have gained derivative citizenship you must have met a number of requirements and the date that you met the last of the requirements, no matter what the order was, is your "date of the last act". It sounds like the "last act" for you would have been your father gaining US citizenship when you were 17 in 2003. So, from my research these are the requirements you must meet based on the fact that your father became a citizen in 2003:

1. at least one parent must be a US citizen in 2003 or before
2. your father must be your legal father, meaning he's on your birth certificate
3. you must be under 18 yrs old in 2003 or before
4. you must not have been married in 2003 or before
5. you must have been a legal permanent resident (had a valid green card) in 2003 or before
6. AND you must have been residing in the US in the legal AND physical custody of your father AFTER he became a US citizen. If you father became a US citizen in 2003, they you must have been residing in the US
And been in you father's legal and physical custody AFTER he became a US citizen and BEFORE you turned 18

With the facts available to me it does not seem you met the last requirement. You say you were in the US in 1998 and 2000, but you needed to reside in the US in the legal and physical custody of your father after your father became a US citizen in 2003. BUT, if your step-mother had legally adopted you then you may have a chance. If your step mother legally adopted you then she would also have been your legal parent and since she was already a US citizen then I believe you would have met all the requirements.

Note: stay away from applying for a Certificate of Naturalization for yourself. It is much harder to get and has a much higher refusal rate and it does the same thing that a valid US passport would do. If you ever file, ONLY file for the US Passport. Also, you need to be in the US to apply for a US Passport, but it's fine if you get into the US on a visitor's visa, you just need to be in the US. Also, do not tell US immigration when you are coming in that you are coming in to file for a US passport, just say you are visiting. US immigration does not like to let people in to do this.

Check out the requirements:
http://www.corporateprobono.org/archive/resources/resource1343.pdf

Lastly, all this is just my opinion and my interpretation of US citizenship rules. I have had a lot of experience with it but I don't have all the personal facts from you to know for sure, specifically if your step-mother had legally adopted you. Good Luck.

Nat_Ber,

Good info from tufa4311, but to clarify regarding the parent-child relationship. There many different ways to qualify as a child; born in wedlock, illegitimate, legitimated, adopted, certain siblings of adopted children, stepchild, and orphans.

To qualify as a stepchild for immigration purposes, a stepchild relationship must be created by the marriage of the step-parents prior to you turning 18 years old. No need for an adoption.

Good luck!

OK Nat_Ber, if what NYcityboy says is correct, it look like you are good to go. Now, "all you have to do" is file for a US Passport while in the US. I put quotes around "all you have to do" because it sounds easier than it is. I really had to fight for my US passport as they were initially going to deny it even though I met the qualifications. The truth is that these requirements are complicated and even those who make the decisions don't necessarily know all the facts. I had to work hard to prove to the "passport adjudicator" in the State Dept. that I met the requirements to the point where I sent him an email containing an attachment of a State Dept Bulletin that spelled out how they interpreted the law (Passport Bulletin 96-18, just Google to find it). In addition I had to have my father original Certificate of Citizenship, my birth certificate and statement of birth, my parents separation agreement, etc. Be sure to do your research and have all the documentation you need (and more). Finally, be prepared to make your argument to the passport adjudicator-and if need be, appeal a decision that you don't feel is just. All the luck..

OK Nat_Ber, if what NYcityboy says is correct, it look like you are good to go. Now, "all you have to do" is file for a US Passport while in the US. I put quotes around "all you have to do" because it sounds easier than it is. I really had to fight for my US passport as they were initially going to deny it even though I met the qualifications. The truth is that these requirements are complicated and even those who make the decisions don't necessarily know all the facts. I had to work hard to prove to the "passport adjudicator" in the State Dept. that I met the requirements to the point where I sent him an email containing an attachment of a State Dept Bulletin that spelled out how they interpreted the law (Passport Bulletin 96-18, just google to find it). In addition I had to have my father original Certificate of Citizenship, my birth certificate and statement of birth, my parents separation agreement, etc. Be sure to do your research and have all the documentation you need (and more). Finally, be prepared to make your argument to the passport adjudicator-and if need be, appeal a decision that you don't feel is just. All the luck..

Really true, be respectful, but assertive. Good luck! :)

Tufa4311 and NY City Boy, I am most grateful for your answers, you'd be surprised how much.

Tufa4311, I would definitely have access to my father's original Certificate of Naturalization, as he is seeking to "make things right". I have my birth certificate with my father's name clearly stated, I also have my Green Card, however it expired in 2008. I will also be renewing my passport that he has in his possession as soon as he gets it to me, which should be in a matter of weeks. Can this be used as identification, which is one of the requirements outlined on the DS-11 form? It really will be the only "international identification" I will possess, as I have lived outside of the US for all of my adult life.

My greatest problem at this point is getting into the US.

When applying for a Visitor's Visa, one of the criteria is that

(1) you state whether you have ever traveled to the US. I cannot say otherwise when I have indeed been to the US on two (2) occasions.

(2) when this is confirmed, naturally the fact that I have Permanent Resident status would then have been revealed, and I was informed that although I may have 'abandoned' said status, that would not prevent the authorities from denying me this Visa. What in fact will happen is this, I will be asked to sign a form relinquishing my PR status, and only then I may be granted this Visa! Would the Visitor's status and my relinquishing my PR status not compromise my applying for a US passport, esp. if I will be using this Passport as identification? It is said that if they were to grant me this Visa, then I would have been deemed to have two status and one cannot be a Visitor and a PR simultaneously.

Also, even if I were to deny ever visiting the US, could they not do a search via my father's and/or my data that I will have to provide on the form to ascertain this?

I am being encouraged to apply for a SB-1 Visa, however, I am quite apprehensive. I feel this way because it is not a surety that I will be granted this Visa, even though my situation appears quite convincing. This has a non-refundable fee of 380USD! If indeed I am approved, it states that I will then need to go through the 'regular immigrant procedures' like obtaining a Medical and Police Report. It is these ambiguities that have me confused. I get that I will need to obtain a Medical report and Police report, but what else is there? We do not have a lot of money to go around hence, it would have been nice to know what exactly would be expected of us and the necessary fees and time line, just so we can determine whether we can indeed afford this. The Visitor's Visa is a lot less expensive.

Finally,

(1) If I were to be granted this SB-1 Visa, would I then need to renew my Green card prior to going back to the States? This cannot be done if I am outside the US. However, if this is not the case that I will need to renew my Green card prior to going back to the US and the SB-1 visa is sufficient for me to re-enter the US, what if I wanted to return to my home country prior to being granted my US passport, will immigration demand my renewed green card (which I have no intention of doing because I simply cannot afford this)or is the SB-1 Visa sufficient for me to travel back to my home country until I am granted the US Passport.

(2) I will need to return to my home country in a matter of two weeks as I work and attend classes, what if the authorities in processing my Passport application require that I visit the Office once more in person? I would have already been in my home country and with a Visitor's Visa I would never be allowed to re-enter the US so quickly, and with the SB-1 Visa, I do not know that they would allow me to re-enter the US without my renewed Green Card, in other words can one travel on their Immigrant Visa without a green card and for how long would this be allowed?

(3) Does the Passport Office require that you visit them only once, that is when the application is dropped off? Is this when one is required to take an oath? Should I indicate that my father's address is my permanent address, instead of the one in my home country as this will bring about many questions? What of my place of employment, should I indicate this, or that am unemployed residing in the US? Can my father sign on my behalf when my passport gets delivered? What of my contact numbers, I wouldn't have a US contact number except for that of my father's, hence he would be the only one answering his phones at any particular time, should they call.

(4) I doubt my step-mother had adopted me, she had filed for me as simply the wife of my father and as a US citizen and my father had filed along with her then as merely a Permanent Resident. I guess I could always try to verify this with my biological parents. But I doubt its anything to the contrary. Even if this was so, she's not be likely to assist me, not in obtaining the required documents, nor in the whole Passport application process I can almost guarantee that, especially since her and my dad are now divorced.

(5) What else could the Passport Office require? I only probably have one graduation certificate from my middle school in the year 2000 and I am not even sure if I would be able to locate this.

I know this (length of my question and the questions generally) is more than any one person should ask for esp from a single individual, but Tufa your story was just so inspirational that I just cannot afford to give up.

Thanks again guys, anticipating your responses.

Ok NYcityboy, so what you're saying is that by virtue of my stepmother who was a US Citizen at the time when she and my dad had filed the petition on my behalf, that I may have already satisfied the criteria outlined by Tufa? How then would I prove this? Would I need something from her, or would my Social Security Number and other documents that my father have be sufficient to prove this? I spoke with my mom earlier who stated that she did not sign any formal adoption agreement, but the documents she recalled filling out and reading had something to the effect of "adopted child" or something. I am sort of wondering if this is just a general term used when a step-parent is filing the petition. My dad did say something to the effect of what NYcityboy stated as well, but thinks that we may need a lawyer. I know for a fact that if this will require the assistance of a Lawyer, that this will be going no where. He will promise, but it won't get anywhere. I just want to go the more inexpensive but sure route.

Nat_Ber: your questions,
Can this be used as identification, which is one of the requirements outlined on the DS-11 form?
-review the DS-11 section “Proof of Identity”. This will review what you can use as proof of identity. I used my valid Canadian passport, my valid Canadian birth certificate, my expired green card.
Regarding the US Visitors Visa: I can't offer any personal experience with this. I simply entered the US from Canada telling immigration that I was simply visiting my girlfriend. A Canadian does not require a formal Visa to enter the US for short term visits. Regarding the relinquishing of your Green Card: I do not know how this may affect you now or in the future but an important thing to remember is that your Green Card does not have to be valid now for you to have acquired US citizenship in the past. The important part is that it was valid when you met all the other requirements before you were 18 in the past.
Regarding renewing your Green Card: again, I don't have direct experience with this. When I applied for my US Passport with the DS-11 my Green Card had been expired for more than a decade – again, for me this didn't matter, it only mattered that the Green Card was valid before I turned 18.
Regarding if you need to re-visit the Passport office: I never had to revisit it, but I did have numerous contact with them via phone.