Ask Me Help Desk - Canadian mom, American dad, but not married

Hey tufa4311 great thread. I'm in a similar situation right now. I would like to apply for my US passport. Currently I'm a Canadian citizen born to a Canadian mother and a father who is American, the thing is they were not married at the time of my birth nor were there any custody agreements put into place. It clearly states on my birth certificate the name and citizenship of my father. Is this not sufficient enough? Any help greatly appreciated!!

@SandyPants604: the laws allowing derivative citizenship change from time to time so I wouldn't be able to know where you potentially stood without those dates. In general, if a child's parents was not ever legally married then it is the mother that needs to be a naturalized US citizen. That said, in some cases if your parents were not married at the time of your birth but they got married later on, prior top your 16th birthday, it may be acceptable. As I mentioned, since the laws changed so much I would need to know the exact dates of your birth, parents marriage, parents legal separation/divorce, etc. There is a very good document you should review before asking anymore questions. It spells things out pretty clearly based on the changes in immigration laws. Please review it and see if it doesn't answer your questions. Here is the URL for a copy of "Chart C": http://www.cuny.edu/about/resources/citizenship/us-citizenship/CitizenshipforChildren/Nats_Chart_C-09.pdf

Thanks for the quick response! I just read that. I'm really at a loss right now because it seems like I am out of luck. I was born in April of 1984 parents never married. I was never legitimized and my mother never became a US citizen. Also I never applied for anything before my 18th birthday. There has to be some way I am able to receive US citizenship. My father still resides in the US and can provide me with necessary documents needed from him. I haven't been able to find another solution, you seem to be very knowledgeable could you suggest a way I could make this happen? It doesn't seem right that I could be denied just based on my illegitimacy.

{Mod note: Question moved to its own thread. Please don't piggyback on another thread-<>}

It doesn't matter that you never "applied" for anything before your 18th birthday - you don't have to apply before you were 18 you just need to have met the requirements before you were 18 (I didn't apply till I was 36 - but I met the requirements before I was 18). It does not look like you can meet the requirements-because you were not legitimized it was your mother that had to be naturalized. That said, don't give up just yet. I was born without my parents being married, but they ended up marrying a few years later so I didn't do much research regarding illegitimate children. I'll do some research and you should keep researching online as well. I'll update if I find anything.

@SandyPants604, when did your father become a USC?

@SandyPants604: after some quick researching I have found some documentation that may assist you. You say you were never "legitimized" but I do not know how you are defining that term or if your definition is correct. While there are the obvious ways to be paternally legitimized (legitimized by one's father), that being a father married to the mother, at least at one time, there are other ways to be paternally legitimized. As well, you may have an avenue if you were paternally legitimized or if you were not paternally legitimized. One of the two documents you need to review is "Chart B". Chart B will review the circumstances of citizenship acquisition if you were NOT paternally legitimized, URL: http://www.cuny.edu/about/resources/...CHART_B_08.pdf.

The other document you should review deals with if you were paternally legitimized, and how that could have been done, URL: http://www.justice.gov/olc/2003/ins_opinion.pdf

Legitimization can be done without a father ever having any form of custody and without ever having been married to the mother. For ex, is some cases all that is required is a blood relationship and a written statement by the father.

MOST important: understand that laws can be contradictory at times or at least not fully include everything that is required to not be contradictory. What this means is that, based on the law, or more importantly its interpretation, you may be able to fall into both categories: having been legitimized and having not been legitimized. What you want to do is review the two documents I listed, as well as others, and determine not only which category you could fall into, but if you could fall into both then which would be better for you. You have some reading to do...

Quote:

Originally Posted by tufa4311

@SandyPants604: after some quick researching I have found some documentation that may assist you. You say you were never "legitimized" but I do not know how you are defining that term or if your definition is correct. While there are the obvious ways to be paternally legitimized (legitimized by one's father), that being a father married to the mother, at least at one time, there are other ways to be paternally legitimized. As well, you may have an avenue if you were paternally legitimized or if you were not paternally legitimized. One of the two documents you need to review is "Chart B". Chart B will review the circumstances of citizenship acquisition if you were NOT paternally legitimized, URL: http://www.cuny.edu/about/resources/...CHART_B_08.pdf.

The other document you should review deals with if you were paternally legitimized, and how that could have been done, URL: http://www.justice.gov/olc/2003/ins_opinion.pdf

Legitimization can be done without a father ever having any form of custody and without ever having been married to the mother. For ex, is some cases all that is required is a blood relationship and a written statement by the father.

MOST important: understand that laws can be contradictory at times or at least not fully include everything that is required to not be contradictory. What this means is that, based on the law, or more importantly its interpretation, you may be able to fall into both categories: having been legitimized and having not been legitimized. What you want to do is review the two documents I listed, as well as others, and determine not only which category you could fall into, but if you could fall into both then which would be better for you. You have some reading to do...

@tufa4311: I have a question regarding derivative citizenship. I came to the states when I was 6 years old with a permanent residence card, both my parents became citizens when I was 13 years old. They have been telling me that I am a citizen through them & I don't need to apply for citizenship. I want to get a US passport but I have a fear of getting denied. What did you present at the post office? Can the post office deny you? Please advise! Thank you.