I want a US Passport???

pbright

Hello,

I have just seen a thread about someone torn between an Irish or a UK passport...so i thought i would post my Passport Queries to you all, in the hope you can help me out. I am British, have a British passport but would really really love to have dual citizenship or a US passport(with the ability to live here just as my mum does.). My mum is a US citizen and moved here 22years ago and had me shortly after. She still has her US passport but lives and can work here(Dual citizenship) as does my Grandma. I also still have some family in the US. I would like to woerk there and plan on moving there in the future and it would be beneficial to have. This summer i cant get a j1visa to do a work america programme as its my final year at Uni...i hate not being able to go out there and not work yet my mum and Gran could. Does anybody know what i can do and what my options are. I have had a look at the US embassys site but its confusing to me.

Thanks in advance

redux

Unless someone who reads this is in a very similar personal position to you and has done this, I think the replies you get will be more assumption than anything and you should consult the Embassy for advice.

jenniferpa

Part of your problem is that while the UK doesn't have many problems with dual citizenship, the US does. I have 2 dual nationailty children, but coming from the other direction, as it were. In order to obtain a US passport you must establish your US citizenship and to do this you would have to renounce your British citizenship, swear allegience, register for the draft if you're male and the right age, and various other things. The advice to contact the embassy is spot on - rules have changed regarding this issue.

Are you certain you are entitled to US citizenship? There is a residency requirement for the US parent and it depends on how old you are. Were you born on or before November 13th 1986? If so your US parent must have lived in the us for 10 years, 5 of those years after the age of 14. Unfortunately I assume that you are older than 18? If you had been younger there is a relatively straightforward procedure to follow (forms and fees etc). As an adult the issue is clouded. The US department of state's website has some information
http://travel.state.gov/law/law_1734.html

Jennifer

pbright

I am 21. My mum lived in the US untill she was 19, but she may have had dueal citizenship before then...need to phone and ask. I would happily do all of the above, should i phone the embassy??

Thanks!

Cardew

pbright wrote:

I am 21. My mum lived in the US untill she was 19, but she may have had dueal citizenship before then...need to phone and ask. I would happily do all of the above, should i phone the embassy??

Thanks!

Phoning costs £1.50 a min I believe and you will not get any decisions given on the phone.

I suggest your Mother would be the best person(as an American citizen) to write to the US Embassy or to the USA setting out her details(and yours) and seek their advice on the procedure for you obtaining dual nationality.

jenniferpa

Even if your mother had dual citizenship the requirement is that she should have physically resided for 5 years in the us after the age of 14. She may fit into the requirement, she may not. Even if she doesn't you should be able to obtain expeditious naturalization via your grandparents. Please note this is naturalization, rather than dual citizenship. I'm reasonable certain that you could obtain citizenship but you may well not be able to retain your British citizenship. If you decide to go ahead with this, apart from calling the US embassy, you will also probably need to retain an immigration lawyer.

Jennifer
Edited to add
http://www.uscis.gov/graphics/fieldoffices/overseasoffices/romedistrict/london/aboutus.htm#anchorcontact is the link for the USCIS office in London. They have a list of forms and fees, which you will have to submit before they can determine if you are eligible.

alanrowell

http://www.schulzlaw.com/mschulz_citz.php

pbright

Thanks for this info. The person posting about the £1.50 a min charge is right...i wanted to be as clued up as possibile before hand and this is the place to come i thought . This is funny. My mum moved here when she was 19.....she was in the US up intill she was 18, with a 9month trip here when she was 17...but i reckon she could prove she was there when she was 14,15,16,17,18 which = 5 years. My grandparents are american. My american grandpa died 18years ago and my American Grandma has been living her for almost 15years now. We have some Aunts/Uncles there who could act as great references. where do you suggest i go from here. I would happily be a US citizen with dual citizenship as like jenniferpa said "its easy on to get it for britain, and hard for the US".

So please get back to me anybody with your views on my chances and how i should go about it. Thankyou all

pbright

Hi Jenniferpa(& anyone else with a clue ),

You posted on a thread of mine about applying for Dual nationality/US citizenship...and you appear to be very knowledgeable about the subject. I have called the embassy and they directed me to the site you posted the link for as they can not deal with it. My mother is clueless(shes american ) but she was born in the US(both my grandparents are US citizens however my grandad is now dead and my gran moved back here 15years ago). My mum was resident in the US untill she was 18/19(cutting it fine), how can we prove this? Also what do you think are my chances? What forms must i fill in? How would the whole process work? & can i live both here and in the US like my mother? Sorry for all the questions Jenniferpa but i am clueless and the US embassy info. confuses me.


Really really really appreciated.

Thanks.

jenniferpa

I'll do my best, but you must understand that my knowledge of this area is not exhaustive by any means - that's why there are immigration lawyers! Your first and most important stumbling block is going to be the residency requirement. I'm assuming that your father was not a US citizen, and you were not born out of wedlock (rules are different in those cases). Has your mother lived in the US at any other time after she was 18/19 but before you were born? Residency does not have to be continuous. I would imagine that DOS would use the passport records to establish if she was or was not living in the US. If they couldn't access those (and nothing would surprise me) you'd have to rely on documentary evidence such as school enrollment, taxes paid, banking records etc.

The embassy site says the following about physical presence

This is the actual time when the parent was physically within the borders of the United States. This means that any travel outside the United States, including vacation, should be excluded. Maintaining a residence in the U.S. does not constitute physical presence. Please submit old passports if available, as evidence. If unavailable, other evidence may be required.

The bad news is that if she didn't live here for the five required years you are, not to put too fine a point on, up a creek etc. I indicated that you might be able to establish citizenship via your grandparents, but on re-reading the relevant statutes that option is available only to those under the age of 18, so this wouldn't apply.

This is another link that might help
http://www.usembassy.org.uk/cons_new/acs/passports/citizenship.html

Were you ever included on your US Mother's passport? I'm assuming not, nor that she ever obtained a consulate birth certificate for you, otherwise we wouldn't be having this conversation. You will note at the bottom of that page is a contact address where you can lay out your situation.

If this option doen't work you will have to investigate the possiblity of getting a visa based on your family relationship. As an unmarried (I assume) 21 year old child of a US Citizen you may be entitled to a "first preference" visa. However, I have no idea how that works if your petitioning parent is not actually a US resident. Only your parent, spouse or sibling can be the family petitioner, not uncles or aunts. If you end up going this route, and you can get all the appropriate affidavits etc, you should start as soon as possible - there are only a certain number of each type of visas available to each country, so it could be several years before you actually get one, even if they agree you are entitled.

I hope this lot helps. If I think of anything else, I'll post.

Jennifer

pbright

Thanks jenniferpa

....you clearly know what you are talking about a damn site more than most. I just want as much info. on this as possibile before i take the next stages. I think i will be in the air, which is a shame because i really would love the ability to live and work in both countries. I would love to work in the states this summer Jenniferpa like i did last(because i was in between University years) but can not this summer as it is my final year. I was born here, my father is not a US citizen and i was never on my mums passport(although she says she was "considering it"...rookie mistake i say!!). However she was born in the US and lived there untill she was a little in to her 18th year....(then moved to Britiain but came back for 10weeks with me when she was 20). That means she was only the there for a little over 4years if the US counts that big gap 2years(which with i was born in) as the time she moved out...this does not work in my favour. However if they do not go on passport info, my mum was enrolled for School when she was 18 and thus we could submit evidence that she was in School till 19-(I think it would work in favour if they do not have her passport info back then. Also maybe the 10week vacation there with my mum when she was 20 and i was a child could work to our advantage. We could say she was moving back there but had to return for whatever reason? I do plan on lookin into this as soon as possibile. The other visa option...how does this work. Would my mum need to apply for this for me even though i am 21. Also do they view every application on an individual basis, i wonder if it would help that i have a degree(or will have as of July). Please come back to me with what ever your advice is on this, and what i should do now.

Your advice is really really appreciated Jenniferpa. (Your an angel)

Thanks.


Also theres an address to write to them....what do you think i should say? & secondaly what does the first preferemce visa entitle you to???

& i just spoke to grandma(american but lives here because we are here). She said that my mum did not work when she moved over here mid-way through 18 and that we could say she was on an extended visa holiday and my gran says that we could say she was just here and had to stay top have me, but then moved back when she was 20 for 10 weeks but it did not work. (my mum did also not get a job here untill she was 20) however she got her dual citizenship when she was 17 or 18 if this impacts.