Birth Abroad Out of Wedlock - US Citizenship and Passport Application

LeftNearNF

New Member
I have searched the forum extensively and learned a lot about the process of citizenship transmission. I am just exhausted from searching everywhere and hope someone can pass on a little insight. I was convicted of an offence 3 years ago in Canada and my hopes of applying for a US citizenship were lost, that is until I recently learned that I may already be a US citizen.

I was born in Ontario Canada in 1989 (I'm 25, with no CRBA). My father was born in the US and has legally resided in the US his entire life, although we did have a relationship during my early life when he visited frequently and I have many pictures of us together which support this fact. My mother is Canadian, she took my father to court in Ontario, after he stopped supporting us, for legal custody and child support. She was successful in her claims and the Ontario court acknowledges my father’s paternity over me. I cannot confirm at the time of writing this whether or not my father’s name appears on my Birth Certificate, but my mother asserts that his name is on it, I will confirm.

I have ascertained that the following documents are required for a passport application to verify US Citizenship when born abroad, out of wedlock, USC father, with no CRBA filed:
  • Your foreign birth certificate (translated to English) - I HAVE THIS
  • Evidence of citizenship of your U.S. citizen parent - MY FATHER IS SENDING HIS BC TO ME
  • Your parents' marriage certificate - MY PARENTS WERE NEVER MARRIED
  • A statement of your U.S. citizen parent detailing all periods and places of residence or physical presence in the United States and abroad before your birth - I HAVE REQUESTED THIS FROM MY FATHER
My questions are:
- Since my parents were never married, what document can be submitted in place of a marriage certificate?
- Do I require any other documents not listed on your website to verify my US citizenship (blood test)?
- What documents are usually used to support a parents physical presence in the US for 5 years before birth and 2 years after 14th birthday? (my father meets these requirements)
- I was under the impression that I needed to file a N600 form for Certificate of Citizenship, but have since learned that I can apply directly to the Toronto US Consulate for a passport. This is a lot cheaper and apparently will suffice for proof of citizenship for travel purposes, is this accurate?

Due to my criminal record in Canada, travelling to the US for interviews is likely not an option without a US passport.

Any insight is GREATLY APPRECIATED. I've been racking my brain for days on this. Thanks!
 
In order to get U.S. citizenship from your father by being born abroad out of wedlock, not only does your father have to have been physically present in the U.S. for 5 years before your birth, including 2 years after turning 14, but also certain additional requirements have to be met before you were 18:
  • While you were under 18, either 1) you were legitimated, 2) your father acknowledges your paternity in writing under oath, or 3) your paternity was established by a court
  • While you were under 18, your father agreed in writing to support you financially under you were 18
The first requirement is definitely met (a court established his paternity). But I am not sure the second one is met in your case. It must be your father voluntarily agreeing in writing, and witnessed by some official. A court or law requiring him to support you financially is insufficient. You should figure this out. And since you are over 18 now, it's too late to fulfill it now if it wasn't fulfilled.
 
In order to get U.S. citizenship from your father by being born abroad out of wedlock, not only does your father have to have been physically present in the U.S. for 5 years before your birth, including 2 years after turning 14, but also certain additional requirements have to be met before you were 18:
  • While you were under 18, either 1) you were legitimated, 2) your father acknowledges your paternity in writing under oath, or 3) your paternity was established by a court
  • While you were under 18, your father agreed in writing to support you financially under you were 18
The first requirement is definitely met (a court established his paternity). But I am not sure the second one is met in your case. It must be your father voluntarily agreeing in writing, and witnessed by some official. A court or law requiring him to support you financially is insufficient. You should figure this out. And since you are over 18 now, it's too late to fulfill it now if it wasn't fulfilled.

I hadn't seen anywhere else that written support was required as an unsubstitutable item. I thought an officially established paternity and proof of a bona-fide relationship was sufficient. Is this incorrect?

I'm not sure if he ever submitted a written support letter to my mother or to the courts but I can find out.
 
@newacct it appears you are partly right. I have received email response from the U.S. Consulate confirming that the DS-5507 Affidavit of Parentage and Physical Presence form must be completed for Out of Wedlock births abroad who are now over 18. This along with the parents valid photo ID and BC is all that they require for passport application! On that form it does have a section for agreeing to support the child until 18 years of age but I don't suppose it applies. The Consulate representative said it is still necessary to sign that section because it states that biological parentage is acknowledged.


The U.S. consulate has been very prompt and has responded to multiple inquiries within 10 minutes of sending the email. Not at all what I expected. Thanks everyone!
 
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I hadn't seen anywhere else that written support was required as an unsubstitutable item. I thought an officially established paternity and proof of a bona-fide relationship was sufficient. Is this incorrect?

I'm not sure if he ever submitted a written support letter to my mother or to the courts but I can find out.
This page summarizes the requirements for transmission of U.S. citizenship to children born abroad.

This part of the Foreign Affairs Manual deals in detail about transmission of U.S. citizenship to children born abroad. In particular, 7 FAM 1133.4-2 (starting on page 27) deals with the requirements for children born out of wedlock to an American father.

7 FAM 1133.4-2(3)(a) says
A statement of financial support is required except when the father is deceased. A father who refuses to sign a statement of support prevents his child from acquiring U.S. citizenship. A child who cannot present a written support agreement by the father cannot be documented as a U.S. citizen unless it is proven that the father is dead. This is true even if the father cannot be located; unless dead, the father must be located and comply with the requirements of section 309(a), as amended, before the child's 18th birthday.
This says the requirement must be complied with before the child is 18.

7 FAM 1133.4-2(3)(b) says
Since section 309(a) specifies that the father must agree in writing to support the child, a local law obliging fathers to support children born out of wedlock is not sufficient to meet the requirement of that section.
This means it cannot be substituted by a court order.

7 FAM 1133.4-2(3)(c) says
Form DS-5507 Affidavit of Parentage, Physical Presence, and Support contains a statement of support which satisfies the requirements of new section 309(a). The statement may be in any form, however, as long as it complies with the following:
[...]
(v) It must be dated before the child's 18th birthday.
This again says the statement must be dated before the child is 18. I don't see how this can be met if it wasn't met before you were 18.
 
This page summarizes the requirements for transmission of U.S. citizenship to children born abroad.

This part of the Foreign Affairs Manual deals in detail about transmission of U.S. citizenship to children born abroad. In particular, 7 FAM 1133.4-2 (starting on page 27) deals with the requirements for children born out of wedlock to an American father.

7 FAM 1133.4-2(3)(a) says

This says the requirement must be complied with before the child is 18.

7 FAM 1133.4-2(3)(b) says

This means it cannot be substituted by a court order.

7 FAM 1133.4-2(3)(c) says

This again says the statement must be dated before the child is 18. I don't see how this can be met if it wasn't met before you were 18.

Ok, I have read through the text you have provided at the link. It appears you've identified valid points that contradict what the US Consulate representative had implied. I have since replied to them asking if form DS 5507 submitted with today's date will satisfy the written financial support requirement or not.

I will reply with their response once I receive it. I hope enlightening the representative to this oversight does not jeopardize my claim to citizenship, although I suspect that it is not a Consular Officer to which I am speaking.
 
@newacct
Here is the email I sent to the consulate in regards to the assertion that written financial support MUST be signed and dated by USC parent before 18th birthday of child:

(c) Form DS-5507 Affidavit of Parentage, Physical Presence, and Support contains a statement of support which satisfies the requirements of new section 309(a). The statement may be in any form, however, as long as it complies with the following:
(i) It must include an agreement to provide financial support;
(ii) It must specify that such support will continue until the child's 18th birthday;
(iii) It must be in writing;
(iv) It must be signed by the father under oath or affirmation before a consular officer or before any other U.S. or foreign official authorized to register births or administer oaths; and

(v) It must be dated before the child's 18th birthday. It may be dated any time prior to that date, including prior to November 14, 1986.
According to the previous text taken from the U.S. Department of State Foreign Affairs Manual Volume 7 Consular Affairs it states that the form DS 5507 must be dated before my 18th birthday. This is not possible seeing as I am already 25 years of age. Will the written financial support requirement not be met if I submit form DS-5507 dated with today’s date?
He responded:

You are correct, in your case, we just require this affidavit to establish your father meets the physical presence requirement since you are already over 18.

Your documents and application will be reviewed by the consular officer on the day of your appointment, the consular officer will also conduct an interview with you to be able to determine whether you have claim to citizenship through your father.
From this I gathered that the aforementioned WFS (written financial support requirement) would not be met with the DS5507 being dated presently,
and possibly I would not qualify and that would be up to the discretion of the CO, so I replied:


Thanks for your prompt replies. Will I need to satisfy the written financial support prior to 18th birthday requirement? If so, how can this be done?
He replied:

You may bring all the photos you have from when he visited you here in Ontario. The court documents where it states he is your father and the child support decision of the court. It is up to you to gather as much information as possible to prove he is your father and he was part of your life.
From this response, I gather that the WFS requirement might not be so black and white as: condition (v) is not met therefore you're not a citizen. I believe it will be up to the Consular Officer to judge the entire case and make an informed decision whether or not there is a blood relationship there and whether or not my father acknowledged me. He did at one point, and I have lots of photos to prove it as well as an Ontario court decision, so for this reason, I think I will be given a US passport.

Do you have enough experience with this situation to speak otherwise? I really appreciate first-hand information and your knowledge appears to be broad on this topic. Thank you for your attention, it is not being taken for granted.
 
I don't know. They are talking about the proof of blood relationship, and court establishing paternity/father acknowledging you and stuff; these are all requirements but those are all separate requirements from the requirement for agreement for financial support. You have documents for many of those requirements, but none of that helps with the requirement for the written agreement. This person may be confused as right after saying "you are correct", they mention the physical presence requirement, which is not what you were asking about.

This person may just be avoiding saying "yes" or "no" on a point of law over email, and saying, "the consular official will decide" (which is understandable since these citizenship rules are very complex and people emailing them often may not have a correct or complete description of their situation, so it would be dangerous to make determinations like that over email). I believe the consular official will not approve it if you can't provide the written agreement of support from before you were 18.

Maybe you can try to see if your father ever made a written signed statement to support you until 18, perhaps as part of some court proceeding or something.
 
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