Advice on 2 year-old nephews citizenship.

J

javierdem

New Member
Hello,

I was wondering if somebody could give me some advice for my brother and his children.

This is the background info:
-My brother was born in 1968 in Chicago, IL. and lived there for about a year.
-My parents (Dad is a citizen, Mom is a resident) moved back to Mexico and have lived here since then.
-We have family in the US and visit often. (I was born in Mexico but lived with our US family for a few years to obtain my citizenship)
-My brother has studied and worked only in Mexico but visited the US several times in his 38 years, sometimes for a few months.

This is the problem:
-He has three 2 year-old sons (triplets) that where born in Mexico
-His wife is a Mexican citizen
-He wants to apply for the boys' citizenship
-He has all the requirements except he can't prove he's lived in the US for the 5 years required for children with only one US citizen parent.

Does anybody have any advice? Should he just apply for Permanent Residency and wait?

Any help and information will be appreciated.

Than you.
 
Hi Javier,

I am afraid we're going to have to work a bit more with this before you can get a clear picture:

Well, after reading your post more carefully you seem to know the process quite well. I am not sure about the intricacies of the case, but I think you're right, he might have to apply for permanent residence for his children and then once they get admitted as permanent residents (probably involving some sort of presence in the U.S. albeit temporary they will become citizens. I am not very knowledgeable about the citizenship rules for U.S. citizens who live abroad and haven't spent enough time in the U.S. It seems pretty clear your brother is a U.S. citizen but it is not that clear with his children. The state department and USCIS have quite a bit of information about who is a citizen and who is not.


My 2 cents.
 
Your brother is a citizen despite having lived in Mexico almost all his life. He does not need to apply for permanent residence or anything like that. Your two nephews are also citizens because their father is American even if they were not born in the states. All he needs to do is go to the embassy or consulate with a copy of his birth certificate and register the children if he wants. They will be issued a certificate of birth abroad proving they are US citizens.
more info below:

http://travel.state.gov/family/family_issues/birth/birth_593.html
 
AzBlk,

Thanks for your post. I have to say I have read some of these rules in the past, but I couldn't remember the specific rules. I know that for some cases the parent has had to live for a number of years in the U.S.
 
Since we are talking about birth of a child to one USC and one alien parent, neither of the children are citizens unless the father has met the 5yr residence criteria.

http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html

Under these circumstances, I believe the father needs to apply for GC (I-130+CP) for his children, then when they "take up residence" in the US, they can immediately apply for N-600 and/or a US passport.

N-600K might also be appropriate, but I'm less aware of the specific requirements of that route.
 
My wife's father was american and her mother is South African. He was some how able to get her a birth certificate issued at the US embassy.
 
AzBlk said:
Your brother is a citizen despite having lived in Mexico almost all his life. He does not need to apply for permanent residence or anything like that. Your two nephews are also citizens because their father is American even if they were not born in the states. All he needs to do is go to the embassy or consulate with a copy of his birth certificate and register the children if he wants. They will be issued a certificate of birth abroad proving they are US citizens.
more info below:

http://travel.state.gov/family/family_issues/birth/birth_593.html
Click to expand...

I agree this post..
 
What about the third nephew ? :D

AzBlk said:
Your brother is a citizen despite having lived in Mexico almost all his life. He does not need to apply for permanent residence or anything like that. Your two nephews are also citizens because their father is American even if they were not born in the states. All he needs to do is go to the embassy or consulate with a copy of his birth certificate and register the children if he wants. They will be issued a certificate of birth abroad proving they are US citizens.
more info below:

http://travel.state.gov/family/family_issues/birth/birth_593.html
Click to expand...
 
Javierdem,
Since your brother never spent 5 years in the US past his 14th birthday the triplets are not US citizens automatically. However, if any of the 2 paternal grandparents of the triplets is a US citizen and has spent 5 years of their adult life in the US, then the triplets can be issued citizenship certificates.
 
Thank you to everybody for your help. I am reading everything I can to figure this out.

Triple Citizen said:
Javierdem,
Since your brother never spent 5 years in the US past his 14th birthday the triplets are not US citizens automatically. However, if any of the 2 paternal grandparents of the triplets is a US citizen and has spent 5 years of their adult life in the US, then the triplets can be issued citizenship certificates.
Click to expand...

This is very interesting because my father is a citizen and he did live for over 20 years in the US. But only him, my mother is still a resident.

I am aware of the Citizen Born Abroad registration but I knew my brother didn't meet the 5 year requirement. I didn't know about the possibility of my father transferring citizenship to my nephews. What is the appropriate process called?

Thanks again for all the great advice!
 
Hi javierdem -

Your brother will have to file N-600K applications for his children. This form allows for the citizen parent (your brother) to use citizen grandparent physical presence since he does not meet the 5 year requirement. The instructions for the form give detailed description of what is needed to file the application. Below is an excerpt:

10. Proof of Required Residence or Physical Presence in the United States - Any document that proves the U.S citizen parent(s)' residence or physical presence in the United States. This proof may include but is not limited to the following:
A. School, employment, military records;
B. Deeds, mortgages, leases showing residence;
E. Affidavits of third parties having knowledge of the residence and physical presence.
D. U.S. Social Security quarterly reports;
C. Attestations by churches, unions, or other organizations;

11. Proof of U.S. Citizen Grandparent(s)' Required Physical Presence in the United States - (Only required for applicants seeking citizenship under section 322 of the Act whose U.S. citizen parent(s) does not meet the physical presence requirement of five years in the United States, two years of which were after the age of 14).
Documentation establishing that the U.S. citizen grandparent(s) met the required physical presence requirements.

12. Current Status of Citizen Grandparent.
An application filed by a citizen parent that relies on the physical presence in the United States of a citizen grandparent cannot be approved unless the citizen grandparent is a U.S. citizen, if living, or if deceased, was at the time of his or her death a U.S. citizen.


Basically your father (the US Citizen grandparent) must provide the same proof as your brother is required to. Also, he must provide proof of his US citizenship. You will need to submit this application to a Service Center or local District Office (of your choice) in the US.

Hope this help.

Regards -
 
Excellent!

I believe this is exactly what I was looking for. The next time we travel to Chicago to visit my relatives we'll know what forms to fill out and what to do.

On behalf of my family, thank you all so much for everything.
 
Hi,

I have just one more question about applying for an N-600K.

I've read the instructions and I know what I need for the application. But I was wondering how exactly does the process take place?

I understand that N-600K is for children living outside the US so we have to travel there first. But what is the approximate time line for the process? After applying will we be told if we were approved? How long will we have to stay in the US? If approved will we have to wait for an interview?

Again, I truly appreciate all the hel I have received.
 
Actually, your nephews do not need to travel to the US to get this filed since this is a N600K. Only your brother does - since he is the one submitting the applications. Of course your father would need to go as well if he as to gather documents proving his 5 years stay in the US. In fact if you have all the documents - you can mail everything from Mexico.

I cannot give you an exact processing date, but you should prepare yourselves to wait any where from 6 months to one year - depending on where you filed. They will correspond with you via postal mail so it is important you give them a reliable address and check on the status from time to time.

After they start processing your case and are close to making a decision, your brother (and possibly your father) and his kids will be invited to attend an interview. It is usually a formality for children under 12 since there aren't many questions they can be asked if all the documents were provided. The purpose of the interview is for the Officer to ask the citizen parent (applicant) some questions and to physically see the children. I believe this is to ascertain once and for all that the relationship is bona fide. I think applicants are told right there at the interview if they get the Certificate of Citizenship and they walk out with it.

Good luck.
 
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