Am I American?

[Lugianos]

Hello,
I would like to know my status towards the United States of America as a 23 year old young man, born in France to a French mother and a father with dual citizenship, French and American, but who has never lived on American territory, otherwise he has an American mother, my grandmother who lived there for decades. I was born 2-3 months before my parents wedding but my father legally recognized me within the hour of my birth. I also would like to know about the status of my little brother, who is 20 years old and who has the same things as stated above but who was born after the marriage of our parents.

Thanks for your infomations.

 

[newacct]

The main thing is that your father needs to have been physically present in the US before your birth for a cumulative total of 5 years, including 2 years after he turned 14, in order for you to be a US citizen from birth. (The same is true for your brother, except that it's the cumulative total before his birth.) You said your father has never "lived" in the US. Was he physically present there? Can those times total to 5 years? If not, then you guys don't get citizenship. (In addition, for a child born out of wedlock to an American father, like you, there are some additional requirements, including the father's written declaration to support you until you turn 18; I am not sure if you have that.)

There is a way to get US citizenship for children residing abroad whose US citizen parent didn't meet the requirements to pass on citizenship at birth: the INA 322 process, where the US citizen grandparent needs to have been physically present for 5 years, they file N-600K, then do interview and oath in the US. But the whole process including the oath must be done before the child turns 18, so this is no longer available for you or your brother.

Since your father is a US citizen, he could move to the US and petition you guys to immigrate (i.e. to get a green card) if you guys want to move to the US. You, as an unmarried over-21 child of a US citizen, would be in the F1 category with 7+ year wait for visa numbers. Your brother, as an unmarried under-21 child of a US citizen, would be in the Immediate Relative category with no wait for visa numbers, but the processing will take 1-2 years. But your father would have to be domiciled in the US until you guys immigrate, and I doubt he would want to do that.