Citizenship Question

D

Deakon

Registered Users (C)
I was adopted in the Philippines at the age of 10 by a US citizen. I have an amended birth certificate with my US citizen adopted fathers last name.

At the age of 16 I came to the United States and received an Alien Card making me a permanent resident and also got my social security card.

I had a falling out with my adopted dad and became a ward of the state of Maryland. At the age of 18 my alien card was set to expire so we went to Baltimore to renew my alien card with my case worker. We were told that I did not have to do anything as I was adopted by an American Citizen at such an early age.

I am 37 now and all these years I have thought to be an American Citizen until I was flagged by E-verify. I have contacted Social Services and they have documentation of our visit with INS back in 1989 and that no other instructions were given to them regarding my Citizenship.

So my question is due to being adopted by an american Citizen, have I derived Citizenship through my adopted father and need to fill out an N-600 or do I not qualify and have to fill out an N-400?

Thank you in advance,
 
I believe you are already American Citizen since you were adaptod by USC parents. If you don't need the Naturalization Certificate for another purpose just apply for US passport and passcard which is pocket size passport and very good evidence to show US Citizenship.

Best Regards.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Deakon said:
I was adopted in the Philippines at the age of 10 by a US citizen. I have an amended birth certificate with my US citizen adopted fathers last name.

At the age of 16 I came to the United States and received an Alien Card making me a permanent resident and also got my social security card.

I had a falling out with my adopted dad and became a ward of the state of Maryland. At the age of 18 my alien card was set to expire so we went to Baltimore to renew my alien card with my case worker. We were told that I did not have to do anything as I was adopted by an American Citizen at such an early age.

I am 37 now and all these years I have thought to be an American Citizen until I was flagged by E-verify. I have contacted Social Services and they have documentation of our visit with INS back in 1989 and that no other instructions were given to them regarding my Citizenship.

So my question is due to being adopted by an american Citizen, have I derived Citizenship through my adopted father and need to fill out an N-600 or do I not qualify and have to fill out an N-400?

Thank you in advance,
Click to expand...

By law you are American citizen, but you need to update your status either through N-600 or by applying passport....You need to have documentation.....
 
It's not so certain that you became a US citizen. There are various conditions involved. Did you have another adoptive parent in the US? If yes, did both of them have US citizenship when you were under 18 and living in the US as a permanent resident? The pre-2001 rules required BOTH parents to have US citizenship, unless only one parent had custody.

Even if you did obtain US citizenship through your father, government agencies and the eVerify system will not recognize your citizenship until you successfully applied for N-600 or a US passport. Whoever told you that you did not have to do anything was dead wrong.
 
Thank you all for your very helpful responses.

I only have one adoptive parent which was my adoptive father from the Philippines(He was unmarried), it was thanks to him that I was able to come to the States. My amended birth certificate and final adoption was all done in the Philippines, and I'm not sure if the Philippine laws apply to US laws when it comes to adoption.

Could someone please confirm if the N-600 is what I need to fill out keeping in mind the following:

1. I am currently 37 years old.
2. My Alien Card has been expired since 1989! (This was due to some confusion between INS and Social Services)
3. I have since lost my passport I used to enter the US.

Also with my current Alien Card expired back in 1989, what are my chances at getting a passport using my expired Alien Card?

Thank you all again in advance,
 
Last edited by a moderator:
You will need to gather evidence for the following:

1. You were adopted before age sixteen.
2. You only have one legal parent (if you had two, you would need some other evidence such as whether they were married or divorced or deceased but you don't so I won't go into those details).
3. You were living in the US with your adoptive father before age 18 (even if only for a short time).
4. He was a US citizen at the time of #3.
5. You were a permanent resident at the time of #3 (your green card would prove this, even though it's expired).

Do you have any other valid government ID such as a driver's license? Given that your GC has expired, they'll want to see an ID other than your GC. So if you don't have a license, and can't get one due to the expired green card, you may need to replace your passport with the Philippines consulate.

For #3 you would provide documents such as school records.

Normally for #4 you would submit your father's US birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or US passport. But from the circumstances you described you may be unable to obtain that from him. However, for your immigration process he had to prove US citizenship, so there may be something in your adoption+immigration paperwork that you can use to prove his citizenship, and documentation of his citizenship would be available in an immigration database due to that process.
 
Jack,

I think the OP should invest in a lawyer if he can afford one or visit Catholic Charities, I find his case too complex for this board. He has an expired green card which is decades old, and with a small amount of $$, a consultation could be welcomed. Is possible the new USCIS doesn't even recognize him or have his case on file... He also needs to find his adoptive parent, because he can establish his adoptive credentials and support his application for a US passport. One other thing, why did he wait so long to establish US citizenship? Was the adoptive parent a native born US citizen or naturalized US citizen from PH?
 
Technically even though his GC has expired, his status as a LPR still exists. So at least he should be able to renew his GC and able to work.
 
Jackolantern said:
You will need to gather evidence for the following:

1. You were adopted before age sixteen.
Yes, I was 10 years of age and adopted in the Philippines.

2. You only have one legal parent (if you had two, you would need some other evidence such as whether they were married or divorced or deceased but you don't so I won't go into those details).
Yes, my adoptive father alone had legal custody of me and have taken his name with an amended birth certificate.

3. You were living in the US with your adoptive father before age 18 (even if only for a short time).
Yes, I have school records to prove

4. He was a US citizen at the time of #3.
Yes, he was born and raised in Syracuse, New York and have never lost citizenship during his time in the Philippines as he was in the Air Force.

5. You were a permanent resident at the time of #3 (your green card would prove this, even though it's expired).
Yes, I still have my Green Card and this does indeed prove my Legal Permanent Residency

Do you have any other valid government ID such as a driver's license? Given that your GC has expired, they'll want to see an ID other than your GC. So if you don't have a license, and can't get one due to the expired green card, you may need to replace your passport with the Philippines consulate.
Yes, I have a valid Driver's License and have always been able to obtain a DL from every state I have lived in, have a State ID, have a voter's registration card and registered for Selective Services in 1992


For #3 you would provide documents such as school records.

Normally for #4 you would submit your father's US birth certificate, naturalization certificate, or US passport. But from the circumstances you described you may be unable to obtain that from him. However, for your immigration process he had to prove US citizenship, so there may be something in your adoption+immigration paperwork that you can use to prove his citizenship, and documentation of his citizenship would be available in an immigration database due to that process.
I have a notorized copy of my adoptive fathers birth certificate, I am in contact with him and have his full copperation in trying to find a solution.
Click to expand...


Jack and others:

Thank you all so much for taking the time, I appreciate and welcome comments. You all have lightened my stress in trying to understand the immigration laws.

I was just very concerned of getting denied if I fill out an N-600 due to having a expired Green Card.

Again thank you.
 
Al Southner said:
Jack,

I think the OP should invest in a lawyer if he can afford one or visit Catholic Charities, I find his case too complex for this board. He has an expired green card which is decades old, and with a small amount of $$, a consultation could be welcomed. Is possible the new USCIS doesn't even recognize him or have his case on file... He also needs to find his adoptive parent, because he can establish his adoptive credentials and support his application for a US passport. One other thing, why did he wait so long to establish US citizenship? Was the adoptive parent a native born US citizen or naturalized US citizen from PH?
Click to expand...

I have visited USCIS o two different occasions and have gotten no where and that thye have to get my records from Archives in Baltimore.

I am in contact with my adoptive father and has his full cooperation. It wasn't a matter of waiting, it was more because there was a misunderstanding between USCIS and Social Services and my case worker was told that there was no further action required due to being legally adopted in the Philippines at such an early age.

I have been living here for 21 years and never questioned my Citizenship status due to having been able to obtain a job, a Driver License, and a Voter's registration. If it wasn't for E-verify flagging me, I would have never found out that I was not a US Citizen.
 
Jackolantern said:
... government agencies and the eVerify system will not recognize your citizenship until you successfully applied for N-600 or a US passport. .
Click to expand...

Or more precisely, they won't recognize your USC until you show them acceptable evidence. Simply applying for N-600 or US passport is the first step. You must still notify the other government agencies of the change in status once you have obtained the said documents.
 
rpranesh said:
Technically even though his GC has expired, his status as a LPR still exists. So at least he should be able to renew his GC and able to work.
Click to expand...
The issue here isn't if the OP is authorized to work with an expired GC , but rather what he needs to do to prove USC to social security agency.
 
Deakon said:
I was just very concerned of getting denied if I fill out an N-600 due to having a expired Green Card.
Click to expand...

Apply for the passport first, as it is much quicker. Then once the passport is approved, apply for the N-600 certificate. The N-600 is not mandatory for proving your citizenship, but considering the circumstances behind your citizenship it would be advisable to get your own certificate so you have your own non-expiring primary proof of citizenship.

If it wasn't for E-verify flagging me, I would have never found out that I was not a US Citizen.
Click to expand...
You apparently are a US citizen. What you found out was that the government has not recorded the fact that you are a US citizen.

I have a notorized copy of my adoptive fathers birth certificate, I am in contact with him and have his full copperation in trying to find a solution.
Click to expand...
For the passport application, they'll want his actual birth certificate or US passport, not a copy.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Bobsmyth said:
Or more precisely, they won't recognize your USC until you show them acceptable evidence.
Click to expand...

In the context of the OP's situation, applying for a US passport or N-600 is the only way to establish acceptable evidence. With the possible exception of landing in immigration court for some reason and having a judge end the proceedings by issuing an order declaring US citizenship.
 
Deakon said:
I have visited USCIS o two different occasions and have gotten no where and that thye have to get my records from Archives in Baltimore.
I have been living here for 21 years and never questioned my Citizenship status due to having been able to obtain a job, a Driver License, and a Voter's registration. If it wasn't for E-verify flagging me, I would have never found out that I was not a US Citizen.
Click to expand...

Deakon,

Remember, there is a difference between a US citizen and a Legal Permanent Resident. You are a LPR, which means you are NOT an American citizen. You will only become a citizen upon satisfying the requirements, because it might come back to bite you if you ever claimed to be a US citizen. I am glad that your adoptive father is helping out, just collect the necessary documentation and see if the DoS/USCIS can be of great help. I suspect that your best chance will be a US passport, which might require you going to a regional passport agency, bring your adoptive parent and see if you can win the blue book. Are you in Maryland? I am not sure if MD has a regional passport office, you might have to drive an hour into the DC office, located on 19th and L, NW.
 
I'm not a lawyer either, but I don't see why Al Southner is so confident in asserting that the OP is "NOT an American citizen". It's particularly odd to assert this and then recommend the OP apply for a US passport, which of course could only possibly be successful if he were a USC already. Deakon, please don't put too much faith in comments on this forum.
 
anxiouscdn2 said:
I'm not a lawyer either, but I don't see why Al Southner is so confident in asserting that the OP is "NOT an American citizen". It's particularly odd to assert this and then recommend the OP apply for a US passport, which of course could only possibly be successful if he were a USC already. Deakon, please don't put too much faith in comments on this forum.
Click to expand...

I can see why you are anxious, you are missing the point on the issue. He's not a US citizen until a determination has been made by the relevant authorities. For example, submitting an application for naturalization doesn't automatically confers US citizenship, a determination has to be made that the applicant meet the requirements. In the case of the OP, since his immigration file is messed up, we can't assume that he is a US citizen, but applying for a US passport bring to full bear the decision, US citizen or NOT. It will be at that time that the OP can evaluate his options, naturalize assuming that his adopted father didn't do proper documentation to confer US citizenship on him.

I find it curious that you are recommending that the OP not put too much faith in the comments on this forum, but you are on the forum yourself. Worst of all, you have commented on a whole lot of threads. Did a I just read a posting of a something drinking a "hypocrite juice'?

http://forums.immigration.com/search.php?searchid=602212&pp=&page=5
 
Al's last comment is very contradictory. Applying for a US passport requires already having US citizenship when applying for it; the passport does not grant US citizenship, it is proof of US citizenship which already exists. So calling the OP an LPR and then telling him to apply for a passport is a contradiction.

Someone who met the conditions for deriving citizenship through adoption+immigration via a USC parent, does not have to actually do anything to become a US citizen. They became a US citizen on the day the relevant conditions were met. They only have to do something to obtain *proof* of that US citizenship and have the government agencies recognize their citizenship. The OP's N-600 will show that he had citizenship from 1989 or 1990.
 
Al Southner said:
You are a LPR, which means you are NOT an American citizen. You will only become a citizen upon satisfying the requirements, because it might come back to bite you if you ever claimed to be a US citizen.
Click to expand...

It's possible to be both a LPR and a USC. There have been several posters in the past who have reported that their N-400 was denied on the fact they were unknowingly already a USC. In the OP's case, it appears he has been a USC all along but never applied for N-600 to show proof that he was.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top