claim Us citizenship through parent over 21 born outside the US and out of wedlock.

sadlybrok

sadlybrok

New Member
hi , im a 26 years old man born in Haiti to a US citizen father , out of wedlock when i was 7 years old he came to Haiti he took me to the Us embassy he intended to transmit me the citizenship but he lacked some important documents so he left Haiti to Miami so he could get the documents as soon he arrived in Miami he fell ill and die , i was a child back then i thought it was over until last year someone told me that it was still possible to claim my citizenship trough my late father, i would like to know if its still possible if yes how can i claim it. he naturalized 4 years before i born and lived in US for 25 years. please help.
 
I'm assuming your mother was not a US national? For you to have become a US citizen through your father, the following things must be true:
1. Your father must have been physically present in the US before your birth for a cumulative total of 5 years, including 2 years after he turned 14
2. Before you turned 18, one of the following must have happened: a) you were legitimated, b) your paternity was acknowledged by your father, or c) your paternity was determined to be your father by a competent court
3. Before you turned 18, your father must have agreed in writing to support you until you turn 18, unless he is deceased.

From what you described, it seems that your father died before you turned 18? If so, item #3 above is automatically satisfied; you just need to provide his death certificate. Are you able to obtain evidence for the first two items above?
 
thank you for your kind reply
i was born out of wedlock but my father acknowledged me through my birth certificate and the paternity was determined by a competent court
and yes my father died before i turned 18 , i know he has more than 5 total presence in the US cause he entered the US in 1980 he got his green card through amnesty in 1986 he never left the country before 1986 cause he entered the country illegally i think those 6 years count as the total cumulative years then he satisfied enough physical presence to applied for naturalization and he naturalized in 1992 4 years before i was born i have his most recent US passport i made a FOIA they sent me his n400 application , his I485 application and his arrival and departures records
i would like to know which documents i can get to prove those 5 years at the embassy , i was thinking about his social security records but i dont how i will get them.
 
Hi @sadlybrok
Did you figure out how to address your case? I have a similar situation where I am trying to gather documents to prove physical presence.

@newacct
Any thoughts on physical presence documents? My situation is as follows:

-U.S. Citizen father, Alien mother, born out-of-wedlock
-He was naturalized over a decade prior to my birth and lived there long before that. (I only need to prove 5 according to the law when I was born so that shouldn't be an issue).
-Just before I turned 18, he signed an affidavit fo parentage where a) I was legitimated, and, b) the paternity was acknowledged by my father; in the affidavit there is also a clause where he agrees to support until I reach 18.

In short, from having done my homework, I am certain I have a 100% solid case to apply for a passport or Certificate of Citizenship through the acquisition of citizenship by birth abroad based on INA Sec 301(g) and 309. I will opt for the passport as it is the cheaper option.

Nevertheless, I seem to always hit a roadblock with the physical presence requirement even though there are plenty of years. Long story short: my father is the stubborn type. Although throughout the years he has provided me with documents which have strengthen my case, he suddenly fell off the radar and we haven't had contact in a long while. I decided to shift focus as I knew that no matter how old I am I will always have a case based on acquisition thanks to all the documents I already possess and the laws in place at the time of my birth. Now I would like to know whether there is a way for me to obtain documents of his physical presence on my own. The OP seems to have gone somewhere with the FOIA requests. What documents could I request using FOIA? Would a FOIA request to CBP on entries and exits suffice? I would think it would since it is an official government document listing official entries and exits, no? Question would be if I can request that myself.

I am aware that there are a number of documents listed as able to prove that requirement such as school records, church records, mortgages, social security and W-2 statements, etc, but those are all ones only he can get. I have been thinking of third person affidavits of people who knew of his physical presence but I am also looking to understand which documents have more weight and are ones I can get on my own as I don't want to waste resources on documents that would ultimately not play a decisive role.

And on another note, wouldn't his certificate of naturalization already count towards adding up to the 5 years of physical presence? I mean, in order for him to have been naturalized he would have himself had to prove physical presence in the first place. If not the whole 5 years, don't you think it should serve as proof of whatever time he had to prove?

Thank you both in advance and happy holidays.
 
newpikachu said:
And on another note, wouldn't his certificate of naturalization already count towards adding up to the 5 years of physical presence? I mean, in order for him to have been naturalized he would have himself had to prove physical presence in the first place. If not the whole 5 years, don't you think it should serve as proof of whatever time he had to prove?
Click to expand...
No, because one only needs physical presence for half (2.5 years) of the 5 years of continuous residence.
 
Hi @newacct

Thank you for your reply.

I am having a hard time understanding your response. You say "no" but then say I only "need physical presence for half" the time (2.5 years). So the Cert of Nat cannot be used as proof? or can it?

I understand that your posts are personal opinions and not legal advice, but since you seem to have been here a while I was wondering whether you have come across any similar cases and have opinions on specifically what type of documents have more weight. Many places I've gone to give similar lists with key documents such as the ones stated in the above post but rarely, if not never, have I seen information on what to focus on and what is "enough". I understand some might say well, enough until the officer is satisfied you do meet the requirements. But, is there, in your opinion one or two documents that would be "enough" for this to happen. Getting all documents would be a mismanagement of resources if only one or two key ones do the job.

Thank you for your input in advance.
 
newpikachu said:
I am having a hard time understanding your response. You say "no" but then say I only "need physical presence for half" the time (2.5 years). So the Cert of Nat cannot be used as proof? or can it?
Click to expand...
No, my point was that naturalization under the 5-year rule only requires 2.5 years of physical presence (and naturalization under the 3-year rule only requires 1.5 years of physical presence; there are also some exceptional cases where naturalization doesn't require any amount of physical presence), so his naturalization would only be able to prove 2.5 years of physical presence, not 5 years, even if they let you use that as evidence. Of course, his physical presence during those 5 years is documented on his naturalization application, and it's probably much more than 2.5 years, but you probably don't have a copy of his naturalization application.
 
Hi @newacct

Any thoughts on which documents have more weight, or in other words would be better than others in terms of proving physical presence?

Thanks in advance and for your earlier reply.
 
Hi @newacct

I don't mean to push but I was wondering: any particular reason why you avoid answering that specific question on your personal opinion on which documents for physical presence?

Please don't feel like you have to answer if you don't want to, I just felt like asking out of curiosity.

Have a great day.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top