Complicated situation. Need help on citizenship/reentry issue.

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11235813

New Member
Well, let me start off by thanking you for your help in advance.
My father is a US citizen, and he brought me over to live with him in the USA when i was 9, under the permanent resident status, with a green card and all that wonderful stuff. At age 14, i came back to my country for three months, and saw that my grandmother, whom i was very close to, didn't have much time due to the chemotherapy not having the efects we had all hoped. When i was 15 and a half, about a year later, i came back to spend time with my grandma like she had wished. About two years later i went back to the USA, for 7-8 months, in which i realised that my father hadn't filed for my citizenship, like he had previously sworn to me when i expressed my concerns.

Now i am close to turning 18, on january 23, and am very worried that i will lose my green card either by turning 18, or for being outside the USA for more than 6 months (which also happens to fall in this month). I cannot currently go back to live in the USA, because of my parents irresponsability with my school paperwork to and fro, it is much more suitable for me to study here and finish college. My question is, what can i do to keep my green card, or to become a full USA citizen so that i can one day go back to the US with no troubles, and also stay here for the time i need without needing to worry about losing my entry to this great country. Any help really appreciated, and i apologize for the huge paragraph, i felt the need to explain everything in case there were any details that would make a difference.
 
If you are close to 18, then when you were 9 that was around 2006? If you lived as a permanent resident at the time in the custody of your father, and he was a U.S. citizen at the time, then you automatically became a U.S. citizen. It doesn't need to be applied for; it's automatic. As a U.S. citizen, you can apply for a U.S. passport at any time (when you do it doesn't matter). You can also file N-600 at any time (again, when you do it doesn't matter) to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship to prove the citizenship you already have, though this is not mandatory.

The proof for either one will be your green card valid at the time you lived with your father + your father's proof of citizenship at that time + evidence you lived with him at that time. If your father is not cooperative, getting this proof might be problematic.

Also, you can use the green card to re-enter after an absence of less than 1 year. They may question you as to whether you've abandoned residence, but it shouldn't be a problem for you. Also, even if you didn't become a citizen (which you did), permanent residence does not expire at any age; it can only be abandoned, either voluntarily or by not maintaining residence.
 
It appears that you have already derived US citizenship through your father. You've probably been a citizen since you first got your green card at age 9. Go to the nearest US consulate and apply for a US passport before you travel back to the US. You will need your green card, birth certificate, proof that your father was a US citizen back then, and also proof of custody.
 
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