Former US citizen - how can she get citizenship again? Please help

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peelua

Registered Users (C)
My friend was born and raised in USA, then married a Canadian, and became a Canadian citizen; after her husband died, she returned to USA and got a GC (one of those that you don't need to renew); she lived in US ever since. Now she is thinking about applying for citizenship, so she can get an American passport.

I thought she should apply using N-600. What do you think?
And what are her chances to get it?

Please share your opinions.
Thank you all very much!
 
If she was born in the US, she is a US Citizen so I think that's what she should submit. I am assuming she's not the child of foreign diplomats.
 
How could she get a GC if she's born here? They wouldn't issue her one as she's a citizen by birth (unless she was a child of a diplomat).
 
If she didn't renounce her US citizenship, she is still a US citizen. Becoming a Canadian citizen doesn't take away her US citizenship. She should use her birth certificate to get a passport. She doesn't need the N-600 if she has a US birth certificate.

How did she return to the US and get a GC? Who sponsored her for it?
 
I don't understand how she got the GC, she should still be a US citizen.

Can you explain what happened with her GC application just for information.
 
She may have become a Canadian citizen in the 70s when you lost US citizenship once you naturalised as a foreign citizen, right?
 
Thank you everybody for replies,
yes, she does have a US birth certificate, and also a GC; and yes, it was a long time ago, definitely before 1986, when she returned to US and got her GC. I don't know any details how she got it.
But now she needs to do something to get US citizenship, she cannot just apply for passport with her birth certificate, can she? And she definitely hasn't done anything that would bar her from citizenship - she paid taxes, didn't claim to be a citizen, didn't vote.
Maybe I'll ask her to post details.
But if she apply for citizenship, it should be N-600, not N-400, right?
Again, thank you for replies,
 
How do you think other born citizens apply for a passport? No need for either N-400 or N-600 if she was born here. I have no idea how she got that GC.
 
Did she renounce her citizenship, or did the US government tell her it was revoked? If not, she is still a citizen and she can just go ahead and use the birth certificate along with other acceptable ID and apply for a passport like any other born US citizen. No need for N-600; her birth certificate also acts as a citizenship certificate.

And she definitely hasn't done anything that would bar her from citizenship - she paid taxes, didn't claim to be a citizen, didn't vote.
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Nothing wrong with claiming to be a citizen or voting, given that she was a citizen all along (unless renounced or revoked as I mentioned above).
 
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That tells you how the DHS system check is. However, I am not surprised that they issued a GC to an American Citizen. I know a person who "didnt exist" in any system ( no SS number, no ID, no records etc.) but still got his Green Card and Citizenship. That was in Texas. So,, in this country its possible for an American by birth to get Green Card.
 
SunnyJ said:
That tells you how the DHS system check is. However, I am not surprised that they issued a GC to an American Citizen. I know a person who "didnt exist" in any system ( no SS number, no ID, no records etc.) but still got his Green Card and Citizenship. That was in Texas. So,, in this country its possible for an American by birth to get Green Card.
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LOL :D:D

and probably EVEN citizenship AGAIN LOL :D:D
 
SunnyJ said:
That tells you how the DHS system check is.
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They don't even have to go that far. Didn't the old GC forms ask for country of birth? Once they see USA it should have raised a flag in somebody's mind to stop and ask questions before issuing the card.
 
She may have lost her citizenhsip when becoming a canadian citizen before 1986...but anyhow, laws have changed on both sides now. I believe she can just use her birth certificate and apply for a US passport with the department of state. No need to deal with USCIS. Keep the green card as a souvenir. :)

Take a look at this:

http://www.americanlaw.com/dualcit.html
 
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It seems laws really changed since then - she said her parents sponsored her for GC, and an attorney was involved (that was 1976)

About applying for US passport with her birth certificate - it says on the application "I have not, since acquiring US citizenship... being naturalized as a citizen of a foreign state" - she cannot sign that, not without explanation.
 
peelua said:
About applying for US passport with her birth certificate - it says on the application "I have not, since acquiring US citizenship... being naturalized as a citizen of a foreign state" - she cannot sign that, not without explanation.
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Which is why the instructions explicitly say you can strike that clause out if it doesn't apply to you.
 
dms1 said:
Which is why the instructions explicitly say you can strike that clause out if it doesn't apply to you.
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I am looking at a passport application now, and it says "the portion which applies should be lined out, and a supplementary explanatory statement under oath by the applicant should be attached" - what kind of explanation can she attach?
 
peelua said:
I am looking at a passport application now, and it says "the portion which applies should be lined out, and a supplementary explanatory statement under oath by the applicant should be attached" - what kind of explanation can she attach?
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She should just document her timeline with respect to her emigration to Canada, her Canadian citizenship and her return to the US.
 
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