Is it too late to get a citizenship for me

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seattle206

Registered Users (C)
I was born in Thailand in March 1983 and been in America since 1984 (when I was 1.) My father has been a citizen since 1991 and from surfing the net today I just found out that if you were under 18 before Feburary 27, 2001 and one of your parents is a US citizen I can get a citizenship. I calculated everything and during the time I was only 17. The following month I would of been 18.

Here is the only catch. I am 26 now turning 27 in March. So is it too late to get a citizenship at this age? At the time of Feb. 27, 2001 I was only 17. Now 9 years has almost passed, is it too late?

If I do qualify what proof do I have to show them? How long does it take to get my citizenship and no testings needed right?
 
seattle206 said:
I was born in Thailand in March 1983 and been in America since 1984 (when I was 1.) My father has been a citizen since 1991 and from surfing the net today I just found out that if you were under 18 before Feburary 27, 2001 and one of your parents is a US citizen I can get a citizenship. I calculated everything and during the time I was only 17. The following month I would of been 18.

Here is the only catch. I am 26 now turning 27 in March. So is it too late to get a citizenship at this age? At the time of Feb. 27, 2001 I was only 17. Now 9 years has almost passed, is it too late?

If I do qualify what proof do I have to show them? How long does it take to get my citizenship and no testings needed right?
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Its never to late to obtain an immigration benefit. If you don't qualify for citizenship, then you could get your green card through you father.
 
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Did you have a green card on Feb 27 2001? If you did, then you are automatically a citizen and can apply for a US passport with the following documents: Your original green card, your original foreign birth certificate containing your fathers and mothers names, proof that your father was a citizen in Feb 2001 (his old passport or original citizenship certificate).
 
I already have a greencard (alien/permnament resident card). I have a state ID and a social security card.

So if everyone else is saying I am already a US citizen what do I have to do to get the paper?? How much would I have to pay? Is there a fee?
 
Doesn't the OP need to be in physical and legal custoy of his father when his father became a US citizen?

You can apply for N600 to get the naturalization certificate and/or you can just apply for a US passport which is also a proof of US citizenship. I would recommend that, if you can spare some money, apply and get the naturalization certificate. N600 is about $460 http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/us...toid=a936cac09aa5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD
 
Yes I was under custody of my father when he had his citizenship back in the 90s but I am 26 now is it too late? So if I just get a passport will they have my US citizenship record in the computer data? Good lord it costs $460 for the N600? So if I get the N600 there is no need to apply for the citizenship test then right? Not that the test is hard or anything because I know I'll ace it but I just don't want to go through the hassle.
 
No it is not too late to get the naturalization certificate. You are a citizen and you have been a citizen since your father became a US citizen. There is no deadline on applying for passport and/or naturalization certificate. You will not have to take any test or anything like that. If you want to save money right now then just apply for US passport and apply N600 later when you have money.

I am curious what happens if you had travelled on your foreign passport and GC after you automatically became a US citizen. Have you travelled on your foreign passport and GC? In any case, apply for your US passport and/or N600
 
I went to Canada with a greencard when I was younger in 1996 though but never had any foreign passport unless you want to count the greencard as one. And that was 5 years after my father became a citizen.

I just found this out last night and the whole time I've been applying for jobs I tell the employers I am a resident alien and they always ask for my alien number. Haha. I even lost a job because my permenant resident alien card expired. This is a relief. My dad never told me anything.
 
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Another thing if I just apply for a passport now is that all I need to show when I apply for jobs or do I need the certificate?
 
seattle206 said:
Yes I was under custody of my father when he had his citizenship back in the 90s but I am 26 now is it too late? So if I just get a passport will they have my US citizenship record in the computer data? Good lord it costs $460 for the N600? So if I get the N600 there is no need to apply for the citizenship test then right? Not that the test is hard or anything because I know I'll ace it but I just don't want to go through the hassle.
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It is not too late. You are technically a US citizen and you were a US citizen automatically since you were a US permanent resident and you were under custody of your father and your father became a US citizen (all met citizenship requirements). So get a copy of your father's passport or your father's certificate of citizenship and birth certificate and your driver license and social security so you can apply for a US passport while you can still apply to obtain a certificate of citizenship (N-600) for yourself (Note: Getting a certificate of citizenship is an option but it is very useful and it can be used as a backup.)

Once you get a US passport, please update your social security, I-9 form at your employer so you can get benefits. You can apply for federal jobs or security clearance jobs.

Congratulations!
 
You are welcome. Don't forget to show your green card when you apply for a US passport. Sorry I forgot to mention that. Sorry. :)
 
It sure looks like you are a citizen. However, you may have difficulty with proving that your father had legal custody and you were living with him nine years ago. You'll probably need some help from your father to get the custody papers if he was divorced/separated, or proof that he was still married to and living with your mother at that time. And you'll also need proof that you were living at that same address with him, like school records.
 
for a person to derive citizenship, through his parent being naturalized (when he is under 18) , does the candidate have to be an LPR , or does it not matter at all ?
 
To address your question about being "too late" for citizenship ... unless you lost your LPR status or committed an offense that was serious enough to permanently disqualify you from citizenship, it is never too late. Even if you didn't qualify through your father, you could still qualify on your own merit based on being an LPR for at least 5 years, even if you're 90 or 100.
trialanderror83 said:
Its never to late to obtain an immigration benefit.
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That is not true. It is never too late for an LPR to get citizenship, but it certainly can get too late to qualify for some other immigration benefits, like becoming an LPR in the first place.
 
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