Naturalized Mother (1986) who never applied or sent certificate request for biological child (ME)

grey715

New Member
My situation:

I came to USA and was raised, grew up in California. My biological mother and I originated from the Philippines were I was born. My mother met my (then) stepfather who was in the US Navy military and at some point they married in the Philippines and later remarried in USA after or upon our arrival coming in 1979. My mother became a naturalized citizen in 03/1986, received her citizen certificate, etc.. making her now a citizen of the USA which in turn would have allowed or enabled me to also become a citizen.

Present day: My mom is 65 yrs old. I am now 41-yrs old. Long story short... all my and our lives we have resided here in USA- California and have never returned to Philippines or traveled outside of USA. No particular or special reason ... just never had desire.
My problem and issue why I am here on forum is that I found recently that my mom who became a citizen in 1986 NEVER APPLIED or sent in application request for my own personal certificate of citizenship, N-600.
I never thought there to be any issue or problem, or never thought to question my citizenship status until recent when I took a job offer to work for a corporation, nationally recognized. Granted I have worked since 1989 and have the social security earnings to prove such. However, apparently I have always worked for smaller, business owned employers and thus my I-9 work verification was never an issue. Well now it is and
now what my mom did not do way back when has come to affect me.

I went to US-CIS and they advised that I was in the system and was technically a citizen and gave me the N-600 form to complete and send in along with a $600.00 payment fee. I mailed the application in along with relative, corresponding documentation... sent certified mail to the local US-CIS center. I received my application back in mail 2-days later instructing me to send/ forward application to address in ARIZONA, CA.

My problem is in the meantime because of the 9/11 event, every employer will ask for the I-9 verification process and I will continue to face the same problem of not having proper documentation to verify my work authorization. I have a valid CA-Driver license, and only copies of green card, passport, both with no expiration dates and both with pictures of myself as a child.. which look nothing like me as an adult.
I have a copy of a birth certificate from the Philippines, but it does not read ¨Birth from abroad"therefore document is unacceptable to employers. I cannot get a passport, nor a replacement SSN card because both need proper identification and immigration status paperwork.

US-CIS states it will take approximately 6-months or more to process my N-600 application, which worries me because I need to work and maintain employment to survive and most important provide and raise my 10-year old daughter, who fortunately is in fact a US citizen, however born out of wedlock.
And no her biological father who is also US citizen is not going to marry me or assist with this process of obtaining my citizenship papers.

My mother, the citizen tells me to be patient and wait. Easy for her to say. When I asked her WHY she did not follow up and ensure to obtain citizenship papers for me her daughter whom she brought to USA.. her response and answer was, ¨its not her fault, my stepfather was supposed to be taking care of paperwork¨.
Myself, I am very annoyed, irritated and frustrated from this whole situation and circumstance.

If there is any suggestion or feedback anyone may have on my situation, or ideas how to deal with the I-9 work authorization process I would greatly appreciate and welcome your advice. Thank you for hearing my vent. ------

San Jose, CA.
 
Apply for a US passport. It is much faster (only takes weeks; can be expedited) and cheaper than the Certificate of Citizenship.
 
Hi thank you. That was a suggestion from the US-CIS clerk , however i have NO original alien resident/ green card identification documents.
Clerk suggested I go to San Francisco State dept and apply for passport but again, all I have is a CA driver license.
No original SSN card - and SSA will not issue a replacement.
No original passport, green card, etc. --- Only have copies and all copies do not indicate any expiration date.
 
Hmm, I'm thinking that perhaps you could apply for a replacement/renewal of your green card (with I-90), and once you apply you can immediately go in to a USCIS office and get an I-551 stamp (which is proof of permanent residency just like the green card). This will at least give you proof of some status (permanent resident) quickly, which you can use to get a passport and/or prove you are authorized to work. The problem is that you know you are legally a US citizen, so still claiming to be a permanent resident is kind of incorrect.

P.S. if you don't have a physical Social Security card or green card, how were you able to satisfy the I-9 documentation requirements?
 
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