Possibility of citizenship through step-parent?

L

Linis

New Member
I've been searching for a while for answers to my questions, and haven't quite found anything relevant to my situation.

I did read the FAQ and numerous other sites, but I wanted to clarify.

I am an Australian citizen by birth. When I was 6, my (Australian) mother and I moved to the US with my US-born step-father. My mother and I were granted permanent residence and green cards. We lived there for 6 years before moving back to Australia.

For the most part, I fit the criteria listed below, but I'm uncertain if 'parent' also includes 'step-parents', and I wanted to know if it's possible that I was granted US citizenship without being aware or told of it?

Anyway, thought someone might give me a clue before I went filling out forms for proof of something I never had! :D

... a child will acquire citizenship automatically if they meet the following requirements:

1. The child has at least one United State citizen parent (by birth or naturalization);
2. The child is UNDER 18 years of age;
3. The child is currently residing permanently in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the United States citizen parents;
4. The child is a lawful permanent resident;
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Linis said:
I've been searching for a while for answers to my questions, and haven't quite found anything relevant to my situation.

I did read the FAQ and numerous other sites, but I wanted to clarify.

I am an Australian citizen by birth. When I was 6, my (Australian) mother and I moved to the US with my US-born step-father. My mother and I were granted permanent residence and green cards. We lived there for 6 years before moving back to Australia.

For the most part, I fit the criteria listed below, but I'm uncertain if 'parent' also includes 'step-parents', and I wanted to know if it's possible that I was granted US citizenship without being aware or told of it?

Anyway, thought someone might give me a clue before I went filling out forms for proof of something I never had! :D
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Well I think the only way you could have gotten it was from your mother if she became a citizen. Since it seems she was only a permanent resident at the time and moved back to Australia she would have lost her residency status.

You would have known if you were a citizen by the interviews and ceremonies you would have had, along with a US passport, you don't become a citizen without knowing about it.

Now with the Step father thing, I'm not really sure how that part works, so maybe someone else might be able to summarize that for you. If you were under 18 and were officially 'adopted' by him then yes, but since he was probably just a step-dad then the only way would be for him sponsoring your mother (and you as a decendent of your mother) and then you citizenship journey would be with hers...
 
warlord said:
Well I think the only way you could have gotten it was from your mother if she became a citizen.
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If the stepfather legally adopted Linis before 16, I believe citizenship would have been automatic (depends on the time it happened though).

You would have known if you were a citizen by the interviews and ceremonies you would have had, along with a US passport, you don't become a citizen without knowing about it.
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No. Children don't have to go through any such process to obtain derived citizenship. It is not that uncommon to derive citizenship as a child without knowing about it. Some naturalized or adoptive parents didn't apply for a passport for their children, didn't apply for an N-600, and when the child grows up and attempts to naturalize via N-400, USCIS tells them they are already a citizen and should file N-600 instead. In other cases, somebody is held for deportation, and the lawyer looks at their situation and proves that the detainee already has derived citizenship, previously unknown to the detainee who was unfamiliar with the relevant laws.
 
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Another thing to explore is the possibility of getting back the green card and moving back to the US. You were taken to live outside the US as a child, so it may be possible to reclaim permanent residence by showing that the decision to leave the US was your parents' intent, not your own intent (there is precedent for such a thing). But the longer you have been an adult before attempting to do this, the weaker your claim is.
 
If the stepfather legally adopted Linis before 16, I believe citizenship would have been automatic (depends on the time it happened though).
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No. Blood relationship is important.

http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86757.pdf

7 FAM 1131.3 Adoption Does Not Confer U.S.
Citizenship
(TL:CON-68; 04-01-1998)
a. Adoption of an alien minor by an American does not confer U.S.
citizenship on the child. Adoption, however, is one way in which a U.S.
citizen father can legitimate his natural child born out of wedlock for
purposes of transmitting citizenship (see 7 FAM 1133.4-2 c(4)).
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Linis said:
I am an Australian citizen by birth. When I was 6, my (Australian) mother and I moved to the US with my US-born step-father. My mother and I were granted permanent residence and green cards. We lived there for 6 years before moving back to Australia.
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Did your mother obtain US citizenship?
 
Jackolantern said:
Did your mother obtain US citizenship?
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This is the thing, I think the poster would know if their mother became a citizen. I know the child will get derived citizenship from the parent and may not have known, but they would have at least known if their mother got it at all. This is why I'm thinking she never did and why they're asking if they can get it from their Step-father instead...
 
warlord said:
This is the thing, I think the poster would know if their mother became a citizen. I know the child will get derived citizenship from the parent and may not have known, but they would have at least known if their mother got it at all. This is why I'm thinking she never did and why they're asking if they can get it from their Step-father instead...
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I figure the OP's mother did not have US citizenship, but just want to ask to make sure and get that possibility out of the way.
 
I'm sorry! To clarify:

No, my mother was not granted US citizenship via naturalisation. She is still only an Australian citizen. I understand that I will not have received US Citizenship through her, hence why I ask about the possibility of it through my step-father.

I really don't think it was something they considered at the time, being quite content with our green cards, but it's occurred for me to ask now to know one way or another.

Another thing to explore is the possibility of getting back the green card and moving back to the US. [...] the decision to leave the US was your parents' intent, not your own intent [...] But the longer you have been an adult before attempting to do this, the weaker your claim is.
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That's a possibly I was considering, though I do understand it would be difficult considering how long I've been out of the US. I would like to move back, now that I have it within my means to do so.

Certainly, though I have lived longer overall in Australia, I do feel a tie to the country of my childhood. :)

Anyway, thank you all for your help! I appreciate it. I'm still not quite certain, but it has helped to show that it's possible and not just flat out impossible. I will be contacting my local US consulate to see what they say.
 
Linis said:
I'm still not quite certain, but it has helped to show that it's possible and not just flat out impossible.
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You cannot derive citizenship from a step-parent. For the purpose of naturalization (or citizenship derivation) you are simply not your step-parent child under INA. Therefore, the Child Citizenship Act you quoted in your original post is not applicable to you. You are simply not a "child" as defined by the act.
 
By the way, Linis, if you still under 21 and your stepfather is still married to your mother, he can petition for immigration visa for you as his "child" since definition of "child" for immigration purposes is not the same as for naturalization purposes and stepchildren are included....
 
bertgolz said:
You cannot derive citizenship from a step-parent. For the purpose of naturalization (or citizenship derivation) you are simply not your step-parent child under INA. Therefore, the Child Citizenship Act you quoted in your original post is not applicable to you. You are simply not a "child" as defined by the act.
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Adoption would turn a step-parent into a legal parent. The main questions here are whether the legal adoption took place, at what age did it happen, and what were the applicable laws at that time.
 
I'm curious if the parents are still together or not as well. Since what happens if he was adopted by the US-citizen, but then the mother got divorced and moved back to Australia with the US-step-father remaining in the US. Then wouldn't that nullify the adoption? Or what happend if the Step father died?
 
Once legally adopted by a step father...even after parents divorce, the step father continues to be the legal father (i.e. child support payments, etc, etc)

Your other option is:
If you still are a minor, you can hire an attorney and try to get your Green Card status back. You can claim that your move to Australia was circumstances beyond your control, there have been cases before that have set a precedence that parents and children can have different immigration intentions...but being a minor...move outside the country with parent(s) is circumstances beyond one's control.
 
harvydonald said:
By convention step father is someone who adopts you after marriage to your mother. If there is no adoption...that person is just mother's husband, not step-father.
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This is BS, sorry. Step-father is just mother's spouse and nothing more than that. When step-father adopts his stepchild he becomes "father" without any "step-"
 
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