Register Birth of US Citizen Abroad After Parent Renounces?

twizzler3b

New Member
I have a baby due in 2 months here in Thailand, I am a US Citizen, I am not married to the mother. I am planning to renounce my citizenship this year, probably a few months after the baby arrives. I'm still about 4-5 months from completing my second citizenship, which of course I'll complete before renouncing my US Citizenship.

I have 2 questions:
1 - Can I register my child's birth of US Citizen Abroad AFTER I renounce my US Citizenship, as long as I was a citizen at the time of birth?
2 - If the answer to question #1 is yes, how long do I have to do this? I see on the government site they say to do it "as soon as possible", but I've read in other places that as long as you file the form agreeing to support the child until 18 years of age BEFORE the child is 18, the child can still gain citizenship. Ideally I'd like to wait until the child is old enough to make her own decision about whether or not she'd like to be a dual citizen of the only country that enforces a citizenship based form of taxation. Let her decide if the benefits outweigh the burdens.

Thank you very much for any information!
 
You probably need to consult a lawyer for specifics. I don’t think this is a subject that comes up often.
Conditions have to be met under law at the time of birth so in my lay understanding you being a citizen at the time would probably meet it. However, I’d think there might be a problem getting the affidavit of support accepted after you renounced citizenship as there would not technically be any way for US authorities to enforce that if you are no longer in any way subject to US law. And if they don’t accept it they won’t register it.
 
Usually, it's the situation at the time of birth that matters for transmission of US citizenship to a child born abroad at birth. So, usually, renunciation after birth has no effect on the child's citizenship. However, in the case of a child born out of wedlock to an American father, there are some additional conditions that must be met before the child turns 18. One of those conditions is the father's written agreement to support the child until the child turns 18 (unless the father is deceased before the child turns 18). The main unknown in your case is whether these additional conditions (that must be satisfied before the child turns 18) can happen after you renounce citizenship. And this situation of renouncing citizenship and at the same time maybe passing citizenship to a child born out of wedlock but waiting on one of the conditions until later, is such a rare edge-case situation that I don't think there's going to be much precedent or guidance on it.

A literal reading of the law (INA 309(a), codified as 8 USC 1409(a)) doesn't seem to require that you be a citizen at the time those additional conditions are satisfied. But the government might interpret it otherwise. I am not a lawyer and cannot give you advice on this.
 
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