US Grandparent

[irishnomad]

I recently found out that my Grandmother, who was born in the US and then moved to Canada to marry a Canadian citizen, never gave up her US citizenship. I am curious to know if that means my father, being the son of a US citizen, was himself a US citizen, and if so does that mean I have a claim to US citizenship. If as I suspect, I am not automatically a US citizen, does having a US grandmother give me a greater chance of becoming a US citizen. Thanks for any info.

 

[BigJoe5]

If your father did gain USC through his mother he could pursue that claim from abroad at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate a via passport application. The law that applies to such a claim is the law that extsted on his date of birth. His mother would have to have met certain residency requirements prior to his birth abroad in order to transmit USC to her child(ren). If he is in the U.S. he could pursue the claim via form N-600 filed with USCIS.

You have no claim to USC UNLESS you are currently unmarried and under 18, have a qualifying USC parent and, that USC parent or his USC parent (Grandmother) meets the residency requirements under current INA 322, and make an affirmative application (N-600K) that must be approved and you would have to swear to an Oath of Allegience to the U.S. inside the United States in front of a USCIS Officer before turning 18. See: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex...3&tpl=/ecfrbrowse/Title08/8cfr322_main_02.tpl

If it turns out that your dad is a USC, he would be qualified to petition for you to immigrate to the U.S. on a form I-130. HOWEVER, unless he wants to relocate to the U.S. it is unlikely that he would qualify to file the required I-864, Affidavit of Support, on your behalf. The I-864 sponsor needs to have a U.S. domicile or be in the very small group that meets the exception to that requirement.

As a Canadian, you ordinarily would have easy access to the U.S. as a nonimmigrant visitor (no visa required) or as a TN worker (admission obtained at the border, if qualified with a qualifying job offer as a professional as listed and described in NAFTA and 8 CFR 214.6) See: http://ecfr.gpoaccess.gov/cgi/t/tex...div8&view=text&node=8:1.0.1.2.18.0.1.6&idno=8.

 

[Jackolantern]

Are you under 18? Did your father ever reside in the US before you were born? If yes, for how long? And how long did your grandmother live in the US before moving to Canada?

 

[anxiouscdn2]

I suspect the OP's situation is similar to mine. My grandfather was a naturalized US citizen with long enough US residence (as an adult citizen) to qualify my father for US citizenship under the laws in effect at the date of my father's birth. However, my dad was not born in the US, has never lived in the US or sought a US passport and has no interest in doing those things now, therefore my grandfather's US citizenship was irrelevant to my N-400 process.

On my N-400 form I claimed that neither of my parents is a US citizen. I suppose that this is not strictly true, but we don't have my long-dead grandfather's documentation, so the US government wouldn't easily recognize my dad as a citizen, which is fine with him.

It does feel like a US grandparent should give one a "leg up", doesn't it? However, if your parent hasn't/doesn't live in the US, it doesn't help.