I'll try to be quick to explain. I have a friend, she's almost 60. She was born in Mexico, her mother an Italian and American father. When she was born, weeks after, they moved to the US. She was granted US Citizenship and her Mexican birth certificate was stamped by the US Immigration stating she's an US Citizen because of her parents.

Now she lost her US Passport. So in order to re-order one, as all people, you must prove you're an American. Her birth certicate is also lost, which she can get a new one in Mexico. Problem is, that original birth certificate with that stamp I mentioned earlier, won't be one it, meaning she can't prove that she's a citizen in order to get her US Passport again. So, I am now here to ask what can she do in order to help her.

I know this situation is rare but not uncommon. Any suggestions?

moved from Immigration News forum

Probably the same question we all have, did the old INS or the new USCIS keep any records of your immigration status? Wonder why they say to keep a copy of your USC certificate in case you lost it, could be in a fire or a natural storm.

DOS site says this:

"If your passport is lost you will need to first report it as such to the passport office before requesting a new one." Did you try that?

In looking at my wife's old case status, read this:

"During this step, USCIS initiates the background checks of the applicant/petitioner and identifies issues that may need to be addressed either during an interview or by asking the applicant/petitioner to submit additional information or documentation."

If they can do a background check, your name has to be in a computer someplace, if all else fails, would contact your senators office. Did this woman ever register to vote? Is she paying taxes?

Maybe things like voter registration cards ?? You have to be a citizen to vote.

How long ago was her most recent US Passport granted and how long ago did she lose it?

Is her father named on her Mexican birth certificate and does she have any information about her father's birth, so she can order a coy of his birth certificate/ naturalisation record?

Assuming they don't have any of her immigration records, especially considering she was granted citizenship 60 years ago, she should be able to proof she is entitled to citizenship through having a USC parent. That is, if she can't get a replacement passport without proving her citizenship again (! how crazy, since they KNOW they've issued her one before and so she's entitled to one )

And when she does get a new passport plus any identification documents she has to prove her right to citizenship, make sure she photocopies them and either gives them to a relative for safekeeping or puts them in a little fireproof safe, or something!

Show proof that father is a USC. Like what sundrop said, is her father named on her Mexican BC? It would help if she has a copy of his fathers BC.

Egad, to quote Archie, my spelling and grammar has gone to pot tonight! lol..

Any chance she has the passport number of the old passport written down somewhere? If so, the passport office may be able to verify citizenship that way.

That most certainly WON'T work. While the law forbids non-citizens from registering to vote, most places don't verify citizenship too well. I know that I've been registered in five different jurisdictions, and not once was I asked to demonstrate proof of citizenship in order to register. All I did was state that I was a citizen. They took my word for it and believed me. Likewise my recently naturalized spouse who speaks English with a strong accent was able to register after naturalization without providing any kind of proof of citizenship.

The problem is that, if a non-citizen registers to vote in a federal election, that is grounds for deportation and a permanent bar to ever being admitted into the US.

So showing you're registered to vote, without ALSO showing you are a US Citizen, may just be taken as a demonstration that you have violated the law, are deportable, and may never return to the US.

There have been a few aliens here on VJ who registered to vote before they became citizens, without realizing the terrible consequences it has for immigration status. It's a mess. Search the US Citizenship forum for keywords like "vote". I wouldn't mention anything about voter registration until AFTER the citizenship issue is proven.


I'm not sure what to suggest other than the obvious. See if the department of state can dig up any records from when they stamped that birth certificate, or when they issued the previous passport that was later lost. See if social security has a record of citizenship status that can be used. If there's any proof of the father's citizenship (birth records, social security records, passport?), and if the father is named on the birth certificate, that may be enough to establish citizenship. A good immigration attorney may be able to help, though I'd suspect there are some attorneys who would be worse than useless for this kind of unusual case.

One other suggestion: If she's accepted a job recently, she would have been required to provide proof of citizenship to her employer for her I-9 form, and her employer was probably required to keep a copy of that proof. So if this is the case, she might be able to get a copy of her passport or birth certificate with stamp from her employer's records. That may not be perfect, but it may be helpful in getting the department of state to re-issue a passport.

But the laws requiring I-9 forms are fairly recent, and if she's been retired, or simply not changed jobs in the past few decades, this may not be helpful.

I have no doubt that the Fed have a record of which people, with which name, and corresponding birth date, have been issued a passport, and which number it has.

Sorry to dredge up a sort-of-old thread, but I found this information as I was looking for something else. On the state department's fee schedule for passports, here's something that probably applies exactly to this case.

http://www.travel.state.gov/passport/get/fees/fees_837.html

File Search (Required when applicant is unable to present evidence of citizenship)

$60.00

In addition to the passport application, submit a written request for File Search to verify a previous U.S. Passport or Consular Report of Birth Abroad.

Applicants who are overseas and whose passport was lost or stolen are exempt from paying the File Search Fee. For more information, see 22 CFR 22.1, Item No. 6.

So it appears the situation is common enough that they have a standardized fee for it, and a written process. Probably just include the fee, and write a letter describing the situation and giving as much detail as you can about the previous passport. Talk to the people at your nearest passport acceptance facility for details.