No document to prove citizenship

[iamwhatiam80 92]

hello guys,

This is a complicated question. This is about a family member I know. Here is brief information about his case.

He was a permanent resident of US and applied for citizenship 30 years ago. He went to the INS (USCIS), took the oath and completed all the formalities with regards to naturalization. When he was about to be given the naturalization certificate, he was told that his case has some kind of a query pending and they said they will inform him later. In the meantime, he came back to his country on his green card and due to some family and personal problems, he never went back to US. He has a 10 year tourist visa with him right now.

He wants to know if he is a US citizen and if YES, how can he prove it because he has no document to prove it. What are his options? How can he have someone look at his case and get something to prove that he is a US citizen. he is now a senior citizen, he paid all his taxes regularly and has valid SSN.

Please suggest some valuable inputs. Thank you v much,

[bigdog 376]

http://www.uscitizenship.info/uscis-status.html, check using his application receipt number you can call or go to a local embassy I presume for a passport.

[iamwhatiam80 92]

@bigdog

He did not have a 13 digit application receipt number at that time. He does have the oath ceremony invitation letter with him.

http://www.uscitizen...cis-status.html, check using his application receipt number you can call or go to a local embassy I presume for a passport.

[Zen Den 18]

when he left, it's possible he was sent a letter regarding the pending status of his case but since he obviously doesn't know his status up to now, with his valid visa, he should come to the US, submit a request for cert of naturalization or send in inquiry letter to uscis as to whatever happened to the query on his case. there has to be a remedy for cases his his.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

A US Citizen or even an LPR doesn't get a Tourist Visa issued.

For his tourist visa they would have known about his previous greencard which I would assume was considered abandoned.

He should not enter the US on a tourist visa if he wants to stay indefinitely as that's fraud.

He needs to contact the US Embassy where he currently resides and ask them to help him get it sorted.

Honestly though given the fact that he was issued a tourist visa I would expect to find the naturalization application denied and his LRP status abandoned.

[iamwhatiam80 92]

@Bob 4 Anna

Thank you for your response. Although I would consider his LPR status abandoned but I am pretty positive about his naturalization. If I am not wrong, as soon as a person takes the oath, he is considered a US citizen. Is it not correct?

Can he come here on his tourist visa and goto the USCIS and get this sorted out? He remembers that 30 years back, his lawyer did call him and told him that his case was cleared. But as I said before due to family problems, he could not make it back.

A US Citizen or even an LPR doesn't get a Tourist Visa issued.

For his tourist visa they would have known about his previous greencard which I would assume was considered abandoned.

He should not enter the US on a tourist visa if he wants to stay indefinitely as that's fraud.

He needs to contact the US Embassy where he currently resides and ask them to help him get it sorted.

Honestly though given the fact that he was issued a tourist visa I would expect to find the naturalization application denied and his LRP status abandoned.

[nwctzn 55]

@Bob 4 Anna

Thank you for your response. Although I would consider his LPR status abandoned but I am pretty positive about his naturalization. If I am not wrong, as soon as a person takes the oath, he is considered a US citizen. Is it not correct?

Can he come here on his tourist visa and goto the USCIS and get this sorted out? He remembers that 30 years back, his lawyer did call him and told him that his case was cleared. But as I said before due to family problems, he could not make it back.

I would suggest that he should first try to resolve this at the US embassy or consulate of the country where he currently is. The US embassy should have means to communicate with the USCIS and/or Department of State to sort this out.

[nwctzn 55]

hello guys,

This is a complicated question. This is about a family member I know. Here is brief information about his case.

He was a permanent resident of US and applied for citizenship 30 years ago. He went to the INS (USCIS), took the oath and completed all the formalities with regards to naturalization. When he was about to be given the naturalization certificate, he was told that his case has some kind of a query pending and they said they will inform him later. In the meantime, he came back to his country on his green card and due to some family and personal problems, he never went back to US. He has a 10 year tourist visa with him right now.

He wants to know if he is a US citizen and if YES, how can he prove it because he has no document to prove it. What are his options? How can he have someone look at his case and get something to prove that he is a US citizen. he is now a senior citizen, he paid all his taxes regularly and has valid SSN.

Please suggest some valuable inputs. Thank you v much,

You are a US citizen once you take the oath AND receive your naturalization certificate. At that stage, they also take your green card but you are saying he traveled back with his green card. Might it be that your family member remembers being under oath to tell the truth during the interview? Maybe he is confusing that oath with taking the actual oath for citizenship. So I assume he took the oath to tell the truth during the naturalization interview and most likely passed all tests but then the interviewing officer could not make a decision and said that his case was pending. So at that stage your family member was still a green card holder only. He then left the US with his green card and meanwhile (as he learned from his lawyers later) his case got approved and most likely his oath ceremony was scheduled. However, your family member never showed up at the oath ceremony which basically is equivalent with abandoning the application. At the same time his green card status also ran out since he did not return to the US. So according to US records, he is most likely neither a US citizen nor a permanent resident and that is most likely the case why he got approved for a tourist visa. He could come back with his tourist visa and go to USCIS and they might have a look at his file. I suspect the scenario I described above is most likely true. As I indicated earlier, if he wants to save money for the trip to US, he could try and see if he can resolve this through a US embassy. So he does not spend all the money just to come to the US for nothing.

Edited January 16, 2012 by nwctzn

[iamwhatiam80 92]

@nwctzn

He took the actual oath of citizenship as well as the oath to tell the truth. He even has the oath ceremony invitation from the INS. He has almost all the documents to prove that he applied for the citizenship. After the oath, in the next room, he was told to pick up the certificate and that is where the clerk told him that there is a query on his case and they will inform him later and returned him his greencard.

Will there be any problem if he comes here on the tourist visa and makes an infopass appointment to get this thing sorted out or can he atleast get his old greencard reinstated?

You are a US citizen once you take the oath AND receive your naturalization certificate. At that stage, they also take your green card but you are saying he traveled back with his green card. Might it be that your family member remembers being under oath to tell the truth during the interview? Maybe he is confusing that oath with taking the actual oath for citizenship. So I assume he took the oath to tell the truth during the naturalization interview and most likely passed all tests but then the interviewing officer could not make a decision and said that his case was pending. So at that stage your family member was still a green card holder only. He then left the US with his green card and meanwhile (as he learned from his lawyers later) his case got approved and most likely his oath ceremony was scheduled. However, your family member never showed up at the oath ceremony which basically is equivalent with abandoning the application. At the same time his green card status also ran out since he did not return to the US. So according to US records, he is most likely neither a US citizen nor a permanent resident and that is most likely the case why he got approved for a tourist visa. He could come back with his tourist visa and go to USCIS and they might have a look at his file. I suspect the scenario I described above is most likely true. As I indicated earlier, if he wants to save money for the trip to US, he could try and see if he can resolve this through a US embassy. So he does not spend all the money just to come to the US for nothing.

[nwctzn 55]

He took the actual oath of citizenship as well as the oath to tell the truth. He even has the oath ceremony invitation from the INS. He has almost all the documents to prove that he applied for the citizenship. After the oath, in the next room, he was told to pick up the certificate and that is where the clerk told him that there is a query on his case and they will inform him later and returned him his greencard.

Will there be any problem if he comes here on the tourist visa and makes an infopass appointment to get this thing sorted out or can he atleast get his old greencard reinstated?

Well, this is indeed a very very interesting case. I frankly do not know if it would create a problem if he comes here with a tourist visa. Maybe our fellow VJers can comment further on that.

Did he try to go to the US embassy/consulate and try to solve this over there or did he go there and apply directly for a tourist visa?

In case he decides to come here believing that his local USCIS office can really solve this, I would suggest that he brings as many documents as possible with him including his old green card.

[Deputy Purple 1,294]

I still say the very fact that they issued him a B Class Visa indicates that he is neither a LPR or Naturalized Citizen.

If there is any question about his status then the last thing he should do is enter the US. By entering on a Visa he is claiming to be neither a US Citizen or LPR so how can he then ask USCIS if he is a Citizen?

When he got the B Visa didn't they ask him about his time in the US? I can't imagine they wouldn't have.

Also from the time frames you're talking about it sounds like he's been out of the country for decades which puts his LPR status as abandoned a very long time ago.

I'll repeat it again, he really needs to visit the Local embassy. I know they have the ability to issue passports to US Citizens who have lost all fo their documents while abroad. If he tries the enter on the Visa plan he could make things worse.

[Harpa Timsah 13,258]

If there was a query pending then his application was not approved at that time. He then left and abandoned US residency. He is not a USC, sorry.

[Miss smarty pants 84]

if he thinks he is a usc, he should go to the consulate and try to get a us passport. They will be able to help him sort it out.

[Darnell 8,478]

another approach -

use a telephone, call into USCIS, get a Tier 2 Human, an ISO,

and inquire for casefile status.

read up a bit, prior to calling - http://www.dhs.gov/files/publications/gc_1305658440339.shtm

[iamwhatiam80 92]

@Darnell

This is what I thought of doing it here as per that family members request.

another approach -

use a telephone, call into USCIS, get a Tier 2 Human, an ISO,

and inquire for casefile status.

read up a bit, prior to calling - http://www.dhs.gov/f...5658440339.shtm