ADVICE NEEDED ASAP!!

[jlump 0]

gonna make this long story short..

At time of my birth in Canada my father was a U.S. Citizen and it is stated on my long b.certificate. I have been married for 16 1/2 yrs to a U.S. citizen and have resided here in U.S. for last 6yrs and before that lived in Canada.. (time went by so quick and some bad advice) has left me nervous because i have never established any paperwork to reside lawfully in U.S. I have 2 kids who we did get their SSN when they were babies because of my hubby U.S. citizenship. Unfortunately when I was younger my mother never did any paperwork to establish our dual citizenship status as she was born a U.S. citizen but changed her citizenship around the time of my birth in 1971. Immediately after my birth our family lived in Detroit from my birth to 1975. I don't know where to start the process and if its quicker to go thru my dad or my hubby to establish either dual citizenship or green gard status or what.. Im really confused and need help and need to get started on something that should have been done years ago..HELP!!!

[nickbits 43]

I think you can only claim US citizenship through your parents until you are 18 years old.

See:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=8554a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD#

Edited August 5, 2010 by nickbits

[Amanda2020 1]

I think you still can but you so on your own now...that just states under 18 the parents have too declare it, since the child cannot on their own. I would contact the embasy to ask about that according to US immigration laws, a person born to US parents outside of US never loses their citizenship.

[Amanda2020 1]

To go about it you will need to fill oit am application for counsular report of birth abroad, http://vancouver.usconsulate.gov/content/uscitizens/pdfs/DS-2029.pdf is the form you need to obtain and fill out. Instruction is on the second page, however yes this is for under 18, we filled out this form for my daughter's birth cause she was born here to my US fiance so she now obtained dual. Here is the information for over 18 http://vancouver.usconsulate.gov/content/textonly.asp?section=uscitizens&document=first_time_derivative_claims you will need to go straight for passport.

[Hugglebuggles 60]

Ok, so your Dad is a natural born us citizen? And he lived in the US? For how long? There are certain residency requirements depending on the year you were born. According to Wikipedia (great source I know...) If you were born between 1952 and 1986 (which I'm assuming you were based on the information you provided) your father would have needed to live in the US for at least 10 years before you were born. At least 5 of these years must have occurred before he turned 14. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_nationality_law

If you qualify for claiming Us citizenship through your father than that is most definitely the way to go.

If you are not found to be a US citizen, even though you have been married to your husband for 16 years and have lived in the US for 6 years, you would need to go through a process to obtain a green card. You are not automatically eligible for citizenship through your marriage. You would need to file an I-485 and I-130 to adjust your status in the US based on your marriage to a US citizen. This process would also involve an interview where you would need to explain why you have been living in the US for the last 6 years illegally. After this, you would need to maintain US permanent residency for 3 years before applying for citizenship.

I would definitely do everything in my power to exhaust the first option before you attempt anything else. Perhaps a consultation with an immigration lawyer would do you some good.

[jlump 0]

thanks everyone.. i'm going to apply for my passport first...i'm having my mom gather all her info..marriage license, some mail from when she lived in u.s., her canadian landed immigrant papers which she filed in 1975, her high school report card, and her canadian citizenship papers which she received in mid to late 80's.. along with other proof.. it appears there are a few different ways but the cheapest and easiest is getting a passport rather than applying for certificate of citizenship... all of this is so confusing but i appreciate all of you offering advice.. very very much appreciated.. i will let u guys know how this goes..i'm praying this will work so I can get my SSN card next and be LEGAL!!