Deported for an Agravated felony but we think he is a US Citizen? What to do next?

[Shub 78]

He is pretty much SOL, even if he filed a N-600 and they issued his citizenship certificate then they would say all he needs to do us come claim it but they will never let him back in the country to do so. It apparently happens quite a lot but rarely ends well so he may as well get used to living in Honduras.

Or he could just apply for a US passport at the US Embassy in Honduras, using his dad's birth certificate or his mom's certificate of naturalization and his own translated birth certificate establishing his blood relationship to a US citizen.

Note I'm not saying that this would work, but if we're going to throw hypotheticals around, this may totally be possible.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Shub

[Nica_In_Love 98]

It's easy to judge somebody when they have walked the wrong path in life. Anyway, like some have stated, it seems like his dad may be able to start by contacting the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and see if he can report the birth now.

I really hope your cousin is able to learn from this and leave the gang life behind. And tell his dad thank you for serving this country.

[katie1990 23]

This is true, that once a parent becomes a US citizen then the child automatically becomes a citizen as well. However, he still has one parent that is a US citizen. It is arguable that he is a US citizen from birth.

To be eligible for US citizenship when born abroad, certain requirements must be met.

At least one parent needs to be a US citizen at the time of birth. There needs to be proof of relationship between the US citizen parent and the child. The US citizen needs to meet residency requirements in the US to be able to pass along US citizenship to their child.

In your case, the father is a US citizen from birth. The rules are the same for father's whether their child is born in our out of wedlock. He needs to have maintained physical presence in the US for at least 5 years before the birth of his child, 2 of which must have occurred after the age of 14.

It is possible that your cousin could be a US citizen by birth. He would need to file a CRBA form to see if he is eligible. If he is over 18, he will need to submit a signed statement why the birth was not reported earlier.

You can read more here: http://honduras.usembassy.gov/repbirthab.html

Also found this link interesting: https://cliniclegal.org/sites/default/files/231718_clinic_08.pdf

Wow thank you ! The father was legally married in Honduras to my aunt as soon as he found out my aunt was pregnant,so he was born in wedlock, and signed the Honduran birth certificate .

[katie1990 23]

It's easy to judge somebody when they have walked the wrong path in life. Anyway, like some have stated, it seems like his dad may be able to start by contacting the U.S. Embassy in Honduras and see if he can report the birth now.

I really hope your cousin is able to learn from this and leave the gang life behind. And tell his dad thank you for serving this country.

Thank you and he says "my pleasure" , and yes he sure has, now that he sees what he has gone through and everything he is going through now he sees life in a total different light and is more than ready to change his life, If he gets a chance to come back his plane ticket will be straight to Alaska far away from all the bad influences and his past. Thank you!

[katie1990 23]

We just got off the phone with an attorney who said would call us back after doing a little research,, Yes indeed he told us that he is a US CITIZEN and should have never been deported in the first place, SInse he was born to a married couple with one US citizen that meets all the requirements , he just needs to go to the US embassy in Tegucigalpa and apply for a US passport and take all the supporting documents. He said he could have been a US CItizen because of my aunt but thats a whole different ball game and its much easier to do it through his father but still take my aunts Naturalization certificate just to make it a little more legit. My grandmother will be going to the US embassy since they don't seem to be answering the phone and make sure what it is they have to do. Wow it sucks that ICE is so quick to deport people without following proper procedures and making sure they are indeed deportable. My cousin could have lost his life because of ICE's error but yes I know he also contributed to this mess. Crossing fingers things are as easy as the attorney said.

[belinda63 3,038]

Just FYI we all make mistakes, just some of us get caught. All of us do stupid things, some just have more serious consequences than others. Don't judge unless you are willing to walk in their shoes.

[Shub 78]

We just got off the phone with an attorney who said would call us back after doing a little research,, Yes indeed he told us that he is a US CITIZEN and should have never been deported in the first place, SInse he was born to a married couple with one US citizen that meets all the requirements , he just needs to go to the US embassy in Tegucigalpa and apply for a US passport and take all the supporting documents. He said he could have been a US CItizen because of my aunt but thats a whole different ball game and its much easier to do it through his father but still take my aunts Naturalization certificate just to make it a little more legit. My grandmother will be going to the US embassy since they don't seem to be answering the phone and make sure what it is they have to do. Wow it sucks that ICE is so quick to deport people without following proper procedures and making sure they are indeed deportable. My cousin could have lost his life because of ICE's error but yes I know he also contributed to this mess. Crossing fingers things are as easy as the attorney said.

Sounds about right to me, based on the information at hand.

This is neither here nor there, but once this is resolved, and if you'd like, perhaps you can investigate the possibility of suing the government for wrongful deportation. Wrongful deportations happen and victims do get compensation for it, if vindicated in court.

To all you naysayers... this is the citizenship forum, if you're applying for naturalization or did naturalize already, you of all people should know what the rule of law is.

Edited March 4, 2014 by Shub

[katie1990 23]

Just FYI we all make mistakes, just some of us get caught. All of us do stupid things, some just have more serious consequences than others. Don't judge unless you are willing to walk in their shoes.

I couldn't have said it any better !

[katie1990 23]

Sounds about right to me, based on the information at hand.

This is neither here nor there, but once this is resolved, and if you'd like, perhaps you can investigate the possibility of suing the government for wrongful deportation. Wrongful deportations happen and victims do get compensation for it, if vindicated in court.

To all you naysayers... this is the citizenship forum, if you're applying for naturalization or did naturalize already, you of all people should know what the rule of law is.

Thank you out of all the answers I received yours was spot on and thank you for not judging the situation and instead giving us and accurate lawful answer without any judgement! And also for the extra piece of advice, its good to know and something to consider later on.

[bluebird74 34]

I'm not super clear on the requirements for a child born abroad to a US citizen and a foreign spouse, but if the child was born in wedlock, I believe he would have been a US citizen at birth. On what date was he born? It may matter with regards to certain laws that were passed at some point.

Anyway, if it turns out he is not a US citizen by birth for whatever reason, then if his mother naturalized when he was 12, and if he was legally admitted as a legal permanent resident, and was legally in the custody of his mother at the time she became a citizen, then yes, I believe he automatically became a US citizen at that time.

Note this is all a bit above my comfortable level of knowledge with immigration law (and I'm not a lawyer to begin with) so take that with a grain of salt

A child of a USC born abroad, is not automatically a USC.

"Parents of a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen or citizens should apply for a CRBA and/or a U.S. passport for the child as soon as possible. Failure to promptly document a child who meets the statutory requirements for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth may cause problems for the parents and the child when attempting to establish the child’s U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the rights and benefits of U.S. citizenship, including entry into the United States. By law, U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States."

Since the guy was a Permanent Resident, that means, he his parents never applied for CRBA and he must have entered the U.S., later in life - perhaps after his 18th birthday. He is treated the same way as anyone else who becomes a Permanent Resident. I hate to say this, but he committed a felony and with that, he became a subject to deportation. I highly doubt he can ever come back to the U.S. For more info, please read:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth.html

[katie1990 23]

A child of a USC born abroad, is not automatically a USC.

"Parents of a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen or citizens should apply for a CRBA and/or a U.S. passport for the child as soon as possible. Failure to promptly document a child who meets the statutory requirements for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth may cause problems for the parents and the child when attempting to establish the child’s U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the rights and benefits of U.S. citizenship, including entry into the United States. By law, U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States."

Since the guy was a Permanent Resident, that means, he his parents never applied for CRBA and he must have entered the U.S., later in life - perhaps after his 18th birthday. He is treated the same way as anyone else who becomes a Permanent Resident. I hate to say this, but he committed a felony and with that, he became a subject to deportation. I highly doubt he can ever come back to the U.S. For more info, please read:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and

He entered the USA at the age of 6 .

[Shub 78]

A child of a USC born abroad, is not automatically a USC.

"Parents of a child born abroad to a U.S. citizen or citizens should apply for a CRBA and/or a U.S. passport for the child as soon as possible. Failure to promptly document a child who meets the statutory requirements for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth may cause problems for the parents and the child when attempting to establish the child’s U.S. citizenship and eligibility for the rights and benefits of U.S. citizenship, including entry into the United States. By law, U.S. citizens, including dual nationals, must use a U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States."[/size]

Since the guy was a Permanent Resident, that means, he his parents never applied for CRBA and he must have entered the U.S., later in life - perhaps after his 18th birthday. He is treated the same way as anyone else who becomes a Permanent Resident. I hate to say this, but he committed a felony and with that, he became a subject to deportation. I highly doubt he can ever come back to the U.S. For more info, please read:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth.html

You're speaking in absolutes when the piece of text you quoted says "Failure to promptly document a child who meets the statutory requirements for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth may cause problems for the parents and the child when attempting to establish the child’s U.S. citizenship (snip)"

So yeah, it may be a problem, but that doesn't mean it can't be fixed.

[katie1990 23]

The attorney said that regardless if he reported the birth abroad or not, he is still a US CITIZEN, born to a US CITIZEN, signed the birth certificate as his father, and was married at the time of the birth. Yes he will need to fill out an explanation as to why he didn't do it , and will probably need to do some paperwork, but his CItizenship will not and can not be taken away. Those are his exact words .

[bluebird74 34]

Just last night we found out that my cousin might be a US citizen which is the reason I'm on here asking to see if he is indeed a US Citizen, what can he do to come back to the United States and what steps to follow. First of all, His father is a born US citizen. He met and married his mother in Honduras but didn't bring them over legally until he was 6 years old. He has been a LPR since he was 6, his mother naturalized when he was 12. Although he never naturalized, I believe he might be a US Citizen since both his parents are right? At age 18 he got in trouble with the law and was convicted of Armed Robbery w/ gang enhancement. He robbed someone for the "benefit of a gang" is the exact wording. He served 3 years and was subsequently deported with his green card taken away. Is he a US Citizen and therefore he can come back as a US CItizen? Was he wrongfully deported? Thank you all for any and all advice.

I commented under someone's quote earlier, but I decided to write directly under your initial post.

I do feel sorry about your cousin and I'm not here to judge. People make mistakes, but that's not the point I'm trying to make. Thing is, you have clearly stated about your cousin being an LPR and this makes it all different. His parents never filed a CBRA, but it looks as though he later entered the U.S. on some sort of visa and received the status of an LPR. If he is now at least 18 years old and remained in the U.S. since he was 6, that means he's been an LPR for more than 12 years. I assume he must have had renewed his LPR status at some point. Why hasn't he just file his N-400 to become a citizen? The bottom line is, he was an LPR at the time of convictions, and I do believe the Homeland Security was in the right. If there's something that could overturn their decision, please share with us - I'm curious, but I honestly don't think there is, for he was not a USC.

[bluebird74 34]

He entered the USA at the age of 6 .

Exactly. He also must have become an LPR at that point, but not a USC. This makes all the difference. You can enter as an LPR when joining a family member,, and even if one's parent is an LPR and that parent becomes a USC, as long as the child is under the age of 18, that child can be sworn as the USC at the time his/her parent is - without having to be an LPR for 5 years.