My mom has no citizenship anywhere

[jmcortez80 0]

I was born an American citizen. My mom married an American service member in the 70s. My mom has lived in America as a permanent resident for 36 years. Her brother was dying of cancer in Spain so she went back to visit her family because it's been a long time since she has been there. There was some difficulty with the Spanish consulate issuing her a new Spanish passport even though she had her expired Spain passport and other documentation. Eventually they gave her a 1 way visa into Spain. When she got there apparently she is no longer a citizen of Spain and it does not look like she will be able to get it back any time soon. She has no citizenship to any country at the moment. Is there any way I can sponsor her to come back to America?

[Ontarkie 14,228]

How long has she been out of the US?

Edited August 14, 2016 by Ontarkie

[discoverusa 268]

Where was she born?

[Boiler 45,538]

Well as a permanent resident she just comes back using her GC, she will however need a Passport to board a plane so she needs to get that sorted.

[jmcortez80 0]

She has been gone for 1 month. I don't think she can get a passport anywhere without a citizenship. She was born in Spain.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

Does she not have citizenship or just no passport? Where was she born? She can claim citizenship to the country she was born in. It sounds more like she has citizenship, just no passport. So if that is the case she has some legwork to do to get a passport.

So back to question posted - what country was she born in?

Good luck

[jmcortez80 0]

She was born in Spain. Somehow during the time she lived in the USA she lost her citizenship in Spain. It looks like it will take years to get it back.

[Ontarkie 14,228]

Since she's just left the US you have time to find out how to get her passport back. It's possible that someone is just trying to get her to pay them a lot of money to get her passport. Talk to a lawyer there and see what's going on.

[jmcortez80 0]

No she deffinently can't get her citizenship anytime soon. I just want to know if I can sponsor someone without a citizenship.

[jxn 86]

When you say they gave her a one-way visa into Spain, what passport did she travel to Spain on?

On what basis did she supposedly lose Spanish citizenship?

[discoverusa 268]

You don't need to sponsor your mother in order for her to return to USA. She is a legal permanent resident and can come back without issues. However, as others stated she needs a valid passport in order to travel. She needs to request her birth certificate in the local government and with that apply for Spanish passport.

Something in this story sounds really off.

[discoverusa 268]

I think OP is confusing losing a valid passport with losing citizenship.

I think OP is confusing losing a valid passport with losing citizenship.

[canadian_wife 1,822]

There is no need to sponsor her. She has not lost status in the U.S. You need to make sure she has a passport to return on. Look in to how to maintain her PR status moving forward. Is it a re-entry permit? A more seasoned member with experience in such things will offer input.

But yes, I think you are confused, she has citizenship just not a passport. If she was born in Spain she is a Spanish citizenship.

Good luck

[discoverusa 268]

If she has an expired Spanish passport that means her Spanish citizenship was verified at some point. It seems like someone was giving her a hard time when she tried to renew it.

[jmcortez80 0]

I had to drive her to the Spanish consulate twice and they gave her something giving her a 1 way trip into Spain. I'm not sure what it was, but they were not going to give it to her until she had a plane ticket going to Spain. They said it was only good going into Spain so she could fix her passport in Spain. She has been out of the country for over 30 years and over the years there have been a lot of changes and I think at one point she was suppose to submit something in order to keep her citizenship. I work with someone from Sweden that said Sweden did the same thing. She said everyone had one year to renew their citizenship or people lost it. She said a lot of people lost their Swedish citizenship. My mom can not leave Spain without a passport. She can not get a passport because she is not a citizen of any country. My mom was born in Spain and lived her entire life in Spain until her 30s when she moved to Texas with my dad. They divorced in the 80s and she has been a green card holder the entire time. I'm not sure what she used to get into Spain, but it was issued by the Spanish consulate for one entrance into the country. While she was there she found out that she is no longer a citizen of Spain even though she has a Spanish birth certificate from Zaragoza, Spain and an expired Spanish passport.