My USC Childs Dual Citizenship (Fil-Am) Journey

[Aila 8]

Hello, I have waited until we arrived here in US before I share my daughters dual citizenship experience (just to be sure).

Daughter born in USA, 2007

Left for Philippines 2011-2016 (1yr free balikbayan stamp, so possible overstaying fee from 2012-2016)

 

When we left the US I never thought and didn’t know about reporting her birth to Phil. Govt. I always thought that since she’s born to a filipino citizen mother she’s a dual and all good in terms of applying for Phil. passport. So when my husband decided to start on my IR-1 petition I started working on hers as well. I’ve been through a lot from Manila US Embassy→DFA office→Bureau of Immigration→NSO/PSA. I was desperate and learned all the options that I could have (legal, illegal, fastest and cheapest way). I did my research, read (laws, blogs, forums), asked my fil-am classmates on how did they acquire their dual citizenship and airport/s immig. experiences (some where born in US, acquired dual citizenship thru RA9925, some did Recog. of filipino citizen and some did Report of Birth Abroad thru DFA and some thru Phil. Consulate in US).

 

MY OPTIONS:

1. Recognition of Filipino Citizenship (Bureau of Immigration)
   • FEE: P12,000+
   • Processing Time: 6-12 months
   • classmates experience , took him 8 months 
2. Pay overstaying fee: We’re quoted for almost close to P100,000, this is not an option for me (whether we or not can afford it), a big no no, so I didn’t bother asking for the details and break down of prices.  
3. Report of Birth Abroad (DFA, Philippines)
   • Fee: $25, but payment must be in Peso (depends on the exchange value)
   • Processing Time: 2-4 months (according to their website) but 2 of my classmate did this and it took them 8 months from start to finish (they filled it together). So what happened to 2-4 months huh??? Lie
   • Take note that PSA birth cert. is required in applying for passport so meaning you have to wait until the child’s birth is recorded to PSA (another extra waiting time).
4. Report of Birth Abroad (Philippines Consulate General, USA)
   • FEE: $25
   • Processing Time: 6-10 weeks
     • Now I thought that this can only be done if the filipino citizen parent is presently residing in the States, so I thought we can’t do this.
     • So far this is the fastest and cheapest way PLUS we can apply for Phil. passport at the same time ONLY IF the child is present.
5. The Bad Stuffs (NO NO NO to these!!!)
   • B.I. - When I was in and out of the BI’s office they offered me an under the table process, they will worked on my daughters papers as fast as they can but with a price.
   • NAIA airport - My husbands uncle works in NAIA for almost 25yrs. he knows people from different department, a friend from immig. advised him to do the Recog. of Fil. Citizenship, uncle then gave them my contact info. so that we could discuss my situation, I was surprised when the friend said that they can waived fees by putting a different dates of departure & arrival stamp on my daughters passport/s showing that she goes in and out of PI, these sounds convincing and tempting especially if you are not going back to PI anymore but I thought that this is my child, she has a filipino root, I can’t tell the future maybe she wants to visit, maybe she wants to study there, maybe she wants to retire there. I don’t want her to face all the consequences and hate me for doing the wrong thing. I AM PRO TO HONESTY!!! Seriously!! 

 

A BLESSING IN DISGUISE….Most of the people (phil. govt.) that I asked advised me to do OPTION 1, so I started gathering the required documents and fees. When I was about to file (May 2015) they were asking for a US Birth Cert. notarized by Phil. Consulate in US (red-ribboned). I thought my papers were complete I asked and clarify to them a million times on the required doc. but they never said about being notarized (urghh!!).. but then I realized that I misunderstood instruction #4 on the BI’s Recog. Form (totally my fault), of course It’s a FOREIGN DOCUMENT ?, anyway I talked to my husband and told him that he needs to go to San Francisco but my husband was doing 2 jobs at that time so instead we waited for SF consulate outreach visit in Wa. State (Oct. 24, 2015). He was asked where will he be using the document, my husband explained and they told him why not just do ROB they said that he can do it even if I am not present and they said that it works the same way with the recognition in terms of acquiring dual citizenship and for pasport application but since husbands flight to PI will be the next day he said that he’ll do it once he comes back. 

• • 1st Attempt: Feb. 21, 2016 (Seattle, last day of outreach visit) — husband ready to file ROB, he was sent away because of missing documents, they told him that he can just mail the whole packet including the money order payment.
    • NOTE: my husband prepared what was listed on their website and instructions per fil.consul that he talked to last Oct. 24, 2015.
  • 2nd Attempt: Feb. 22, 2016 - husband came back to Seattle Filipino Community, talked to the staff and said that the guy will just mailed the documents with the money-order payment to SF. 
  • June 2, 2016, - I tried to get a PSA B.C it came out negative (no record on file). I thought maybe it’s too early
  • July 2016 (first week) — still negative PSA BC copy. I’m starting to get worried, so I asked my husband to contact SF but no success. It’s either straight to voicemail or voicemail is full and they never called back.
  • July 9, 2016, (SF outreach visit. Everett, Wa.) - They said that they don’t have any records of our papers, they didn’t received it. (how did that happened??  We’ve waited and was confident that everything is processing and now they don’t have it?, unbelievable). So we will have to re-do it again. AGAIN!!
  • 3rd Attempt: July 10, 2016, (last day) - Husband came back brought all docs. Remember that their website was not updated and my husband was just there yesterday and brought what was told. STILL missing docs!!!?
    • Required Docs.(child born before marriage) THESE are the correct one and what we submitted on our 4th TIME!!!
      1. ROB Form
      2. Affidavit of Delayed ROB
      3. Affidavit of Admission of the Paternity (from father)
      4. Affidavit to use Father’s Surname (executed by mother)
      5. Phil. Passport of filipino citizen parent at the time of child birth
      6. NSO B.C & Green-card (not required but we included it)
      7. Notarized Affidavit of Legitimation, signed by both parents, since I was in the PI, we made 2 notarized copies of these; 1 with my husband signature and 1 with my signature
         • Items #4 & 7- I went to a lawyer and requested these and at the same time I have also thought of getting a Special Power of Atty. authorizing my husband to act on my behalf, P350 for each document. I am very ####### to things like these and I feel unsatisfied with the documents, you know how rampant fake docs. and even notary offices in PI, you can get it even from the sidewalks, RECTO MANILA is famous for these. So what I did is I went to my nearest Hall of Justice office to have my notarized documents certified, they call it Certificate of Authority for a Notarial Act (CANA), these means that the Atty. is legally allowed to make notarizations and certified by the Rep. of the Phil. (FEE: P250/document) - 2 days processing
         • The next day, docs. picked-up and sent it to my husband thru LBC (paid nearly P2,000), he received it after 4 business day.
  • July 31, 2016 (Seattle, Wa.) — Appt. was fully booked so my husband begged if they can squeezed him in and that we’ve been doing this for the 4th time. —— FINALLY!!!! All papers was accepted.
    • PS: Each time we had appointment, there is a $25 fee (whether you’re successful or not with your intended service/s, you will still have to pay).You might be wondering why it took us 4 tries, you might think that there’s a negligence in terms of collecting the paperworks. My husband was not the only person that was experiencing the same thing, there are also some other filipinos who came back and forth (some drove all the way from Oregon State, was forced to stayed extra day/s & took days off from work) because the Consulate itself failed to provide people the correct instruction/checklist on what documents are needed. Each person from the Consulate that my husband talks to required less or additional paper/s ,there is no consistency on their part and during that time the SF consulate’s website wasn’t updated yet. Compare to their new website (much much better and organized). 

 

THE WAITING BEGINS: From US CONSULATE→DFA→PSA 

• • Sep. 1, 2016 - Still no record on file
    • My interview is coming up soon (Sep. 12) so I need to get a passport for my daughter ASAP, I know that there’s always a way, again I dd my research and stuffs. 
  • Sep. 26, 2016 - Since my husband haven’t had any success on reaching SF Consulate, I went to DFA Aseana office to ask if they’ve received my daughters ROB and yes they did!!!!! So I asked for 3 important info. (Transmittal#, Dispatch# and Transmittal Date) that I need then went straight to PSA main office for endorsement and BC will be ready for pick-up at PSA Sta. Mesa after 12 working days (Oct. 12, 2016)!!!!!
    • Note: PSA Main office (East Ave. QC) will be closed starting Oct. 3, 2016 for renovation and will be moved to Sta. Mesa branch 
    • Transmittal Date: Date when the DFA sent our papers to PSA
    • PS:  I just got home from PSA, my husband called and told me that SF left a voicemail and said that they have no record of our ROB packet and that they have never received it. ?????? I’m gonna die!! ??

From ROB filling (July 31, 2016) to NSO BC (Oct. 12, 2016) = 10 weeks and 3 days TOTAL

[sweet01 39]

Hi Aila,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with your child. Based on what you shared, I understand that your child was born here in the US but went back to the Phils and stayed there for quite sometime. You also did the dual citizenship with your child. I'm wondering now If do I really need to report my child's birth in the Phil consulate since I gave birth July last year? ( I'm still on ROC process via conditional PR) Do I need to make my child a dual citizen? My husband and I were also discussing about it since he just chose to be a US citizen. I'm not sure and really thinking about the dual citizenship and what are the benefits aside from staying long in the Philippines and own a house. Can you give me advice? Thank you. Would really appreciate it.

[Aila 8]

42 minutes ago, sweet01 said:

Hi Aila,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with your child. Based on what you shared, I understand that your child was born here in the US but went back to the Phils and stayed there for quite sometime. You also did the dual citizenship with your child. I'm wondering now If do I really need to report my child's birth in the Phil consulate since I gave birth July last year? ( I'm still on ROC process via conditional PR) Do I need to make my child a dual citizen? My husband and I were also discussing about it since he just chose to be a US citizen. I'm not sure and really thinking about the dual citizenship and what are the benefits aside from staying long in the Philippines and own a house. Can you give me advice? Thank you. Would really appreciate it.

Hello, 

Yes my daughter is born here (US). Reporting your childs birth to Phil. Govt. is not really required its a matter of personal choice. My thought is, since my child is a dual citizen by birth she has the priviledge to aquire citizenship to both countries (USA & PHIL.). In my own opinion it's better to report your childs birth to phil. consulate at least the child can stay for as long as he/she can and live in the philippines with no problem. 

Again this is my own opinion. 

Thank you

[sweet01 39]

40 minutes ago, Aila said:

Hello, 

Yes my daughter is born here (US). Reporting your childs birth to Phil. Govt. is not really required its a matter of personal choice. My thought is, since my child is a dual citizen by birth she has the priviledge to aquire citizenship to both countries (USA & PHIL.). In my own opinion it's better to report your childs birth to phil. consulate at least the child can stay for as long as he/she can and live in the philippines with no problem. 

Again this is my own opinion. 

Thank you

Thanks again Aila. ? Really appreciate your thoughts. We were kind of debating about it as well but thanks for sharing your journey. I believe this is helpful to us esp. parents of US citizens children.  

[Sagot 1,548]

1 hour ago, sweet01 said:

Hi Aila,

Thank you so much for sharing your experience with your child. Based on what you shared, I understand that your child was born here in the US but went back to the Phils and stayed there for quite sometime. You also did the dual citizenship with your child. I'm wondering now If do I really need to report my child's birth in the Phil consulate since I gave birth July last year? ( I'm still on ROC process via conditional PR) Do I need to make my child a dual citizen? My husband and I were also discussing about it since he just chose to be a US citizen. I'm not sure and really thinking about the dual citizenship and what are the benefits aside from staying long in the Philippines and own a house. Can you give me advice? Thank you. Would really appreciate it.

Child is a dual citizen by birth.  Reporting the birth to the Philippine consulate removes many issues that can appear down the road.

 

Main benefits are ability to stay in the Philippines without issues, voting if a person decided to live there and owning land

 

You decide what is best for you and yours.

[Aila 8]

14 minutes ago, sweet01 said:

Thanks again Aila. ? Really appreciate your thoughts. We were kind of debating about it as well but thanks for sharing your journey. I believe this is helpful to us esp. parents of US citizens children.  

You're welcome. I'm happy/glad to help. ?