If someone has no employment/school record, what is easiest way to prove 5 years residency?

[mrchungstah 1]

My mom is an American citizen via naturalization back in the 80s. I need to help her prove that she has lived in America for 5 years in order to help me get my US citizenship (I'm Canadian)). She lived in America 1979-1986.

 

She is from Vietnam and doesn't speak English fluently, has worked cash jobs (she came over poor), has not filed taxes, and has not been in school. 

 

How can I prove that she has lived in America for 5 years?

 

She has her passport, social security number, alien registration number, petition number, and date of naturalization (in 1985).

[CarlHamilton 252]

Why don't you ask her if she has any documents with her address on it from that period. 

[GreatDane 366]

Mortgage, rental agreement, utility bills, phone bills, etc. If you're super desperate, a library card record where she routinely visits. 

[Jojo92122 1,924]

US tax returns.

 

Things filed with the US Government.   Things filed with a company or school.  

[Ontarkie 14,610]

Doctor's records

 

[Boiler 46,362]

Lease, Property Ownership.

[GreatDane 366]

Wait. She hasn't lived in the US since the 1980s? Did she keep any bank records? Have any assets in the US? If she earned any income while living abroad, she is still responsible for filing US income taxes.

[mrchungstah 1]

You guys might be surprised to hear this, but as a refugee turned citizen who didn't have command of the English language until later on in life, she had none of these things. She's never filed taxes before.

[Boiler 46,362]

22 minutes ago, mrchungstah said:

You guys might be surprised to hear this, but as a refugee turned citizen who didn't have command of the English language until later on in life, she had none of these things. She's never filed taxes before.

Well what does she have? We were just guessing what she might have.

[Roel 7,193]

As US citizen she is obligated to file is taxes no matter where she lives. Saying that she doesn't know English isn't an excuse.. she should someone else handle that then. 

[Jojo92122 1,924]

14 hours ago, mrchungstah said:

You guys might be surprised to hear this, but as a refugee turned citizen who didn't have command of the English language until later on in life, she had none of these things. She's never filed taxes before.

What does lack of command of English have to do with having records that she lived in the US?  She knew enough English to pass the US naturalization test.

 

My parents were refugees who still barely speak any English, and they had 5 years of records to apply for naturalization back in the early 80s.

 

Your mother had to have proof of living in the US for 5 years to apply for naturalization.  

 

You will need those records in order to make a claim to US citizenship.

[TM92 527]

21 hours ago, mrchungstah said:

How can I prove that she has lived in America for 5 years?

Just read your post from a few months ago:

Are you still trying the "First Preference (F1): Unmarried sons and daughters of U.S. citizens" route? Or are you claiming citizenship from birth but your mother failed to register your birth at US embassy before you turned 18? If it is the latter, I found this, https://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/how-the-foreign-born-children-american-citizens-can-prove-obtain-us-nationality.html (I added bold to most relevant sentence):

Quote

If you are older than 18, have determined that you have a claim to U.S. citizenship, and you do not have any of the above documents, your last resort will be submitting Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS). Most people who submit this form do so because they “derived” U.S. citizenship because their parents became U.S. citizens when they were under 18 years old and permanent residents of the United States. However, you may need to submit this form if you acquired your citizenship and your parents failed to register your birth abroad before you turned 18 years old.

Letting us know which route you're taking will help us to help you.

[TM92 527]

14 minutes ago, TM92 said:

are you claiming citizenship from birth but your mother failed to register your birth at US embassy before you turned 18?

Also saw this, https://www.uscis.gov/forms/n-600-application-certificate-citizenship-frequently-asked-questions (I added bold to "through a passport application"):

Quote

I do not currently reside in the United States. Am I still eligible for a Certificate of Citizenship?

Persons who acquired U.S. citizenship and reside abroad should seek evidence of citizenship through a passport application to the Department of State. In most cases, one must be living in the United States to apply for a Certificate of Citizenship.

[TM92 527]

21 minutes ago, TM92 said:

Also saw this, https://www.uscis.gov/forms/n-600-application-certificate-citizenship-frequently-asked-questions (I added bold to "through a passport application"):

Here is a YouTube video of a random guy from the Philippines that went through this:

 

[mrchungstah 1]

So here is whats going on:

1. In order for me to get citizenship, I need to prove that my mom has been living in America for 5 years

2. To prove this, I'm going to get her to re-obtain her naturalization certificate (they took this away from her when they gave her a passport)

3. To obtain the naturalization certificate, I'm submitting form N565

4. To submit the form N565, I need the certificate #, last date of issuance/office/etc

5. She does not have this information so I need to:

Option 1: Submit request for FOIA/geneology

Option 2: Set an appointment in America for her to obtain her naturalization certificate (we both live in Canada)

 

Do you guys see any flaws in my plan/process?