Can my son acquire US Citizenship due to the fact that his grandfather is a US Citizen? I am receiving conflicting advice / opinion.

[Seb Holland 0]

I am a British & Irish Citizen and live in the UK with my 15 year old son.  I believe my son may be eligible for U.S. citizenship through a process known as "expeditious naturalization" under Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and I would like to explore this possibility.

My situation is as follows:  Although I am 51 years old now, approximately three years ago, via a DNA test, I discovered and happily met my biological father (who I'm now in regular contact with and am about to visit for the fourth time in California in a few weeks).  He is a U.S. citizen by birth and has resided in the U.S. his entire life.  He never knew that I existed and is delighted to have found me too (I'm his only child).

When I made an appointment and visited the US embassy in London, the official there told me that, under the circumstances,I was not be eligible for U.S. citizenship myself, since I would have to had become a citizen before the age of 18.  However, the official told me that my son might be / would be eligible since he is only 15.  (The official said that if my father, (my son's grandfather), would sponsor him, I guess that means agree to be financially responsible for him until the age of 18, then he could aquire citizenship (and later on a passport).

I read the following on the US Embassy website of Ireland:

 

Child Citizenship Act 2000

Expeditious naturalization through a grandparent

Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, a child under age 18 who has a U.S. citizen grandparent who meets the physical presence requirements may qualify for expeditious naturalization under the Immigration and Nationality Act.  Although not entitled to U.S. citizenship at birth, the child can, through this procedure, become a U.S. citizen by naturalization without first having to take up residence in the United States. It is, however, necessary for the child to travel to the United States for the naturalization, and all applications and documentation must be submitted and approved beforehand. This procedure must be done through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services  (USCIS). The process can take from six months to a year or more.  Follow link to USCIS Service and Office Locator .

I also seperately read: section 322 allows children born abroad to acquire U.S. citizenship through a U.S. citizen grandparent when the parent cannot directly transmit citizenship. 

 

However one lawyer I contacted said the following - 'quote':   

 

N-600

 

For N-600, derivative citizenship through your father, I am looking at a table as follows:

 

"Child Born Out of Wedlock to US Citizen Father and Alien Mother"

Date of birth: after 11/11/1971 but before 11/14/1986

Reference: Immigration & Nationality act (INA) 301(a)(7) and INA 309(a), as amended 11/14/86, 102 Stat. 2619, 7 FAM 1133 4-2.

 

Transmission Requirements:

 

1) Father physically present in US or possession 10 years prior to child's birth, five of which after age 14.  Honorable US military service, employment with US government or intergovernmental international organization, r as dependent unmarried son or daughter and member of the household of a parent in such service or employment, may be included; THIS IS SATISFIED

 

AND

 

2)

a) Blood relationship established between father and child, (THIS IS SATISFIED BY DNA)

b) Father a US Citizen at time of child's birth (THIS IS SATISFIED),

c) Father (unless deceased) agrees in writing to support child until 18 years, and while child is under 18 years (i) child is legitimated, (ii) father acknowledges paternity, or (iii) paternity established by court adjudication.   FAILS.   You met your father two or three years ago around age 48 or 49 years old.  

 

N-600K

You must be under age 18 when USCIS administers the oath.  You are 51.

 

N-600K for your son:

 

A US citizen grandparent may file for your son within five years of your death.  You are still alive so your father cannot file for him.

 

As you can see, I have conflicting advice here.

 

Any help or advice would be HUGELY appreciated!

 

Thanks.

 

Sebastian.

[OldUser 7,670]

You can safely ignore consular official advice. They haven't analyzed the case.

 

This is a complicated matter. Please rely on lawyer's analysis.

[Seb Holland 0]

Thanks for your reply - you have made me think / realise that I should not just take the consular advice given verbally.  I did explain the whole situation in detail to her and she seemed to be a senior member of staff, (she was the third person I spoke to, after asking to speak to someone higher up) - however she did not have the time to fully analyze the case, and although I now know a tiny bit more about US Citizenship rules, at the time I didn't know enough to even question her on anything really / or explain what I had read.

Does anyone have any thoughts on what might be sensible next steps?

[nastra30 2,369]

Op, I don't think US citizenship can be passed down directly from grandparents to grandchildren. It's more like chain from US citizen grandparents through US citizen parent to child, where US citizen parent doesn't meet the required physical presence test but US citizen grandparents meets the required physical presence test.

Therefore, expeditious naturalization or so called grandparents clause still requires child's parents to be US citizens.

Edited Monday at 12:32 PM by nastra30

[Seb Holland 0]

Thanks very much for you opinion, much appreciated.  It all helps to build up a picture.

[Seb Holland 0]

I am a British & Irish Citizen and live in the UK with my 15 year old son.  I believe my son may be eligible for U.S. citizenship through a process known as "expeditious naturalization" under Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), and I would like to explore this possibility.

My situation is as follows:  Although I am 51 years old now, approximately three years ago, via a DNA test, I discovered and happily met my biological father (who I'm now in regular contact with and am about to visit for the fourth time in California in a few weeks).  He is a U.S. citizen by birth and has resided in the U.S. his entire life.  He never knew that I existed and is delighted to have found me too (I'm his only child).

When I made an appointment and visited the US embassy in London, the official there told me that, under the circumstances,I was not be eligible for U.S. citizenship myself, since I would have to had become a citizen before the age of 18.  However, the official told me that my son might be / would be eligible since he is only 15.  (The official said that if my father, (my son's grandfather), would sponsor him, I guess that means agree to be financially responsible for him until the age of 18, then he could aquire citizenship (and later on a passport).

I read the following on the US Embassy website of Ireland:

 

Child Citizenship Act 2000

Expeditious naturalization through a grandparent

Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, a child under age 18 who has a U.S. citizen grandparent who meets the physical presence requirements may qualify for expeditious naturalization under the Immigration and Nationality Act.  Although not entitled to U.S. citizenship at birth, the child can, through this procedure, become a U.S. citizen by naturalization without first having to take up residence in the United States. It is, however, necessary for the child to travel to the United States for the naturalization, and all applications and documentation must be submitted and approved beforehand. This procedure must be done through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services  (USCIS). The process can take from six months to a year or more.  Follow link to USCIS Service and Office Locator .

I also seperately read: section 322 allows children born abroad to acquire U.S. citizenship through a U.S. citizen grandparent when the parent cannot directly transmit citizenship. 

 

However one lawyer I contacted said the following - 'quote':   

 

N-600

 

For N-600, derivative citizenship through your father, I am looking at a table as follows:

 

"Child Born Out of Wedlock to US Citizen Father and Alien Mother"

Date of birth: after 11/11/1971 but before 11/14/1986

Reference: Immigration & Nationality act (INA) 301(a)(7) and INA 309(a), as amended 11/14/86, 102 Stat. 2619, 7 FAM 1133 4-2.

 

Transmission Requirements:

 

1) Father physically present in US or possession 10 years prior to child's birth, five of which after age 14.  Honorable US military service, employment with US government or intergovernmental international organization, r as dependent unmarried son or daughter and member of the household of a parent in such service or employment, may be included; THIS IS SATISFIED

 

AND

 

2)

a) Blood relationship established between father and child, (THIS IS SATISFIED BY DNA)

b) Father a US Citizen at time of child's birth (THIS IS SATISFIED),

c) Father (unless deceased) agrees in writing to support child until 18 years, and while child is under 18 years (i) child is legitimated, (ii) father acknowledges paternity, or (iii) paternity established by court adjudication.   FAILS.   You met your father two or three years ago around age 48 or 49 years old.  

 

N-600K

You must be under age 18 when USCIS administers the oath.  You are 51.

 

N-600K for your son:

 

A US citizen grandparent may file for your son within five years of your death.  You are still alive so your father cannot file for him.

 

As you can see, I have conflicting advice here.

 

Any help or advice would be HUGELY appreciated!

 

Thanks.

 

Sebastian.

[Ban Hammer 13,583]

duplicate threads merged.
do not start multiple threads on the same subject.  
 

[appleblossom 3,221]

It doesn’t sound like either you or your son have a route to US citizenship, but as said above, a good immigration lawyer will be able to tell you pretty quickly so go with their advice. 

 

If you did want to move there, then your father could petition you for a green card, but it will take a long time and there’s a chance your son would ‘age out’ of the process and so not be able to accompany you. It’s another option to explore though if citizenship isn’t possible, but I would get cracking with it (even if you only think you might like the option in the future) as every day will count with your son already being 15. 

 

Good luck. 

Edited Monday at 02:25 PM by appleblossom

[Ryan H 3,834]

Moved from What Visa Do I Need - Family Based Immigration forum to US Citizenship Discussion.

[mitzab 299]

Since neither parent is a U.S. citizen, expeditious naturalization under Section 322 INA does not apply in this case. Section 322 requires at least one parent to be a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization, for the child to qualify. Since you (the parent) are not a U.S. citizen, your son is not eligible for expeditious naturalization through a grandparent.

Instead, your son would need to pursue a family-based immigration route, such as sponsorship by a U.S. citizen grandparent for a family-based green card (F3 or F4 category, depending on circumstances). This process can take several years. Given the conflicting legal advice you’ve received, I highly recommend consulting an experienced U.S. immigration attorney to explore the best pathway for your son. Wishing you the best

[nastra30 2,369]

4 hours ago, mitzab said:

Instead, your son would need to pursue a family-based immigration route, such as sponsorship by a U.S. citizen grandparent for a family-based green card (F3 or F4 category,

Grandparents can't directly petition grandchildren.