Is my foreign-born child a US citizen?

By Jessica Suotmaa 0

On August 28th, 2019 the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) released a new policy manual update on derived citizenship for children. Generally, US citizenship can be granted to children born on US soil or to at least one US citizen parent. However, with the release of the new rule, The granting of US citizenship to children born under these circumstances will be further screened.

What is the biggest change?

The three highlights of this policy update is the clarification between US residence and presence; to establish the difference between US presence and temporary visits to the US, and the update how children living abroad with US government or military are no longer considered as residing in the US.

How could this affect me?

If you are a US citizen working abroad on US territory, such an embassy, or stationed abroad for the US government, it means your child does not automatically acquire US “presence”. US presence is required for establishing residence, a requirement for US citizenship.

Alternatively, if you are a foreign person who gave birth to a child while on US soil, your child may be at risk. The N-600 certificate of US citizenship requires sufficient proof of US presence.

What is considered proof of US presence?

Even US citizens residing abroad must prove they have sufficient US presence in order to justify their underaged children deserving of derived US citizenship. This means if you haven’t returned to the US in a long time, never really lived here permanently, or simply treat the US as more of a vacation spot than home, it’s possible your foreign-born child won’t be granted US citizenship.

This could also apply to foreign-born children of US parents who fail to obtain a copy of a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (FS-240) and thereby need to prove US citizenship by other means.

US citizens must show five years of US presence after the age of 14 in order to qualify.

US presence is best established with school records (transcripts), tax returns, and W2 income returns.

Contact Lum Law Group

Still have questions on what may constitute US presence? Ask an experienced immigration attorney today!

Family immigration

By Justin Lum 0

Did you know that children born to US citizens living outside the US are no longer automatically considered US citizens? As US citizenship is no longer automatic for children born to one or more US citizens overseas, it’s important to prepare for the process of obtaining a Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) for your child.

Under the Child Citizenship Act (CCA),

 “…the U.S. citizen parent of a child living abroad must have five years of physical presence in the United States or its outlying possessions with at least two years occurring after age 14, in order to apply for citizenship on behalf of the child.”

After you make an appointment with the embassy, gather evidence of your citizenship and US residence. You will have to provide that information in person. But what kind of evidence are they looking for? Proof of citizenship is explained on the US Embassy, Beijing as follows:

“Physical presence is the actual time when the parent was physically within the borders of the United States. This means that any travel outside the United States, including vacation, should be excluded. Maintaining a residence in the U.S. does not constitute physical presence. You may submit tax returns, wage statements (W2s), school transcripts, utility bills, rental/lease agreements, etc. as evidence of your physical presence in the United States. If you submit W-2s as evidence of physical presence, please also submit a letter from the employer stating your period of stay in the U.S. If a parent is a naturalized U.S. citizen, previous Chinese passports can be used as evidence of physical presence.”

The CRBA form (FS-240) requires applicants, both US citizen and foreign national parents, to cite when and where they were in the US, which other countries they’ve been in, and what the purpose of their stay in the US had been.  Hard evidence supporting the exact dates is necessary for the interview.

For more information on how we can help you, please contact our office.