melusine

Hello, I've been reading some older threads to increase my knowledge and came across a mention of children automatically gaining citizenship on immigration entry. Can I please just check my understanding?


Our situation at the point we will move is:


My husband - US citizen
Me - UK citizen
2 UK citizen children (mine from first marriage) aged 16 and 18 respectively.
1 dual UK/US citizen child aged 12.


Have I understood correctly that my 2 UKC children will gain immediate automatic US citizenship upon entry? If this is correct:


- is there an age limit on this (if there is, is it 21 and what date is used to determine this? (possibilities that I considered include: date of I-130 acceptance, date of Visa approval, date of entry ...)
- does that mean they can travel freely back and forth between the UK and the USA from that point onwards e.g. to continue their studies
- As a spouse I assume different rules apply to me and I have to wait I think 3 years?




I'm asking for two reasons:


- I have an older child who is currently 19 who we were not planning to bring with us right away so that she can finish her studies but if the above is correct then it might be easier to bring her over at the same time then have her return to complete her course in the UK.


- I've read somewhere else about getting permission for children to return to complete studies (I can't recall the exact circumstances) so I am confused about why this might be required if the children automatically become US citizens with freedom to travel (I'm hoping this is a red herring that only applies to other types of Visa holders).


I would appreciate any light anyone could shed on this!


thanks
Melly

quiltman

Unless I have completely misunderstood your post, then no, the children from your first marriage will not be US citizens, unless your first husband was also a US citizen. you will also need permission from your first husband, or a court order, to bring them to the US.
your dual citizen son has no problems - I assume you have got him his US passport? It is a requirement that US citizens use their US passports to enter/leave the US.
Others will be along with much more detailed info in due course - some of them are still asleep!

civilservant

The maximum age is 18 - so your 19 year old could not derive citizenship anymore anyway, the other questions I don't know. It's early here on the US East Coast, others will be along in the next few hours.

EDIT: From a little bit of reading it seems that without you naturalizing before their 18th birthday (which clearly isn't going to happen) they cannot derive it from a step-parent.

melusine

For further clarification, my UKC children are step-children of the my USC husband not adopted. My own reading around on this suggests that this is the critical distinction - that because they have not been adopted by my USC husband they do not automatically become citizens but the thread I was reading that made me think I might be wrong was this one:


http://britishexpats.com/forum/marri...merica-884495/


I am working through filling out the I-130 forms at the moment and I'm trying to work out which kids to include and who might join us a bit later based on where it will be most convenient for them to be for the next couple of years. So it's certainly not the end of the world if they don't qualify as citizens automatically it would just be a bit more convenient if they did!

ian-mstm

No. Your 18-year old has already aged out... the cutoff is age 18. The younger child would become a US citizen on entry only if the father was a US citizen and was also immigrating to the US. Since that's not going to happen, the 16-year old can't become a USC on entry either.


Correct.


Sorry. Even if it were possible she's already aged out.


With respect, I strongly urge you to stop reading posts that have nothing whatsoever to do with your situation.


End of story.

Ian

melusine

Thanks!

Pulaski

There have been threads where children have acquired US citizenship on entry to the US, but I think it is when their parent is a US citizen who was unable to transmit citizenship to them - being born in the US makes you a US citizen, but if you leave as a child (don't live there for five years, two of them after the age of 14, your children won't be US citizens). Under such circumstances the children need a visa, but become US citizens on entry to the US to live.

So no, I don't think your children will get US citizenship on entry, and as you will have to wait three years, they will both be older than 18 by the time you are eligible for citizenship (after three years, but can apply 90 days ahead of the third anniversary of your arrival), so they will have to wait until they have been in the US for five years to apply for citizenship (but can apply 90 days ahead of the fifth anniversary of their arrival) as independent adults.

melusine

Thanks all, all clear now (if not as convenient as I was briefly hoping..)

ian-mstm

List all the children, whether they're moving with you or not. The question doesn't ask who's coming with you and who isn't.

Ian

melusine

Yes will do, am trying to follow advice the answer the actual question exactly and only the actual question - rather than trying to interpret it - in filling in the forms.
It was more whether they will get their own I-130s submitted at this time or not or whether I will wait apply for them later. What I'm thinking is:


Eldest (currently 19) - she is midway through her course and won't finish until summer 2018 (if she finishes at all - there's a chance she might transfer and not be done until summer 2019). She's not sure if she wants to come with us and has a whole host of complicating factors (such as mental health issues etc. which might mean they won't give her a visa anyway). I'll probably wait and see and apply for her next year if she decides she wants to come. I know it will take longer to apply from the US and I would need to make sure she doesn't age out completely - I believe that the deadline is that the application is submitted before her 21st birthday. If she does end up transferring courses I think I'd be looking at bringing her over to activate the visa then needing permission to travel back and finish her studies. So all in all a bit messy.


Next eldest - he is almost 18 now. He does want to come but won't be done with his A levels until late spring/early summer next year. This is the trickiest as I think my move date is likely to be Jan/Feb 2018 (my move needs to be then as I've been offered some work in the US that starts around then) and if his medical is in Nov/Dec this year with the rest of us, or before then, he won't get over there before his A levels are done. I'm wondering if I do his application now with the rest of us but then progress it on a slower timeline e.g. don't schedule his medical until Feb/Mar 2018 - can anyone see any difficulty with this (my underlying assumption is that each I-130 stands more or less alone - however if they will want to deal with all of them together then this might not work)? He'll live with my Mum and Dad until his exams are done and has his biological Dad to support him as well so it's not like we are abandoning him to go through the process without any support or guidance!


Next eldest - going to do an application for him as he wants to come and his GCSEs will be done by June this year. Thinking of setting him back a school year if the US High School will allow it to enable him to catch up on credit requirements and settle in to a new system (especially as he will probably start US school in Spring 2018 rather than at the start of the year). We have applied for UK 6th form places for him so he'll have somewhere to go to school until we move. We've also given him the option to stay in the UK until after his A levels but he'd rather come with us now.


Youngest - USC anyway so doesn't need to apply - she will probably move over in August/September with her Dad who we've decided is going to go over sooner rather than later via a company transfer (which will also help with the Affidavit of Support and domicile requirements etc.) He can get us set up with renting a house etc. and she can start school so she gets a full year in the US school system.


There's a certain risk with this plan if my application were refused - but my youngest daughter and husband could always come back if that happened.


I'm just thinking aloud really but if anyone can see any problems with this approach please shout!

Rete

You really need to sit back for perhaps 24-48 hours, get a handle on the process and what it means to your children to obtain a green card NOW while they are within age to do so easily, and then proceed.

1. Whether they want to go or not, it is beneficial for Dad to apply for his step-children NOW.

2. Do NOT take into consideration what their wants are at the moment. They are still children (even though they are in their late teens) and teens are known to change their minds frequently. This is said by a Mom who lived through the teen years of two female teens.

3. Getting their IR-1 visa and having them activate it at the same time you do when you all are entering the US or before it expires at any rate, does not mean they cannot return to the UK or any place else in the world to resume their studies. If they are only going to be outside of the US for 6 months after activating their visa, they will have no issue about returning to the US to live or just to visit.

4. If they are going to be in the US for about 4 to 6 weeks, they can then apply for a returning resident's permit (is that the correct terminology?) via filing I-131 (I know this is the right form) stateside. They need only be here in the US for their biometrics appointment and then they can leave up to 2 years with a bona fide reason without fear of abandoning their green card. Education is a perfect reason.

5. At least this way they have the opportunity to live in the US if they change their minds in the future. It is so much easier to get it done now than later.

6. Mental health issues will not stop her from obtaining a visa. Where do you read or hear that it would? As long as she is not a danger to herself or others, she should be fine with passing the medical.

melusine

Thanks for your reply. I agree - we've wanted to move for years -for ourselves, of course, but also to give the kids the maximum options going forward. Unfortunately life happens and all sorts of things have got in the way. There are also lots of reasons why now isn't ideal either but there are a few things that are falling into place now that give us a window in which we think we can move. And with the kids the ages that they are - if we don't take this opportunity now it becomes more rather than less difficult going forward.


The one that is worrying me most in terms of the process is the second eldest who is doing A levels until early next summer. You've suggested he might need to be there 4-6 weeks to obtain an I-131 and biometrics and I don't think he could be in the US that long without messing up his A levels. If we could time things absolutely perfectly (seems unlikely!) so we entered the US right at the start of the UK school Christmas holidays that would still only allow 2 weeks. If I could organise the I-131 in advance that might work - I haven't really looked at the I-131 yet so I will have to look into what is needed and whether it's feasible to organise in advance/in a very short time limit.

Rete

You are just starting your DCF and that takes about 5 - 8 months since your husband has leave to remain in the UK and can do direct consular filing. So say you file in May, 2017. Anticipate an interview approximately October/November 2017. You and the kids will have until 6 months from the date of their medical to enter the US on an approved IR visa. You have the medical perhaps 1 month from date of interval, i.e. October, 2017. That means you have to activate the visa by April 2018. Said child[ren] enters the US during spring break with or without you spends a few days or a week with Mom and Dad and then returns to the UK to continue pursuit of their education. Then in July when school is over for the year/semester, said child[ren] return to the US, files the I-131 and will have their biometrics anywhere from 3 weeks to 6 weeks from the date of filing. So they will return to the UK after biometrics and you can forward the approved permit to them for use when they are return.

Of course, there is another way and that is to come to the US activate the visa and before returning to the US, if they are gone for nearly a year or more, obtain a returning resident document from the US Consulate.

Personally, I would like to see them have the approved I-131 from the US filing but there is the what I consider an "emergency" document from the US Consulate.

There are parents here whose children have furthered their education in the UK or Canada who have done so while being green card holders without issue. One such parent is petite francaise <sp> whose son will be graduating high school this spring and going on to university in the Netherlands.

I'm sure that one of those parents will join in here with their experiences.

Remember you can activate the IR visa at the POE and then turn around and leave immediately to attend to things outside of the US. Traditionally, the forum advises not to be outside of the US for more than six months without an approved I-131.

melusine

Ah - this is the info I didn't have and I think solves our problem completely - and if I have understood correctly he wouldn't need an I-131 at all as he would then stay in the US post A levels and go to Community College etc. (once he qualifies for in-state tuition charges!).


Thank you /does happy dance

Rete

Glad to be of help.