A I

I've met him but only have limited details.

He was born in 1950 in Venezuela to a naturalized US parent that lived in the US for over 10 years before getting to Venezuela, where he was born.

He was brought back to the US with Permanent residency, and left to Venezuela at 10. Father is now dead, and he is interested in moving to the US.

Through some lawyer/agency, he is allegedly going to obtain "deffered" permanent residency. He lives in Venezuela right now, but the "friend" (My in law) is concerned on the veracity/possibility of this action, since fraud in these matters is not unheard of.

I have never heard of this Deffered Permanent Residency before, and based on what I could decipher from the law (which wasn't much) I think he might already be a citizen, and just needs to stake his claim.

Anybody has any idea on the possible legitimacy of this alleged lawyer/agency approach? and to his possible citizenship claim ?



Thanks.

crg

It sounds fishy. Have him ask the agency what forms they plan to file before paying them. I suspect that if he had a claim to citizenship, he wouldn't have had the green card way back then. We don't have enough information about in wedlock, out of wedlock, age of residence in the US for the parent to determine the likelihood of citizenship.

A I

Child was born in wedlock. Based on this chart I found (after posting my question)
http://shusterman.com/uscitizenshipchart1.html

It seems he would have been subject to some retention requirements which have now been repealed, so MAYBE he could have become a citizen, but did not....

I can take a wild guess his father was at least 26 when he was born, since he was a pretty high level international manager to get transferred to Venezuela in the Oil industry at the time. I will try to obtain this info.


And, most of all: Thanks for the feedback! I'm highly suspicious as well...

A I

I also found this:

....
Today, someone who lost U.S. citizenship because of failure to meet the retention requirements, may regain his citizenship upon application and upon taking the oath of allegiance, provided he is not excluded because he advocates totalitarian forms of government. This amendment does not restore citizenship retroactively; therefore, these persons would be unable to transmit citizenship to their children born during the period between their loss of and restoration to U.S. citizenship.
Upon presentation of documentation supporting a claim to U.S. citizenship, the applicant should fill out and sign a statement in the presence of a U.S. consular officer.
....

But do I trust the source....?
http://www.visaus.com/citizen.html

I am still unable to find this alleged deferred residency thing.

scrubbedexpat099

Did he become a USC when he entered as a minor, that would seem to be his only option.

ian-mstm

I'm always suspect of non-government sources, but this site seems to be under the control of a respected member of the Alabama bar. IMHO, the information provided seems genuine and legitimate.

Ian

A I

According to the chart, he was in this box:



**
Determine if residence requirement was met prior to the birth of the child. If yes, the child was a USC at birth.
***
For his birth date:
****
USC had resided in the U.S. or OLP for 10 years, at least 5 of which were after age 16. EXCEPTIONS for honorable service in U.S. Armed Forces: 1. Between 12/7/41 & 12/31/46, 5 of the required 10 years must have been after age 12. 2. Between 1/1/47 & 12/24/52, 10 years physical presence, at least 5 of which were after age 14. Note 3
*****

Based on the facts I have, he appears to fit this box.

I have 2 issues:

Are my facts 100% right about him ?
and
is this chart from Shusterman correct ? (http://shusterman.com/uscitizenshipchart1.html)

If yes on both, I wonder why he got a PR card to go back to US if he had met the requirements.

Can any one comment on likelihood the chart is correct/not?

A I

That would be great news....
Thanks !

ian-mstm

Carl Shusterman is well-known in immigration circles. The chart is, most likely, correct.

Ian

Rete

The chart is correct. When your friend of a friend entered the US as a child with a permanent residency status was he in the company of his naturalized mother and was said mother the custodian of the child? If so, it would appear on the surface, at least, that he would have become a USC at the time of entry. Derivative US Citizenship. If that is so, I'm not sure if that chart designation is the correct one for him. I thought and please someone correct me if I got it wrong, that chart was used to determine if you could pass on US citizenship to your children.

When dealing with anyone in the US Government agencies one must remember that they are not all experts and often times have only 2/3rds of the information on the rules and regulations, if that.

A child who who does not have permanent residency status within the US at the time the parent naturalizes is not a US Citizenship by virtue of the parent's naturalization. They only become a US Citizen when they have permanent residency. Thus the need for either an immigration visa so when they enter the US they become a permanent resident or they need the parent to file for their AOS if they are living within the borders of the US via the I-130/I-485 route.

crg

That scenario works now, but only it started on February 27, 2001 and was not retroactive. Children who were 18 years of age or older on that date would not acquire American citizenship from the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.