Hilda

Hello

My husband was born in American but was moved to England as a baby and has not spent more than a couple of months in the USA since. He has an American passport. I am British and we have four children together, who were not born in America.

As my husband has strong work opportunities in America (plus family he misses) we had hoped that we could 'just' go over there and he could work for a year or some other short term and then we could come back after having experienced a little of what it is like 'over there'. But alas it isn't that simple. First I've been advised that I can't really ask for a tourists visa because it is understandably assumed that perhaps if my husband has such strong ties there (family etc) then I may be a candidate for immigration instead. I didn't realise I was a liability

So we are tentatively exploring the process of applying for an immigration visa for me and the kids. First things first (and it does appear to be a slow painful step by painful step process) we have yet to discover if the kids can actually be American themselves, the advice I got years ago was that they could not be since my husband had not lived in the US for a longer time than a few months and I am not American so...

But then I hear about this 'expeditious naturalization for children' which translated (if I am understanding correctly) as if my husbands dad or mum (i.e: our kids grandparents) have lived in the US for a period of five years or more, then our kids can get American passports. Both my husbands father and mother have lived in America for more than five years, and his mother was born there. His grandparents also lived there for years and years, plus one set of grandparents were born there.

Question: anyone know anything about our chances? Or anyone ever been through something similar?

And if our kids are entitled to be American like their dad does this mean we can avoid putting our kids through the gruelling (above normal GP requirement) vaccination programmes that immigrants to the US are required to undergo and the expensive visa applications for our kids?

Plus, if this is a possibility, are the grandparents (husband's parents) then called upon to contribute to the proceedings?

Thanks for your help (in advance) this site is already proving to be very helpful and it is useful to know that we are all in the same boat (or not as the case may be).

ian-mstm

I don't know much about it, but there was a recent thread in this forum where there was a similar situation. Perhaps someone else can remember it and post the link for you. My understanding is that the children *might* be able to derive US citizenship via the grandparents if their father doesn't qualify, yes.


Yes. If the children are US citizens, there is no other requirement for them. You do need to know that *if* they are USCs, they *will* need US passports to enter the US.


Only as far as paperwork is concerned. Birth certificates perhaps or copies of their passport, etc... that sort of thing. They won't be required to attend any interviews or offer financial support.

Ian

Hilda

Thankyou for your swift reply Ian, very helpful and on the way to some form of comfort. I hope to be able to find that other thread soon.

Folinskyinla

INA Section 322 -- if the children are living abroad, the grandparent's residence can be used. A 322 interview in the US is a valid reason for issuance of a B-2 visa. Your husband and the children would have to travel to the US for the interview.

scrubbedexpat099

But you will need to go through the process, known here as DCF, lots of threads.

Hilda

Dear David,

Thankyou for your input. Lots of threads - I'm beginning to expect them. But process known as 'DCF', I've googled it and got 'department of children and families'....am I in any way close?

meauxna

No Hilda, it's short for Direct Consular Filing, which allows a USC to file his petition I-130s at the USCIS office in London (short queue) instead of in the US (very long queue).

You can read an overview of the process (for sure you would go through this, maybe the kids) in the first link in my signature.

chicagojlo

I don't know anything about the vaccination program for immigrants that you mentioned but my daughter had to have vaccinations she didn't need in our previous country, as well as tb and lead skin tests in order to attend daycare, and would also have needed them to attend school unless I had been able to come up with an extremely good reason why she couldn't have them.
Had I not kept her previous vaccination schedule and been able to translate it into English, she would have had to have them all over again! Luckily they also believed me when I said she had had the chicken pox (had it twice!) so I got out of that one. But she has had to have 3 hep-B (I think) boosters to make up for not having them previously.

Hilda

http://www.aca.ch/sec322.htm

I appreciate your response, Folinskyinla, I am now enjoying the delights of a section 322 update posted at the above address.

*gulp* So my husband would go with the kids to the states for the interview. I won't ask you to verify that, I'll just read that sentence again and again and hope the colour returns to my face at some point. To the states....that'd be without me I guess, whose own alien spouse visa application would have to be processed somehow alongside of the kids' and the possibility of a time lag between applications being processed is likely. Is this a five year plan?

Okay, I shall stop whining now and go back to the update. Thank you very much for your help.

scrubbedexpat099

Search this forum for DCF.

Hilda

Dear ChicagoJLo,

Not all daycare or schooling requires hefty vaccination programmes before the child can participate (for example, waldorf schools don't and homeschoolers are obviously deciding for themselves), but I know that it is as standard in many schools and daycare centers. We are avoiding any path that would mean we'd 'have to' do the full monty, but I suppose this process is going to take a fair amount of months (years?? Decades?), by which time the kids will be old enough and probably able to decide for themselves whether they want to take a shot (or twelve) to gain access to new opportunities.

I have heard that there is some sort of test that one can opt for to see about natural immunity for certain diseases, e.g: whooping cough and measles, and so get away without repeating them if no record was kept of original programme. I've also heard that the prices for these tests can be high and the testing wait time long.

Thankyou for taking the time to respond to my query.

Folinskyinla

Hi:

Your children can go through the citizenship process under 322 while living in the United Kingdom. They will have to make one brief trip to the US with your husband to get the certificate of citizenship.

If your children immigrate before age 18, and they are in the custody of your AmCit husband, they instantly become US citizens by operation of law under section 320. I believe there is a process in this whereby CBP will record their admissions as AmCits. They can then apply for US passports.

If YOU intend to immigrate, then YOU will have to get an immigrant visa petition. There is a process where your husband can file an "I-130" for you and your children [separated petitions for each] with filing in the DHS office in the Embassy in London. Once approved, the DHS office will forward it to the Consular Section of the State Department in the Embassy in London [aka "down the hall."] Then you process for the immigrant visas.

In countries without DHS offices [e.g. most of them], the consular section can take the I-130 and adjudicate it and then do the IV. This has the common nickname of Direct Consular Filing or "DCF". As a legal matter, the term is meaningless and is not used.

Hilda

Dear David,

Have searched and am now wading happily through the threads related to DCF on this forum. Thanks for the tip.

scrubbedexpat099

Enjoy!

It may look a pain, but not compared to all the other options.

Hilda

Dear MEAUNXA

DCF - Direct Consular Filing! Now I get it. The links you gave are a great help. Lots of information to take in. I am getting the feeling now that my brain isn't big enough. Shall have to go take a few breaths of fresh air and come back to it revigorated. Dull pain in temples, though thanks to the speedy assistance of this forum, less of complete mystery than was before. Have a feeling panadol will be called for at some point though.

.....

(oKAY just reading through the first link again, is it common to reach brain saturation point after only 7 hours of trailing internet and running back and forth to husband to jabber excitedly about 'new developments'? Definite need of lie down with wet flannel on head. Am presuming the stamina builds. Aargh threads all over the place).