Carl Alexander

About 35 years ago my sister, who was born in the US, moved to Canada,
married a Canadian, and became a Canadian citizen. She has never
renounced her US citizenship.

Is she still a US citizen? Are her children (both born in Canada) US
citizens? Assuming these are not black and white questions, where
could I find guidance answering them?

Rich Wales

Carl Alexander wrote:

> About 35 years ago my sister, who was born in the US, moved
> to Canada, married a Canadian, and became a Canadian citizen.
> She has never renounced her US citizenship. Is she still a
> US citizen?

Hard to say for sure without some more precise dates. The most
important date (or, at least, year) would be when she acquired
Canadian citizenship. Note that this is most likely NOT the same
as the time when she got married; contrary to widely held belief,
marriage to a Canadian does NOT result in immediate, automatic
acquisition of Canadian citizenship.

It might also make a difference if she did (or didn't) ever come
to the attention of US consular officials. If she was never given
a formal "certificate of loss of nationality" by US officials, it
is very possible that she is still considered to be a US citizen,
even if the circumstances might normally have led to her losing
her US citizenship. US law and administrative policy on "dual"
citizenship is a lot more liberal now than it was in the 60's and
70's -- but in earlier times, it was quite possible for someone
to have been deemed to have lost their US citizenship, even if
they never explicitly renounced it or asked to have it revoked.

More information on US law on dual US/other citizenship can be
found in my FAQ (http://www.richw.org/dualcit/).

> Are her children (both born in Canada) US citizens?

That would depend primarily on how old she was when she left the
US. Very roughly speaking, if she was at least 19 when she moved
to Canada, there is a reasonable chance that she would have spent
enough time in the US in her life (prior to the birth of her
children) for her children to have automatic US citizenship at
birth because of her.

It would also make a difference, of course, whether or not she was
still officially considered by the US to be a US citizen at the
time her children were born. Again, determining whether she is
still a US citizen (and if not, when she lost her citizenship)
would be crucial.

> Assuming these are not black and white questions,
> where could I find guidance answering them?

From US consular officials, or from a knowledgeable lawyer in
the US who is intimately familiar with US citizenship laws.

It might be best for her to start out by talking with a lawyer,
especially if her situation is iffy, because if she starts out
by talking to consular officials, it's conceivable that she
might get confused by their questions and inadvertently answer
something in a manner that might come back to haunt her later.

It should be noted that if Carl's sister, and/or her children,
have a claim to US citizenship, this would not have any impact
at all on their Canadian citizenship. Canada has permitted dual
Canadian/other citizenship, with absolutely no restrictions of
any kind, since 1977.

Rich Wales [email protected] http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
*DISCLAIMER: I am not a lawyer, professional immigration consultant,
or consular officer. My comments are for discussion purposes only and
are not intended to be relied upon as legal or professional advice.

Leo

As far as I know your sister is STILL a US citizen. There is a good FAQ here http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
I am not sure about the children. Maybe someone else knows the answers.

../Leo