Don Mackenzie

Hi all,

I have been trying to sift through the contradictory information I have found on the
web regarding whether or not my wife is a US Citizen.

Before I get into the questions, I will outline her situation:
a. Her mother was born in the US and lived there continuously until after she had
turned 19. Her father was a landed US immigrant at that point. They both moved to
Canada, got married in Canada, and became Canadian citizens. (Her father probably
lost his green card before my wife was born.)
b. My wife was born in Canada in the early 1970s.
c. My wife's parents are now divorced.
d. This is probably not relevant, but her father has recently reacquired his green
card and now resides and works in the US.
e. My wife and I both reside in Canada and are Canadian citizens, and have been
married for several years.

Here are the issues that I am having trouble resolving:
1. Most web sites state that her US citizen parent (mother) must have lived in the
US for 10 years, at least 5 years after the age of fourteen. (And she would meet
this requirement.) However, other web sites state "5 years after the age of 16"
while yet others state that the requirement is "2 years after the age of 14."
Which is it?
2. Some documents claim that their is a "retention requirement" for persons born
between 1952 and 1976. Basically, the retention requirement is that the person
claiming citizenship must have reside in the US for 2 years between the ages of 14
and 28. However, further research seems to indicate that this requirement has been
abolished?
3. If my wife is, in fact, a US Citizen, is it better to file for a "Certificate of
Citizenship" or simply apply directly for a passport. Both seem to be options, but
the Certificate of Citizenship is much more expensive (US$185.)
4. Further to 3., given that I am not a US Citizen, is there anything we should be
aware of should we want to move to the US?

Thanks in advance for your feedback!

Shelley

Try reading here http://www.richw.org/dualcit/ Take Care. Shelley

"Don MacKenzie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
    > Hi all,
    >
    > I have been trying to sift through the contradictory information I have found on
    > the web regarding whether or not my wife is a US Citizen.
    >
    > Before I get into the questions, I will outline her situation:
    > a. Her mother was born in the US and lived there continuously until after she had
    > turned 19. Her father was a landed US immigrant at that point. They both moved
    > to Canada, got married in Canada, and became Canadian citizens. (Her father
    > probably lost his green card before my wife was born.)
    > b. My wife was born in Canada in the early 1970s.
    > c. My wife's parents are now divorced.
    > d. This is probably not relevant, but her father has recently reacquired
his
    > green card and now resides and works in the US.
    > e. My wife and I both reside in Canada and are Canadian citizens, and have been
    > married for several years.
    >
    > Here are the issues that I am having trouble resolving:
    > 1. Most web sites state that her US citizen parent (mother) must have
lived
    > in the US for 10 years, at least 5 years after the age of fourteen. (And she would
    > meet this requirement.) However, other web sites state "5 years after the age of
    > 16" while yet others state that the requirement is "2
years
    > after the age of 14." Which is it?
    > 2. Some documents claim that their is a "retention requirement" for
persons
    > born between 1952 and 1976. Basically, the retention requirement is that the person
    > claiming citizenship must have reside in the US for 2 years between the ages of 14
    > and 28. However, further research seems to
indicate
    > that this requirement has been abolished?
    > 3. If my wife is, in fact, a US Citizen, is it better to file for a "Certificate of
    > Citizenship" or simply apply directly for a passport.
Both
    > seem to be options, but the Certificate of Citizenship is much more expensive
    > (US$185.)
    > 4. Further to 3., given that I am not a US Citizen, is there anything we should be
    > aware of should we want to move to the US?
    >
    > Thanks in advance for your feedback!
    >

James Donovan

"Don MacKenzie" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected] a>...
    > Hi all,
    >
    > I have been trying to sift through the contradictory information I have found on
    > the web regarding whether or not my wife is a US Citizen.
    >
    > Before I get into the questions, I will outline her situation:
    > a. Her mother was born in the US and lived there continuously until after she had
    > turned 19. Her father was a landed US immigrant at that point. They both moved
    > to Canada, got married in Canada, and became Canadian citizens. (Her father
    > probably lost his green card before my wife was born.)
    > b. My wife was born in Canada in the early 1970s.
    > c. My wife's parents are now divorced.
    > d. This is probably not relevant, but her father has recently reacquired his green
    > card and now resides and works in the US.
    > e. My wife and I both reside in Canada and are Canadian citizens, and have been
    > married for several years.
    >
    > Here are the issues that I am having trouble resolving:
    > 1. Most web sites state that her US citizen parent (mother) must have lived in the
    > US for 10 years, at least 5 years after the age of fourteen.

Here is the information direct from the horse's mouth:
http://travel.state.gov/acquisition.html

"Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to
one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under
Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for
the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For
birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two
after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and
November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required
for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child."

and

"Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Mother: A child born abroad
out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen mother may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section
301(g) INA, as made applicable by Section
309(c) INA if the mother was a U.S. citizen at the time of the child's birth, and if
the mother had previously been physically present in the United States or one
of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year."