civilservant

Of course they will be able to get Green Cards, at the very worst she can petition for them. The likelihood is that, although they may need visas, upon entering they would immediately become USCs.

Markie

Interesting, that's not the way the US website makes it sound at all.

ian-mstm

It's the law... whether or not it's clear on the website.

Under US law, a person will become a US citizen automatically once all 3 of the following criteria are met - regardless of the order in which things happen:

1) They enter the US with an immigrant visa, or are already inside the US in PR status;
2) They are under age 18; and
3) They are in the physical and legal custody of a US citizen parent who lives in the US.

That said, if Bronxkid was not able to automatically pass US citizenship to the children and subsequently petitions her children for an immigrant visa, the children will automatically become US citizens the day they enter the US. Her husband will remain a US permanent resident (= green card), but can naturalize after 3 years as a PR.

Bronxkid - if you aren't one already, you should seriously consider getting UK citizenship now, while you still have the chance. The future is never certain.

Ian

Markie

The US definitely needs a more clear site. And absolutely on the getting UK citizenship! Flexibility is so useful.

civilservant

Trying to write a website to cover every possible eventuality is a fools errand.

crg

It gets tricky. Residing in the custody of the US parent after being admitted for permanent residence would do the trick. The family activating the green cards then going to Disney for a week and then returning to their home in the UK may not cut it.

crg

I know of a woman who was born in the US. She then had 3 children born outside the US. There was no USC father. 2 of the kids were US citizens at birth and one (the youngest child) was not.

Let's see who can figure out how that happened.

Marocco

Did she spend insufficient time in the US before the birth of the first two kids, but not before the third one was born?

S Folinsky

I had a client many years ago who fit that description. At the time, the interpretation of the law of expatriation was that she had expatriated after the birth of the first two kids but before the birth of the third kid.

Later on US born mom immigrated on the petition of her eldest and she then petitioned for the youngest. We thought youngest later obtained derivative naturalization when US born mom naturalized as a US citizen. However, it later turned out that the divorce lawyer had made a typographical error in the foreign divorce decree on who had custody.

Ultimately, it was determined that a later interpretation of law meant that mom had NOT expatriated and therefore the subsequent immigration and naturalization were superfluities. Over 20 years that file was quite interesting.

zerlesen

The way it's written, she could've met the residency requirement and then renounced US citizenship in between kid #2 and kid #3, but I'm guessing it's something more esoteric...

crg

The youngest child was the one who was not a USC. It was because the 3rd child was born in wedlock. The first two children were born out of wedlock so she required much less residence to transmit citizenship to the first two kids. Because she married before kid #3 was born, she required 5 years of residence after the age of 14 that she didn't have so kid #3 did not derive US citizenship.

She had resumed US residence with all 3 kids but when she traveled and tried to come back to the US from a visit abroad, the third kid was not admitted because he was found to be an immigrant without an immigrant visa.

Ozzidoc

Apologies - I stand corrected.

Beaverstate

That reminds me of the song "I'm my own grandpa"

Bronxkid

Hi there and thank you so much for your reply and all the others. They were born in wedlock and my husband has no convictions.

Bronxkid

Also don't know if this is true as heard it through a friend ,my father served in the US army while in residence in the us , they were in the us for 25 yrs , he has told me, as my father the childrens grandfather was time served the grandchildren have automatic rights to reside in the us , is this right or just a load of twoddle !!