I’m American married to a Taiwanese; however, I was born overseas, too, and am required to prove 5 years of physical presence in the US. Though I lived in the States for 8 years, I am only able to use university transcripts as proof. Sadly, they (AIT) had deemed this insufficient because they count one school year as only 8 months (4 months per semester). Since most of my time in the States was for university, I only had part-time work and only had 1 year full time employment. In short, my son can’t be an American because of this; won’t be able to go to international school; and would require a VISA everytime we go back to the States for a visit.
I’d appreciate some input and suggestions. Are there other avenues I should explore?
I had assumed that my child would automatically be American through me–that doesn’t seem the case. (It certainly didn’t stop AIT from charging me $147 despite not offering any suggestions. Great help they were…)
It is interesting that you should bring this up. I can assure you that there are some viable “long term” solutions to this problem which are being explored by legal counsel in Washington, D.C. at the present time. (I should have an update on this angle by the end of December 2006.)
However, since the baby is already born, your best option at this point is to proceed with your wife to the local Household Registration Office in Taiwan and register the baby as a Taiwanese newborn.
Through the lobbying of the foreign spouse community and many other groups, the Nationality Law was changed in Feb. 2000 to recognize Taiwan (ROC) nationality when either the mother or the father is a Taiwan (ROC) citizen.
The requirement to show five years presence in the US would be because only one parent was a US citizen. If both are citizens then you only need to prove that one parent residing in the US, but there are no length requirements. The presence requirement does not require the time to be consecutive either.
Do you have your have your old passports? That is a good way to prove your presence in the US based on the entry and exit stamps in it. That’s what I used.
If you really were in the US for eight years then it shouldn’t be a problem showing a cumulative 5 years presence.
jlick,
Thanks. I do have old passports; however, when my then current one expired, I didn’t renew. So, there is a “gap.” Besides, according to what I have read, passports are only used as secondary proof. AIT personel also said that they’re unreliable since the US doesn’t always “stamp out.”
This is frustrating. I realize that I have an unusual situation and am flummoxed as to how to proceed. They seem to make it so hard: employment records help, BUT it can only be full-time work; taxes records can help, BUT the IRS can only provide copies of the last 3 years AND it can’t be filed with someone else; university transcripts can help, BUT we don’t count the entire year–as if any poor college student can afford to go on a 4 month holiday every year!
Should I be considering a Green Card?
You said, “… viable “long term” solutions to this problem which are being explored by legal counsel in Washington, D.C. at the present time. (I should have an update on this angle by the end of December 2006.)”
Is there a way for me to get this information directly? Sorry to say that I don’t visit this board very often.
As far as I know the US never stamps out US passports when you leave. However, you should always get stamps for entering and exiting foreign countries. All I can say is that I used only my passports to show residence in the US for my daughter’s CRBA. As with any bureaucracy, collect as much info as you can and try again. AIT staff seem to rotate in and out fairly often so there’s a good chance you’ll have better luck next time.
[quote] 2. Who is born a United States citizen?
Generally, people are born U.S. citizens if they are born in the United States or if they are born to U.S. citizens:
(3) Through birth abroad to ONE United States citizen
In most cases, you are a U.S. citizen if ALL of the following are true:
One of your parents was a U.S. citizen when you were born;
Your citizen parent lived at least 5 years in the United States before you were born; and
At least 2 of these 5 years in the United States were after your citizen parent’s 14th birthday.
Your record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of your citizenship. You may also apply for a passport to have your citizenship recognized. If you need additional proof of your citizenship, you may file an “Application for Certificate of Citizenship” (Form N-600) with USCIS to get a Certificate of Citizenship.[/quote]
In short, don’t give up on this: it’s not a matter of your kid becoming a citizen, he or she is a citizen, and you should push as hard as you can to get that documented ASAP.
Thanks for that. I guess I was wrong about the IRS; however, that still would not help since I’ve been residing and working in Taiwan for over 11 years.
If the US does not usually “stamp out” passports, surely there is a computerized record of exits and entries? I know in Taiwan they do and is very easy to get.
I’m also exploring credit card charges, old apartment rental agreement, etc. I’m not sure these would work though as they don’t prove “continuous” physical presence.
Any more ideas would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks again to all who’ve responded.
How about a sworn affadavit from a US citizen (or from a number of citizens) who knew you at the time and would attest to your presence in the US? It might not serve as primary evidence, but I know that in applying for my wife’s green card such a statement served as very important additional evidence.
[later edit] In any case, we’re getting into territory where you would be best served by consulting with an attorney who is board-certified in US immigration law. In fact, that’s the first thing I’d do if I were you–I think it should take precedence over any other action, including your kid’s household registration in Taiwan, if that can be put off.
As far as I can tell, if the story you tell is true, than your baby is a natural born US Citizen–the only problem is in proving it.[/quote]
Well Sam that’s nice that you think so but the child is not a US citizen unless the registration by descent is accpted by the INS. They are the sole authority for deciding this.
The OP needs to obtain rent contracts, water or electricity bills and other forms of statements that can be used to verify the required time needed to show the INS that he has resided in the USA for the time period needed for his child to natuaralized as a US Citizen.
Tax records, property records, banking, employment, study and other records may be required to evidence this. Citizenship is not automatic to children born outside of the USA to parents who were naturalized themselves.
The OP could also show any private mails for magazines or letters fom friends family, etc. if he has the envelopes which are post dated.
Club memberships, police infringements notices, car parking tickets, etc. can alll be used to build up a time history.
When resuming my Australian Citizenship I had to prove that I had lived in Australia for a period totalling two years of my life. Even though I was born in Australia and never left before I was 24 and had previously worked for the Australian Government Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade … I still needed other records.
Nothing is as ever straight forward as most people assume. The OP’s issue is that having left the USA for 11 years some records may be difficult to obtain.
In most cases household registration of a newborn ROC citizen must be done within 30 days or they make things difficult for you. I’m not sure what the relevance is either, because my daughter’s ROC citizenship was never an issue in getting her CRBA.
We might be splitting hairs here, but according to the US officials, a qualifying child is a US citizen from birth. The CRBA process is only to officially recognize the citizenship. (By the way, INS hasn’t existed for about 4 years now.)
This one says that if a citizen cannot prove physical presence, it may be done so through a grandparent:
Section 322 of the INA provides for automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship for children who reside abroad and are not legal permanent residents of the United States (green card holders) and who have fulfilled all of the following conditions:
At least one parent is an American citizen, whether by birth or naturalization;
The American citizen parent has been physically present in the United States for a total of five years, at least two of which were after age 14. If the citizen parent does not meet this requirement, it is enough if the child has an American citizen grandparent who meets the requirement.
The child is under the age of 18; and
The child is residing outside of the United States in the legal and physical custody of the citizen parent, has been lawfully admitted into the United States as a non-immigrant, and is maintaining lawful status (i.e., has not overstayed the visa).
Children who meet the conditions of Section 322 should travel to the United States with the American citizen parent in order to apply for naturalization (please note that this cannot be done at the Embassy). Once a Certificate of Citizenship has been awarded, parents can apply for a U.S. passport for their children either while still in the United States or at the American Citizen Services unit after returning to the home country. We have been told that INS is designing a new form that will help people to complete part of the naturalization application overseas before traveling to the United States, but we haven’t received it yet. If you have questions about the naturalization process, please see the INS website at ins.usdoj.gov.