Am I a U.S.citizen and didn't know it?

Question

The details: My mother is a natural born U.S. citizen. She lived in the US for about 5 years then the family moved to Australia. She married my father (an Australian), I was born in Australia, and we all moved back to the US in 1986 and have lived here ever since. When I first emigrated to the US in 1986 I was given a green card and a SSN. I have lived in the US for the past 24 years believing I was a Permanent Resident. But......Have I been misinformed for 24 years? Have I been a US Citizen since birth????

Answer 1

Best Answer - Chosen by Voters

You must have dual citizenship then or your father never was an Australian, because if it was the other way around and you moved to Australia would you automatically become a Australian citizen*********************

Answer 2

It's a good question. I don't know the answer for sure, either.

But I'm going to guess that your mother's citizenship, on it's own, doesn't make you a citizen. Had you only been born here as well, then I think it would be a done deal.

But I'll bet it would be quite easy for you to become a citizen if you wanted to. You've already got your foot in the door.

Answer 3

If what you say is true your mother should have filed a US birth abroad and since she didn't you don't have natural citizenship.

I'm unsure if there's a timeline on it as far as how long she has to claim it but 24 years later would be a bit sketchy. Also may want to verify she has full US citizenship and that she is your biological mother if any possibility of a mistake on that.

Answer 4

No. If your mother left the US at the age of 5 she did not fulfill the residency requirements needed to pass on citizenship. If you wish, after 24 years, you could always apply for citizenship! Both the US and Australia allow dual citizenship now.

Answer 5

You are a citizen of the US if

You were born in the US or one of your parents were a US citizen at the time of your birth.

You may want to check into it more. Since you were born in Australian you are a citizen of Australian. I am not sure if you can have dual citizenship.

Answer 6

Docar is 100% right

if your mother moved to Australia as a child. she didn't meet the requirement to pass on her U.S. citizenship to you at birth.

US immigration law: dealing with children born overseas to Americans ...(Consular Report of Birth Abroad)

If one parent is not a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen parent must have lived in the United States for a specific period of time before the child was born to transmit citizenship.

For children born on or after November 14, 1986, the U.S. citizen parent must have lived in the United States or an outlying possession for five years, of which two years had to be after the age of 14, prior to the birth of the child. For children born before that date

Source(s):

http://www.greencardlawyers.net/citizenship/FAQchildbornabroad.html

Answer 7

I believe your registration as a US citizen would have had to be done before your 18th birthday. Why not contact the Immigration Service and get the information directly from the horse's mouth? As you can see, we are all just speculating here.

Answer 8

You could have been an US citizen since birth. The only misinformed person here is your mom. She could have filed a Consular Report of Birth Abroad on your behalf when you were born in Australia. I'm afraid the time line was until you became 21 years old but I am NOT completely sure.
Research more here:
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/m…

The following has been taken from one of those links:

"Are you a citizen born outside of the United States?
The citizenship of someone born outside of the United States, as the child of a U.S. citizen parent, could vary depending on the law in effect when the birth took place. In most cases citizens born outside the U.S. requires a combination of evidence showing at least one parent being a U.S. citizen when the child was born and having lived in the United States or its possessions for a period of time.

To apply for recognition of citizenship, you have options:

Your Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or FS-240, provides proof of citizenship if your birth was registered at the nearest U.S. consulate when you were born.

If you are already in the United States, apply for a Certificate of Citizenship. Use Form N-600

Are you a naturalized citizen or derivative citizen?
You can use your original Naturalization Certificate or Certificate of Citizenship as proof of citizenship. If you have lost either of your certificates, you can apply for a replacement using Form N-565"

Having been a permanent resident 'til now qualifies you to apply for Naturalization so don't procrastinate any longer.

Is there a chance the law entitling you to become US citizen through her was not in effect at the time you were born? I have no idea but keep researching in the uscis.gov website (official site). It might only take a few more links here and there to look at in order to find a better answer to your question

Source(s):

uscis.gov
My daughter became a Conditional Permanent Resident until we fulfilled the conditions required so she could claim US citizenship through me (Well, I had to come back to live and work in this beautiful country, which I was going to have to do eventually). I got her U.S. citizenship certificate. She is my 9 year old US citizen now.

Answer 9

Once you born in Australia then you are Citizen of Australia or Once you born in America then you are Citizen of America period.
This is how the world are today.