Artmoon

Would a child who was born in Canada be able to get her citizenship if
her father is a U.S. citizen and was at the time of her birth?

I am aware of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, but in this case,
what if the child is NOT a permanent resident alien, having not gone
through the immigrant visa process?

Can she get her citizenship without first becoming a landed immigrant?
Is she automatically a U.S. citizen as long as she is born to a U.S.
citizen?

Rich Wales

"Artmoon" wrote:

> Would a child who was born in Canada be able to get her
> citizenship if her father is a U.S. citizen and was at
> the time of her birth? . . . Is she automatically a
> U.S. citizen as long as she is born to a U.S. citizen?

Maybe, maybe not. There are a bunch of complicated legal provisions
that might apply, depending on the answers to the following three
main questions:

First, were the child's parents married (to each other) at the time
of the child's birth?

Second, how much time did the father (or, in the case of an American
mother, the mother) spend in the US prior to the child's birth? And
how old was the American parent when he/she spent time in the US?

And third, is the child's other parent (in this case, the mother) a
US citizen? That is, are both parents US citizens, or just one?

Rather than go into a long-winded, exhaustive discussion of all the
possibilities, I think I'd rather wait to see how you answer the
above three questions. Then I'll jump in again with some comments
that are tailored to the actual situation.

> I am aware of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, but in
> this case, what if the child is NOT a permanent resident
> alien, having not gone through the immigrant visa pro-
> cess? Can she get her citizenship without first becoming
> a landed immigrant?

There is another provision in the Child Citizenship Act of 2000,
by the way, whereby an American parent who is =not= currently
living in the US can obtain US citizenship for his/her foreign-born
child without first having to sponsor the child for immigration to
the US. But first, let's figure out whether the child in question
is already a US citizen by birth.

Also, please be careful =not= to use the term "landed immigrant"
when talking about US permanent resident status. Otherwise, you'll
just confuse people into thinking you've switched countries and are
starting to talk about Canadian permanent residence -- since the
term "landed immigrant", AFAIK, is only used to refer to permanent
resident status in Canada, not any other country. (Similarly, of
course, you shouldn't use the term "green card" to refer to perma-
nent resident status in any country other than the US.)

Speaking of Canada, BTW, the child in question here would also be
a Canadian citizen by birth, since (under Canadian law) any child
born in Canada (except for a child of foreign diplomats or repre-
sentatives of certain international organizations such as the UN)
is automatically a Canadian citizen. The parents' legal status in
Canada doesn't matter. And if either parent has any other citi-
zenship instead of, or in addition to, US and/or Canadian, then
it's possible that the child might have additional citizenship(s).
As far as both US and Canadian law are concerned, a child born
with dual/multiple citizenships can keep them all for life; there
is =no= law in either Canada or the US that would require such a
child to choose a single citizenship later in life (though, if
any additional country is involved, it's conceivable that its laws
might impose such a requirement to choose; check with experts on
the citizenship laws of the other country or countries involved).

Rich Wales 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.