User Incognito

Hi guys,

I am a H1 and my wife is H4. We just had a child born in California!
She (yes it's a girl!) automatically gets US birth certificate and
citizenship. Now here comes the trivia question (it's not trivial to
me, I really need to know so if you have any info, please share it
with me - and the rest of the world) neither myself nor my wife are US
citizens. In fact, we have different citizenships (in fact my wife has
a dual citizenship). Our daughter is eligible to her parents'
citizenships. Will applying and getting her citizenships based on her
parents' citizenships jeopirdize her US citizenship? I understand if
you are a US citizen and apply for a different citizenship, you loose
the US citizenship, but how about a child who is born on american soil
and can get other citizenships due to her parents?

Anyone any ideas? Ingi? Sylvia? Please reply...

H1.Parent.of.US.child

Joachim Feise

User Incognito said on 1/9/2004 22:47:
    > citizenships. Will applying and getting her citizenships based on her
    > parents' citizenships jeopirdize her US citizenship?

No.

    > I understand if
    > you are a US citizen and apply for a different citizenship, you loose
    > the US citizenship,

No, you usually don't, unless you explicitly renounce US citizenship.

For info about this issue, see Rich Wales' very good Dual Citizenship FAQ:
http://www.richw.org/dualcit/

-Joe

Stephen Gallagher

    > I am a H1 and my wife is H4. We just had a child born in California!
    > She (yes it's a girl!) automatically gets US birth certificate and
    > citizenship. Now here comes the trivia question (it's not trivial to
    > me, I really need to know so if you have any info, please share it
    > with me - and the rest of the world) neither myself nor my wife are US
    > citizens. In fact, we have different citizenships (in fact my wife has
    > a dual citizenship). Our daughter is eligible to her parents'
    > citizenships. Will applying and getting her citizenships based on her
    > parents' citizenships jeopirdize her US citizenship?

No. There is nothing that you or your wife can do to affect
your daughter's US citizenship. If she also receives citizenship(s)
from you and/or your wife's countries, she will still keep her US citizenship
for life. Whether she can keep the other citizenships that she receives
will be up to the laws of those countries.

    > I understand if
    > you are a US citizen and apply for a different citizenship, you loose
    > the US citizenship,

That was true at one time, but not any more. A US citizen
who voluntarily acquires another citizenship may lose
his or her US citizenship, but only if the other citizenship
was acquired with the intention of giving up the US citizenship.
As long as the US citizen's intention was to keep his other
citizenship, then he will keep it.

The US State Department's administrative standard
is that they presume that a US citizen acquires other citizenships
with the intention of keeping his US citizenship. So, unless a
US citizen specifically goes to the State Department and tells
them that his intention was to give up his US citizenship,
they will take no action.

    > but how about a child who is born on american soil
    > and can get other citizenships due to her parents?

As stated earlier, your daughter's US citizenship will not
be jeopardized if she receives another citzenships through
parentage. In fact, since your daughter is not actively requesting
the other citizenships herself (you are, or they are being
automatically conferred), the issue of intent doesn't even matter.

Here is an excellent page written by a holder of dual citizenship.
It explains the US policies in better detail.

http://www.richw.org/dualcit/

Stephen Gallagher

User Incognito

Thanks everyone for their reply! Now I am going to follow up on the links...

(Stephen Gallagher) wrote in message news:<>...
    > > I am a H1 and my wife is H4. We just had a child born in California!
    > > She (yes it's a girl!) automatically gets US birth certificate and
    > > citizenship. Now here comes the trivia question (it's not trivial to
    > > me, I really need to know so if you have any info, please share it
    > > with me - and the rest of the world) neither myself nor my wife are US
    > > citizens. In fact, we have different citizenships (in fact my wife has
    > > a dual citizenship). Our daughter is eligible to her parents'
    > > citizenships. Will applying and getting her citizenships based on her
    > > parents' citizenships jeopirdize her US citizenship?
    >
    > No. There is nothing that you or your wife can do to affect
    > your daughter's US citizenship. If she also receives citizenship(s)
    > from you and/or your wife's countries, she will still keep her US citizenship
    > for life. Whether she can keep the other citizenships that she receives
    > will be up to the laws of those countries.
    >
    > > I understand if
    > > you are a US citizen and apply for a different citizenship, you loose
    > > the US citizenship,
    >
    > That was true at one time, but not any more. A US citizen
    > who voluntarily acquires another citizenship may lose
    > his or her US citizenship, but only if the other citizenship
    > was acquired with the intention of giving up the US citizenship.
    > As long as the US citizen's intention was to keep his other
    > citizenship, then he will keep it.
    >
    > The US State Department's administrative standard
    > is that they presume that a US citizen acquires other citizenships
    > with the intention of keeping his US citizenship. So, unless a
    > US citizen specifically goes to the State Department and tells
    > them that his intention was to give up his US citizenship,
    > they will take no action.
    >
    > > but how about a child who is born on american soil
    > > and can get other citizenships due to her parents?
    >
    > As stated earlier, your daughter's US citizenship will not
    > be jeopardized if she receives another citzenships through
    > parentage. In fact, since your daughter is not actively requesting
    > the other citizenships herself (you are, or they are being
    > automatically conferred), the issue of intent doesn't even matter.
    >
    > Here is an excellent page written by a holder of dual citizenship.
    > It explains the US policies in better detail.
    >
    > http://www.richw.org/dualcit/
    >
    > Stephen Gallagher