Am I a Citizen of the United States?
By: Howard Barron | Posted: 22nd February 2011
Many folks are citizens of America by birth or through another a part of the immigration law and really don't even know it. In case you are a citizen by law, you don't need to get the citizenship and naturalization exam through the INS or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even if you've no documentation or contemplate by yourself an "illegal alien", in case you are citizen by law, your lack of documentation does not alter the truth that you're a citizen - you just need evidence of it.
A lot of individuals are citizens of America by birth or via some other a part of the immigration law and really don't even know it. Should you be a citizen by law, you don't want to get the citizenship and naturalization exam by means of the INS or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even if you've got no documentation or contemplate by yourself an "illegal alien" as an example, no green card, no visa, no immigration paperwork, should you be citizen by law, your lack of documentation will not change the truth that you are a citizen - you just will need evidence of it.
Keep in mind that this short article will not handle amnesty or other types of laws that grant folks immigration status. This short article talks in regards to the likelihood that you might be a citizen by virtue of your parents' or grandparents' U.S. citizenship, or your place of birth.
The laws that figure out whether you are a citizen instantly under the law have changed about the a long time. Under most conditions, if you have been born within the United States, you are a U.S. citizen. But in some situations, even when you had been not born inside the U.S., you could possibly even now be a citizen.
In the event you had been born outside of America, the law normally seems to be for the law that was in effect at the time of one's birth, your parent's birth, your grandparent's birth, and so forth. In some cases, simply being the child of a U.S. citizen makes you a citizen no matter wherever you had been born, but in other circumstances the law demands that your American father or mother have resided inside the United States for any period of time before citizenship might be immediately bestowed on you. One more factor to think about is regardless of whether your parents were married with the time you had been born. The immigration law concerning children born from wedlock can figure out regardless of whether you received citizenship automatically or not.
In case you had been not a citizen at birth, you may have acquired citizenship by means of your mom or father when he or she grew to become a citizen or naturalized. This typically needs that your father or mother naturalize prior to your 18th birthday. For example, if you have a green card and you also are under 18 in the time that you simply mother or father becomes a U.S. citizen, you might have obtained citizenship immediately in addition to your father or mother, despite the fact that you really don't have documentation of it. On this scenario, you would not will need to take the citizenship exam, you would just apply for any certificate of citizenship. The Kid Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) will be the applicable law.
In the event you believe that you simply might already be a citizen by law, you should get in touch with an immigration legal professional to get a legal viewpoint about your situation. In the event you merely display up on the border, airport or other immigration office and just make an effort to claim US citizenship with out appropriate proof, the immigration service will send your scenario for the immigration judge and basically location you into deportation. You'll then should show your declare to your judge. With correct planning, for those who have a legitimate claim to citizenship, you could be able to prevent the deportation procedure by getting a certificate of citizenship or U.S. passport.About the Author
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Tags: likelihood, citizens, grandparents, ins, virtue, citizen, article talks, green card, immigration law, place of birth, citizenship and immigration services, u s citizenship and immigration services, citizenship and immigration, s citizenship and immigration services, immigration status