Question:
I was born on December 29, 1986 in Canada, and I have lived all my life
in Canada. My mom was born in the US, and moved to Canada at 14, and
while still a minor got Canadian citizenship from her dad. My dad is
Danish.
My question is, is there some way I can get to live in the US after I
graduate from high school? Can I get American citizenship through my
mom?
Answer:
Short answer: Maybe. You most likely don't qualify for automatic US
citizenship by birth, but you probably do qualify for expedited natur-
alization under a law passed in 1994, provided you act quickly.
Longer answer:
In certain situations, a child born outside the US to an American
parent gets automatic US citizenship at birth. However, it doesn't
appear that your situation is one of these.
In order for you to get automatic US citizenship through your mother,
your mother would have to have spent at least five years in the US
prior to your birth. Presumably, she did this when she was a child.
However, she would also have to have spent at least two years in the
US after her 14th birthday (again, prior to your birth). Unless she
returned to the US enough times to accumulate a full two years' worth
of time in the US after she turned 14 -- and before you were born --
you can't claim US citizenship by birth through her.
Note that the law involved here does =not= say your mom would have to
have =moved= to and =lived= in the US for any amount of time after her
14th birthday. It merely requires her to have been physically =in=
the US (and/or its territories or possessions) for one or more periods
of time totalling at least two years, after her 14th birthday. If she
took a lot of trips to the US -- and if she can prove the time to the
satisfaction of US consular officials (possibly easier said than done)
-- that should be good enough.
If (as I suppose is likely) it turns out that you don't have automatic
US citizenship by birth, there may be one other way you could get US
citizenship by what is, in effect, an expedited naturalization process.
Under a 1994 federal law, it is possible for a non-US-born child of a
US citizen to obtain US citizenship by virtue of a grandparent's having
spent at least five years' worth of time in the US (including at least
two years of presence after the grandparent's 14th birthday). In such
a case, I understand your mother could apply for you to get US citizen-
ship, and then take you with her to the US and sign the required forms
so that you would become a US citizen. The law says this can only be
done while the child is still under 18, so you still have time left to
do this, but you should probably look into it sooner rather than later.
I'd strongly recommend you and your mother discuss this option with an
immigration lawyer in the US, to make sure you do qualify, and to help
with the proper procedure. Any good immigration lawyer should already
be aware of this 1994 law, but just in case their memory needs some
jogging, it's Public Law 103-416, the "Immigration and Nationality
Technical Corrections Act of 1994", and the part of the citizenship
law affected by this 1994 legislation is Section 322 of the Immigra-
tion and Nationality Act (United States Code, title 8, section 1433).
Now, depending on exactly when your mother acquired Canadian citizen-
ship, there may be a slight possibility that she may have been deemed
to have lost her US citizenship. This wouldn't happen any more, under
current US law, but US law used to be a lot less friendly to the idea
of dual citizenship than it is now. In order for you to get US citi-
zenship now, by virtue of a grandparent's having spent the required
amount of time in the US, it's my understanding that your mother has
to be a US citizen =now= -- which is probably another reason to start
looking into all this now, rather than later.
Also, you (and your mother) should be aware that current Canadian and
US law will allow you (and her) to have both countries' citizenships
(so-called "dual" citizenship). There was a time when this wasn't the
case, but the US restrictions on dual citizenship have pretty much all
been abolished as a result of various Supreme Court rulings, and the
Canadian restrictions on dual citizenship were completely abolished by
the enactment (in 1977) of the current Citizenship Act. The Canadian
federal government is currently working on a completely rewritten
citizenship law (Bill C-16), but this new law preserves the current
permissive policy on dual citizenship without any changes at all.
Finally, if you do decide to pursue US citizenship, you need to keep
in mind that there are a few legal responsibilities attached to it.
For example, you'll be required to get a US Social Security Number and
file US federal tax returns every year, even if you are living and
working full-time in Canada. (You probably won't have to pay any US
income tax on your Canadian earnings, on account of various credits
and exclusions in the US tax code, but you have to fill out and file
the tax return forms anyway.) Also, you'll be expected to register
with the "Selective Service" system (the US government agency which
would be responsible for a draft -- i.e., forcing people to serve in
the US military); keep in mind, however, that the US hasn't actually
had a draft since 1973, and I think most experts feel it's extremely
unlikely that Congress will ever authorize a return to the draft any-
time in the foreseeable future.
One other thing. Since (as you said) your father is Danish, you may
wish to check with Danish consular officials (and/or a Danish lawyer
who deals with citizenship matters in that country) to see if you are
considered a Danish citizen according to Danish law. This could be
a good thing (greater flexibility in travel, etc.), but depending on
Danish law, it might be a bad thing too (e.g., if they have military
service requirements). I'd recommend you look into this question
before travelling in (or even near) Denmark, just to be safe.
If you want to be a Danish citizen, there is a problem in that Denmark
generally does not allow dual nationality.
I found a copy of Denmark's Citizenship Act at the following url:
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/entreelibre/Laurette/country/DENMARK.html
If your father has not taken Canadian citizenship by naturalisation, then
you have likely been Canadian by birth and Danish by descent. As far as I
can see, Denmark will not force you to renounce your Canadian citizenship,
but if you subsequently acquire US citizenship it looks like you would lose
Danish nationality. If you want to retain Danish citizenship, it looks like
you need to register with the Danish authorities before your 22nd birthday.
If, on the other hand, your father became a Canadian before you were born,
he would have lost his Danish citizenship on that date, and it does not
appear that you would be Danish yourself in that case.
Rich's point about US citizenship not being automatic is important. If you
were automatically a US citizen at birth, it appears that you could hold US
and Canadian nationality as well as Danish. But if you need to go through a
naturalisation process, even if expedited, this risks forfeiting your Danish
citizenship, even if you are under 18 at the time.
I agree with Rich that your best option is to consult the Danish embassy or
a Danish lawyer to check the position exactly, and also check whatever
obligations Danish citizenship imposes on you.
US citizenship will obviously open up more opportunities in the US than
Canadian would, although you would still qualify for NAFTA TN visas as a
Canadian. On the other hand, Danish nationality allows you to work or live
without restriction in any of the EU countries, plus Norway and Iceland. In
fact, if you wanted an EU nationality that would not be lost upon further
acquisition of citizenship, after 5 years living in the UK you could
effectively swap your Danish nationality for British citizenship which
carries much the same benefits, but is far more flexible regarding
dual/multiple nationality. The same would apply if you lived in France.
Your problem is that expedited naturalisation is the US is only available as
an option until you are 18, as Rich says. So between now and then, you may
have to choose between having Danish and US citizenship - it may a tough
call, especially at your age. If you are concerned about Danish citizenship
and the EU benefits that go with it, you and your father should get
professional advice as to your position under Danish law. Once you know
exactly where you stand, you can make decisions about whether or not to go
for US citizenship. Whatever you decide,
Does Denmark have a military service requirement? One big reason why
I brought up the issue of Danish citizenship was so the original poster
wouldn't be caught unawares while visiting Denmark.
Some years ago, I had a friend -- American-born of Korean ancestry --
who went to South Korea as a Mormon missionary. The plan was for him
to stay there for about two years. However, a few months after his
arrival, the local authorities decided that my friend was a Korean
citizen (and thus liable for military duty), because his father was
from Korea. He was born in the US, he had travelled to Korea on a
US passport, and he had never thought himself to be a citizen of any
country other than the US, but he still had to cut short his stay in
Korea so as not to be drafted into that country's army.
No problem
The one additional comment I would make is that if the US expedited
naturalisation process you outlined involves the person's mother making the
application rather than himself (he being under 18) this might not cause
loss of Danish citizenship, as it would not be an act done personally.
That's a question best answered by a Danish lawyer, or a clearance obtained
(in writing) from the Danish Embassy that acquiring US citizenship in this
way will not cause him to lose Danish citizenship
