Question:
My situation has my own head spinning,
so I don't know what any of you
will think of it. First, I was born
in Vancouver, B.C., Canada, in 1972.
My parents, however, were both US
citizens. They immigrated to Canada
for a variety of reasons, I think,
including having relatives there,
my father having a job offer at
a newspaper there, and I also believe
because of the Vietnam War situation
at the time.
My parents
were definitely not there in a diplomatic
capacity and did not work for a
foreign agency. They moved to Canada
either in 1971, or in early 1972.
I was born in July of 1972. They
stayed in Canada until the beginning
of 1977, by which time my mother
missed her relatives back in the
US, and my father had received a
better job offer in the US that
would facilitate him going back
to college for his master's and
subsequently his doctorate. I was
not quite 5, and hadn't started
school yet (which I did in the latter
half of 1977 in the US). When they
moved to Canada, they applied for
and received legal resident status.
What they did not do, however, was
finish this process and become Canadian
citizens.
They also
never registered my birth with a
US embassy/consulate. Somehow, I
was able to start kindergarten in
the US. I don't know what documents
were required at the time. I continued
through school and didn't have a
problem with this, except shortly
before my first visit to the UK,
in 1987 to see an uncle married.
At this time (at 14), I had to go
through the process of receiving
a US social security number in order
to then apply for a US passport,
as I could no longer travel on a
parent's passport. I was required
to take a US oath to receive the
passport, and of course my Canadian
birth certificate had been sent
in, and I'm sure my parents' US
birth certificates, as well. I didn't
think much of this for many years
afterward. I had/have a US passport,
and was able to travel. I also had/have
a social security number, and am
able to work. But when it came time
to renew my passport to travel to
China, I came up against problems.
The US passport
issuing agency questioned my citizenship.
I sent in a letter, stating how
long I had been in the US, that
I had a social security number,
and pay US taxes, and as I recall
I sent my parents' birth certificates
in as well. After this, I was re-issued
another US passport, and thought
that this meant I was officially
recognized as a US citizen. Now
to 'switch gears'. I've always assumed
I was a Canadian citizen (and of
course a citizen of the Commonwealth)
as well, and have taken pride in
it. But I ran across info regarding
the "Lost Canadians" on the internet,
and began to look into it more.
I realized that I was probably indeed
officially a Canadian citizen (particularly
because of changes in Canadian law
regarding the "Lost Canadians" in
May of this year), and decided to
'formalize' this, so to speak, by
sending off for my Canadian citizenship
card. Well, after emailing the Canadian
consulate in Los Angeles about my
particular situation, I received
a brief reply that I was likely
a Canadian citizen and that I should
apply for a Canadian citizenship
card. So, they emailed me an application
package. But here's where I'm starting
to get concerned about WHAT country(ies)
of which I'm actually considered
a citizen. One thing listed on a
loose sheet insert regarding documents
to send in, included in the package
the Canadian consulate sent me,
notes 'proof of status in the US'.
As acceptable
proof, the following are listed:
Alien Registration Card, US Naturalization
Certificate, or US report of birth
abroad. Well, my parents never reported
my birth to a US embassy/consulate
anywhere, either in Vancouver or
elsewhere. And I don't have an Alien
Registration Card as both of my
parents were born in the US. I also
do not believe I have a US Naturalization
Certificate as both of my parents
were born in the US. But of course
my birth certificate is Canadian.
Also, this particular list clearly
notes that a US passport is -not-
considered proof of status, as it
is only a travel document. Now,
there is another list of needed
documents, that was stapled with
the 'application for a Canadian
citizenship certificate' package,
entitled, "Documents You Must Send
With Your Application." According
to the category I fall under, "If
you have never had a citizenship
certificate, and you were born in
Canada," there is no requirement
for 'proof of status in the US'.
In fact, no category one might fall
under lists this requirement.
So I'm not
sure what's going on here. I've
emailed the Canadian consulate in
LA and am awaiting response. I guess
what I'm wondering here, though,
is how do I prove my 'status in
the US'? The list on the loose sheet
insert does not include 'social
security card' as acceptable for
'proof of status in the US'. Can
my birth abroad still be registered
with a US embassy, 33 years after
the fact? Should I? It's possible
I may receive a response to ignore
the 'proof of status in the US'
part on the list of documents to
include, but then they may say it's
required. I have no idea. I thought
my citizenship in the US was automatic
since both of my parents were born
in the US. I've read elsewhere on
these forums about a certain amount
of time having lived in the US being
required for parents, and although
they spent those years in Canada,
and spent some time elsewhere abroad
before my birth, they would still
meet that requirement.
I'm not sure
how I would go about proving it,
though, as my mother is now deceased,
and I have little communication
with my father. In fact, my mother
fell seriously ill upon returning
to the US, and my father's goals
were post-graduate oriented, so
after coming to the US, I was actually
raised by my grandmother and great-aunt.
So I'm not sure what it would take
to prove they spent the required
amount of time in the US for me
to be considered a US citizen (school/university
records?). And since the US does
not issue certificates of citizenship
like Canada does, I'm not sure what
document would be acceptable to
send to the Canadian consulate regarding
that 'proof of status in the US'
thing.
Answer:
Isnt a copy of your US passport
proof of US citizenship?? When boiled
down to everything, your question
is a short one of Canadian law and
procedures. As far as the United
States is concerned, the passport
IS bona fide evidence of US citizenship.
Until about 25 years ago, the passport
was NOT definitive evidence of citizenship,
but was just a travel document.
However, under UNITED STATES law,
it is such evidence. However, if
the Canadian government won't accept
the US passport, then you CAN file
an "N-600" with US Citizenship &
Immigraton Services for issuance
of a Certificate of Citizenship.
This is issued to US citizens who
did not naturalize in their own
right -- my mother was issued one
because she had "derivative naturalization"
and you can get one as having "derivative
citizenship."
