How do I make my baby an US citizen?

Question

I am German but lived in the states because my step dad is in the Army.I graduated from American High School, and pretty much only speak English. Now im 21 and loose my green card..I have a 1 year old son who is half American but im not married to his father! My son was born in Germany so he only has a german passport. We want my son to get citizenship so we both can live in the states but we don't know how to do it..My sons father is in the states and i am in germany. What do we do?

Answer 1

Well, you're talking about several different problems really. The first is how to have your child acknowledged as an American citizen. The following information comes from travel.state.gov:

Birth Abroad Out-of-Wedlock to a U.S. Citizen Father: A child born abroad out-of-wedlock to a U.S. citizen father may acquire U.S. citizenship under Section 301(g) INA, as made applicable by Section 309(a) INA provided:

1) a blood relationship between the applicant and the father is established by clear and convincing evidence;

2) the father had the nationality of the United States at the time of the applicant's birth;

3) the father (unless deceased) had agreed in writing to provide financial support for the person until the applicant reaches the age of 18 years, and

4) while the person is under the age of 18 years --

A) applicant is legitimated under the law of their residence or domicile,

B) father acknowledges paternity of the person in writing under oath, or

C) the paternity of the applicant is established by adjudication court.

If you're in Germany, you should contact the American Citizens Services section there and discuss what you need to do. However, even if you are able to have your child recognized as an American citizen, this will not grant you any status to live in the US. You say you had a green card but lost it. I don't know if you mean you misplaced it or that you lost that status. But you should contact the DHS office in Frankfurt to see what ability you might have to have it restored, if any, or replaced, which is much easier. Otherwise, you will need to establish new eligibility to emigrate to the US.

If you and the child's father want to marry, he could file a fiancee petition for you. If that is a possibility, he would need to file the proper paperwork in the US through USCIS. Otherwise, it might be possible for your stepdad or your mother to file a new immigrant visa petition for you. There's lots of information on this at both uscis.gov and travel.state.gov. You can look up the consulate in Frankfurt on this link: http://frankfurt.usconsulate.gov/service.html

Answer 2

I would suggest you talk to a lawyer,

Child born out of wedlock to a U.S. Citizen father:
A child born outside of the United States to an U.S. Citizen father where there is no marriage to the non-American mother is entitled to U.S. Citizenship providing the American citizen father had been physically present in the United States for the period of time as specified in previous paragraphs for children born in wedlock to one U.S. Citizen and one non-U.S. Citizen parent, either before or after November 14, 1986; and

the alien mother completes an "Affidavit to establish paternity of child" at this office before a consular officer; and
the father signs a sworn statement （Affidavit of Paternity and Statement of Support）acknowledging paternity and agreeing to provide financial support for the child until s/he reaches the age of 18 years; or
the child is legitimated under local law
or paternity is established by a competent court before the child attains the age of 18 years;

Answer 3

Your son should be able to get American citizenship through your son's father. I don't think it matters if you are married or not. If he is the biological father, he has some rights. I would contact the US embassy in Germany and try to find out that way.

Answer 4

Unless your step father adopted you, you have no claim to citizenship. Your son is not a natural US citizen but can apply for citizenship through his father when he is older. Does his father acknowledge that it's his son? Otherwise you really have an uphill battle.

Regardless of him getting citizenship this does not make it any easier for you to get citizenship - or move here because of his status.

There is a case in Chicago right now where an illegal alien was deported back to Mexico without her 8 year old son who was born here.

Answer 5

Start with the U.S. Embassy. You will have to go through a lot of paperwork, but you should be able to immigrate to the U.S. Already having a green card will help, even though it is or has expired. It will take some time however. Immigration is simply overloaded right now. You can probably get an extension of your green card allowing you to enter the U.S. and bring your son with you.