Baby Born In Philippines To American Mother Can't Get Usa Passport?

[gomper]

my ex- wife,,,,Anita, a buetiful fun Phil lady came to america 12 or more years ago.

after she got her US citizenship, we divorced, although she stayed in the USA for 9-10-11 years,

has since returned to the PI, married a PHIlippine man and had a baby girl.

now she is having trouble getting a US passport for the baby.

not sure of all the reasons, but if anyone could help with the referral of an attorney in manila to handle her case would be of great help.

BTW, she actually still owns a house here in New York.

She has been in the PI now for less then 2 years, and previously resided in New York for 10 years.

Her income shows below the standards for poverty level.

Please help.

thanks.

[Thanyaburi Mac]

my ex- wife,,,,Anita, a buetiful fun Phil lady came to america 12 or more years ago.

after she got her US citizenship, we divorced, although she stayed in the USA for 9-10-11 years,

has since returned to the PI, married a PHIlippine man and had a baby girl.

now she is having trouble getting a US passport for the baby.

not sure of all the reasons, but if anyone could help with the referral of an attorney in manila to handle her case would be of great help.

BTW, she actually still owns a house here in New York.

She has been in the PI now for less then 2 years, and previously resided in New York for 10 years.

Her income shows below the standards for poverty level.

Please help.

thanks.

There is, or was, a para in the U.S. Immigration and Nationality Act that said something about if a naturalized U.S. citizen returns to their country of origin for five or more years they "may" lose their U.S. citizenship.  

Wonder if this time frame has been shortened?  Or if the ex at some time since she returned to the PI voluntarily gave up her U.S. citizenship.  Or, perhaps more likely, the interviewing U.S. consular officer asked her if she intened to return to the U.S. to live, and she replied no.  The ConOff might then have "expanded" on the law and said not to the kid's citizenship.

For an immigration lawyer in the PI, do a google for:  manila immigration lawyers

Here's just one of them:

http://rreeves.com/contact/makati/Con_Makati.asp

Manila, Philippines Office

US Immigration Lawyers

Suite 507 Tower One Ayala Triangle

6767 Ayala Ave., Makati City 1226

Tel: 2.759.6777

Fax: 2.759.7888

Email:[email protected]

Not cheap, from what it looks like on the www site.

Mac

[gunnyd]

According the Federal Law 8 USC 1481:

Moving to another country for an extended period of time does not constitute an act that presumes renunciation. Neither does taking a routine-level job with a foreign government. This stand is quite different from U.S. policy of the past, where even being naturalized in another nation could be seen as renunciation. The sections of the law that pertained to losing ones nationality for many of these cases was found at 8 USC 1482 and related sections.

The U.S. Code does, however, see some acts as creating the possibility of a loss of nationality. When you lose your U.S. nationality, you are no longer under the protection or jurisdiction of the United States. When the United States considers you to no longer be of U.S. nationality, it in effect considers you to no longer be a citizen. Note that these are things you can do that may force you to lose your citizenship. The law also says that these acts must be voluntary and with the intent of losing U.S. citizenship. The ways to lose citizenship are detailed in 8 USC 1481:

* Becoming naturalized in another country

* Swearing an oath of allegiance to another country

* Serving in the armed forces of a nation at war with the U.S., or if you are an officer in that force

* Working for the government of another nation if doing so requires that you become naturalized or that you swear an oath of allegiance

* Formally renouncing citizenship at a U.S. consular office

* Formally renouncing citizenship to the U.S. Attorney General

* By being convicted of committing treason

Unless she has done any of the above listed things, there is no reason to waste money on a lawyer. As long as she has documentation showing that she was

properly naturalized there is no reason she would have a problem getting her child a passport after registering the birth at the US Embassy in Manila.

Now the Philippine government giving her trouble is another story. They do not allow divorce between 2 Filipino citizens, unless one of the parties married is declared mentally incompetent in a Philippine court. I know this because I married a Filipina that had been married to another Filipino. She could not leave the US until she was naturalized because the Philippine Consulate would not change the name on her passport. The reason given was that her divorce in US court was not recognized under Philippine law.

But as long as she has her US Passport that is still valid, or if it expired, her naturalization papers, she can go to the US Embassy as a US citizen and bypass the arcane Philippine marriage laws.

All she needs to do is file DS-2029 US Embassy Manila Registration of Births and Claims to US Citizenship

No lawyers needed, the only time that there can be problems is when the mother is an alien and she is asserting US citizenship of a child fathered by a US citizen. A US citizen mother who gives birth to a child is automatically given US citizenship.

GunnyD

[Loom]

Even though you may hold a US passport, you're required to show a certain number of consecutive years of residence in the US in order for your offspring to automatically qualify for citizenship if you apply outside of the US. As i understand it, there's nothing automatic about your offspring's US citizenship if you cannot prove the US residence. They want proof like school transcripts or passports that were never used.

[gunnyd]

Child born abroad – one parent a U.S. citizen when the

child was born; the other not a U.S. citizen

Born on or after

November 14, 1986

Requirements:

Before the child was born, the U.S.

citizen parent must have been

physically present in the U.S. or its

possessions for at least 5 years, 2

of which must have been after the

parent turned 14. - USCIS

http://www.uscis.gov/files/article/A4.pdf

Child Born to One U.S. Citizen Parent and One Alien Parent

The U.S. citizen parent must have been physically present in the United States for a period (or periods totaling) five years prior to the birth of the child, at least two of which were after he/she reached the age of fourteen. If this requirement is met, the child acquires U.S. citizenship under the provisions of Section 301(g) INA (as amended by Public law 99-653 of November 14, 1986).

According to the OP the mother was in the US for 9-10-11 years, although not that clear, only 5 years of physical presence in the US need to be proved.

All he needs to do to help out his ex is provide documentation that she was in the US for 5 years: Tax Returns, bills, school transcripts, rental/lease agreements, IE anything showing she was in the US. Her US passport is a great way to show presence in the US since it will have a date issued and it will show when she entered The Philippines. If the passport was issued right before she left the US still no problem showing presence in US. She would just need to show her Naturalization certificate. I guess she is lucky her ex is willing to help. Many exes would let their ex-wife deal with it themselves.

DON'T WASTE MONEY ON A LAWYER Visit the embassy, go to US Citizen entrance and just register the birth as I said before.

GunnyD

[Palace]

my ex- wife,,,,Anita, a buetiful fun Phil lady came to america 12 or more years ago.

after she got her US citizenship, we divorced, although she stayed in the USA for 9-10-11 years,

has since returned to the PI, married a PHIlippine man and had a baby girl.

now she is having trouble getting a US passport for the baby.

not sure of all the reasons, but if anyone could help with the referral of an attorney in manila to handle her case would be of great help.

Gomper, with your permission, i would like to post your message to an internet message board run by filipino lawyers and paralegals giving free advice to common questions like this.

[cathyy]

This is just a guess, but I'm thinking that she is dealing with idiots who are trying to make her follow the terms of the old Status of Forces agreement between the US and Philippine governments. Under that agreement some children of US servicemen born to Filipinas there had to leave the country on a Filipino passport and could not get their US citizenship until they were in the US. It was weird and senseless, but is also what they are used to dealing with. It also doesn't apply to the case in question, as she's not military. But it explains the idiocy at the Embassy.