American With Luk Krueng

[flamingtodd]

hello first time poster, long time reader...

I am from america and my girlfriend is from thailand. we have a baby girl. i love my girlfriend very much but i do not beleive in marriage. i would like to take my daughter for a trip to america to visit my mother and grandparents, but so far, i have only got a birth certificate for her. my gf has no interest in traveling to dallas with us, and i was wondering if anyone else had some advice on how i can do the trip. i love thailand and am now calling it home. i sustained a work related injury and am pretty much retired. we are all hoping to move to chaing mai soon. phuket moves way too fast for me.

the passport process is what confuses me. i have read the us embassy website, but i am not the brightest person, and get more and more confused the more i read it.

any advice would be helpful. i can pass on the trip, but i am not getting married.

i was told by a bar owner who is american with a baby girl that it will never happen unless i get married. he said to get her a thai passport and go from there.

thanks in advance

[jstumbo]

Your daughter is a US citizen. You can register her at the US embassy, get a "birth certificate", and get a US passport for her. You can travel to the US with her no problem. Might need some type of letter from the mother to allow you to take the child out though.

You will need to make an appointment with the embassy. Here is the page that talks about it on the US embassy website. You will probably have to show that you were present in the US for at least 5 years during your life, 2 of which are after the age of 14. I think this is basically to stop people who have never been to the US from passing on their US citizenship to their children.

You will need to bring the following to the interview:

* The child's official, local birth certificate issued by the district office, and an English translation.

* The parents' passports dating back to time of conception of the child.

* A certified copy of the parents' marriage certificate, if applicable.

* Evidence of the termination of any previous marriages.

* Payment of the $65 fee. The fee is payable in U.S. Dollars, Thai Baht, or by debit or credit card. Personal checks cannot be accepted.

* If also applying for a passport, two identical photographs are required. They must be recent, 2 x 2 inches (with the size of the head between 1 and 1 3/8 inches), color or black and white. The photos must be clear, front view, full face, and in focus. The background must be plain white or off-white. Please print the applicant's first and last names on the backs of both photos.

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,

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

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

Edited May 1, 2008 by jstumbo

[samran]

she's also a thai citizen, so she will need the thai passport to travel. You'll need the mother to help with the application.

once you have both passports organised:

- depart Thailand getting stamped out of the Thai passport

- enter and leave the US on the US passport

- return to Thailand, entering on the Thai passport.

This will ensure that your daughter does not need a visa to enter the US, and more importantly, does not need a visa when she returns home to Thailand (which would happen if you only had the US passport!!)

[Gumballl]

Your daughter is a US citizen. You can register her at the US embassy, get a "birth certificate", and get a US passport for her. You can travel to the US with her no problem. Might need some type of letter from the mother to allow you to take the child out though.

...

The daughter is not a US Citizen until the father can prove to the US Embassy that there is a bonafide relationship between the two. There are countless b*stard children in the world that have been fathered by US citizens, however this does not convey automatic citizenship to the children (unless of course they were born in the US or its territories).

Edited May 1, 2008 by Gumballl

[flamingtodd]

countless b*stard children in the world that have been fathered by US citizens

I would not have posted this unless she was my baby, but thanks very much for your enlightening post. Would a DNA test be the minimum, or are there other ways to prove she is mine? Where can DNA tests be done and are they lengthy and/or expensive?

I am currently with my cousin on vacation in India, but my girlfriend and daughter are in Phuket. Can the tests be done there, as she was born at Phuket International Hospital.

thanks very much for your replies, all of them. they were very helpful.

Edited May 1, 2008 by flamingtodd

[Gumballl]

Sorry if I offended you with my choice of words, however for what it is worth, I used correct English.

From experience, I know that the US Embassy will want to know that you have a personal relationship with the child. The evidence, if any, that they will look for is photographs showing a relationship over time. The embassy will also ask you to document the time periods that you have been a resident in the US since the age of 16 (or 14??). This last part sounds silly, especially if you were born in the US, but there are some people in the world that have acquired US citizenship but have never lived in the US... only visited. One other thing the embassy will want to see is the child's birth certificate (translated of course) with your name, as the father, on it.

Anyhow, contact the ACS (American Citizen Services) section of the US Embassy for the packet to register your daughter and to setup an appointment. The DNA test is not necessary. The process at the embassy takes about 45-60 minutes, costs about $120+ (for passport, ssn, fees).

P.S. DNA tests can be done at the Thai Military Police Hospital in BKK, but it is not necessary to register luk kruengs.

Edited May 2, 2008 by Gumballl

[Smokin Joe]

The requirement for the DNA test is up to the embassy. If they do require it they will not accept one done in Thailand. They will provide you the info to order a test kit from the US (at your expense) and you will then have a local doctor take the sample under embassy personnel supervision.