U.s. Citizenship, Passport For Thai-american Child

[ffm]

I was asked for advice by a friend of my wife. The situation: The boy is now 12 years old. His father is a U.S. citizen, his mother is Thai. He was born in wedlock and his parents are still married. However, recently they split up and the father relocated to the USA.

The birth has never been registered with the US embassy, the boy only has a Thai passport. At the time of birth the parents had not considered the question of citizenship as important (or they did not want the hassle and expenses, I don't know), but now that they are separated the issue has come up again. The boy has no intention of moving to the US, but wants the US passport because it will give him more options in the future.

From the information the US embassy provides on their website http://bangkok.usembassy.gov/service/birth-of-a-u.s.-citizen-in-thailand/ it is clear that the boy is a US citizen by birth. The relevant documents can all be provided, the father is mentioned on the Thai birth certificate.

For the report of the birth, both parents and the child must appear at the Embassy in person. The problem is that the father is now in the US and has no intention of returning to Thailand in ther foreseeable future. He seems to be willing to cooperate and help his son get the passport, but probably does not even have the money to pay for a flight ticket to Thailand.

What can they do? The mother called the US embassy already, but they seem to insist on the father's presence. Is there a government institution in the US where the father can report the birth, or that can let the father sign all relevant documents and forward them to the US embassy in Bangkok? Could a US-based or Thai-based lawyer help? I am not familiar with US laws and procedures, so I hope somebody can help. Thanks for any input on this issue!

[DirectorIntegrityLegal]

FFM,

I took a quick look at things and per the state department's own website there was this explanation:

Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.

As I see it, so long as the father met the above requirements set out in the INA, then the child is a citizen and as such is entitled to a passport as a matter of right, regardless of Embassy regulations. In practice, things are not always so cut and dried so there could be difficulties.

Hopefully this was helpful and if there is anything that I could do to help, don't hesitate to contact me.

Best,

Ben Hart

US Attorney-at-Law

Managing Director

Integrity Legal