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Citizens ID card?

Photo ID for a naturalized teenager.

  • My younger brother is a foreign-born child of two naturalized US citizens. He has no picture ID except his school ID, and has had trouble obtaining a state-issued picture ID. He is turning 18 soon, which will make it much more difficult for him to fly, get a job, and so on. Is this something an immigration lawyer can help with, or is there another kind of professional that I can engage here? My younger brother's ID situation is limited to his Social Security card, a non-English birth certificate issued abroad, and his high-school student ID. The DMV turned him away when he tried to get a driving permit. I think it will also be impossible for him to fill out a W-4. He obtained US citizenship when his parents were naturalized several years ago. No separate paperwork was submitted for him because he is a minor. His parents are now divorced and he lives with his mother. As far as I can tell from the UNCIS website, he will need to file http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=a936cac09aa5d010VgnVCM10000048f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=db029c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD. The form is confusing and requires a variety of supporting documents, some of which may not be available because his parents are definitely not on speaking terms. It's not clear which documents are mandatory and which are optional or not applicable in his particular situation. Moreover, the form will cost $600 to file and, if my own experience with UNCIS is any indication, may take many months to process. I don't want the responsibility of filling out his citizenship paperwork. He generally doesn't trust himself to fill it out, and our mother is unable to because of her very limited English. It may also be the wrong form, for all I know, and there's quite a lot of forms and very small print on the UNCIS site. If you've filed this form (or a related form) and found the process simple and straightforward, I'd love to hear about your experience. Alternatively, if you've used the help of an immigration lawyer or another professional for a related service, I'd love to hear about that as well. I'd especially love to learn about the cost, if this is a standard service, because I'll probably be the one who pays for this. Bonus: my brother wants to change his legal name when he turns 18 (right now he carries his father's last name, wants to change it to his mother's labyrinthine maiden name). Is this a good opportunity to do it, or will it make everything more complicated?

  • Answer:

    I am not in any way an expert on this, but per http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Resources/A4en.pdf, it looks like it might be easier (and cheaper) for him to start with the application for a U.S. passport instead. http://travel.state.gov/passport/get/secondary_evidence/secondary_evidence_4315.html, from the State Department website, is the list of secondary evidence they ask for in similar (though not identical) applications: - Your foreign birth certificate (translated to English) - Evidence of citizenship of your U.S. citizen parent - Your parents' marriage certificate - A statement of your U.S. citizen parent detailing all periods and places of residence or physical presence in the United States and abroad before your birth From my experience, it helps to bring just about any additional documentation he has available that demonstrates that he was in the U.S. as a minor at the time his parents were naturalized: report cards, immunization records, school photos, health care enrollment info, yearbooks, etc.. Please feel free to memail me and I can provide some additional suggestions/guidance based on your brother's/family's specific situation. I've been down a similar road before.

Nomyte at Ask.Metafilter.Com Visit the source

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Thank you, yes, that would be more convenient! Messaging now…

Nomyte

http://www.lawhelpmn.org/files/1765CC5E-1EC9-4FC4-65EC-957272D8A04E/attachments/2973308D-B5A3-41F6-9E5E-1DD94DFBBC57/i-12-proving-your-childs-citizenship.pdf's a legal aid leaflet detailing the sort of paperwork you'd need to get him a passport (which looks to be the same stuff as for the N-600, but it's cheaper). I believe if you change your name within a year of acquiring a US passport, the fee is waived to get a new passport (but I could be misremembering).

hoyland

My brother's situation is covered in M-560, which argonauta linked to, under the rubric of "I was born overseas. After I was born, my parent(s) became naturalized U.S. citizens. Could I have derived U.S. citizenship?" I hope I am reading it correctly. My brother may still have a 17-year-old green card that shows a picture of him as an infant.

Nomyte

I used to be a paralegal for an immigration attorney and I have actually filled out N-600's before. I would strongly recommend that you hire an attorney. Immigration mistakes are easy to make, and incredibly, incredibly difficult to fix (I've seen my share of clients who tried to do things on their own, as well as clients who hired terrible attorneys). Contact your local bar association, they will be able to give you a reputable referral. An attorney will also be able to tell you the processing times as well as whether a name change is possible.

helloimjohnnycash

I'd especially love to learn about the cost, if this is a standard service...I'd especially love to learn about the cost, if this is a standard service Your state's bar association should be able to provide you with a referral to an immigration lawyer in good standing. Said immigration lawyer should be able to give you a rough idea of the cost either over the phone, or after a free/cheap consultation. If they will charge you for the consultation, they should tell you so over the phone.

sparklemotion

it looks like it might be easier (and cheaper) for him to start with the application for a U.S. passport instead argonauta, that evidence is for people whose parents were already U.S. citizens when they were born abroad. Since the brother is claiming citizenship through the naturalization of his parents after his birth, form DS-11 (the passport application form) says he needs "Certificate(s) of Naturalization of [his] parent(s), [his] foreign birth certificate (and official translation if the document is not in English), and proof of [his] admission to the United States for permanent residence." Did your brother have a green card at some point?

one more dead town's last parade

Yes, passport. FWIW, I have a friend who filed the N-600 AFTER already having a passport, essentially as backup, and it was apparently pretty easy. I don't think he even hired a lawyer. This was ~4-5 years ago. Something to consider if your brother doesn't trust himself not to lose his passport. That said, most of my parents' friends' kids are in your brother's position (as am I) and they all only have passports and to my knowledge, no one has had a problem. We're all in our mid- to late 20s now. So passport should be sufficient.

matildatakesovertheworld

My brother's situation is covered in M-560, which argonauta linked to, under the rubric of "I was born overseas. After I was born, my parent(s) became naturalized U.S. citizens. Could I have derived U.S. citizenship?" I hope I am reading it correctly. Yes, the situation is covered in that document, but the documentation argonauta lists is for people who were born to one or two parents who were already U.S. citizens at the time of the child's birth. What your brother will need, basically, is proof that one or both of his parents naturalized, and that he was a permanent resident and under 18 when this occurred.

one more dead town's last parade

Oh, and if cost is an issue and he's not planning on traveling anywhere that's not part of the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Western_Hemisphere_Travel_Initiative, or anywhere international by air, he can also get just a passport card as proof of citizenship. It's $80 cheaper.

one more dead town's last parade

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