Have you ever heard of anyone becoming a "Sovereign Citizen"?

Am I already a US citizen if I was adopted from a US adoption agency in 1981 but was born in Mexico?

• Ok, this is complicated, and I can't seem to get an answer. I was born in Mexico. I was brought to the US illegally, and the person who brought me here got into trouble and I was put into a US adoption agency. I was not sent back to Mexico because they could not locate my biological that were from Mexico. The US kept me in the US, and placed me in an adoption agency and I was subsequently adopted by my two US born US citizen parents. They did not see the importance of making me a citizen, and though they tried, it was a very big headache because whenever we would go an try to make me a citizen, there was always some issue, such as a form that my parents forgot to fill out, or a missing answer on a questionnaire, etc. In the end, I hit my 18th birthday, and I became an adult, and unannounced to me, became responsible for becoming a citizen. Well, I continued my permanent residency (I got my green card when I was 9) and still am a permanent resident at the age of 30. I got into a bit of trouble, and soon realized I fall into the category of permanent resident, and therefore if I get into anymore trouble, I could theoretically be deported. WHAT? I grew up and was educated in the US school system, and college system. I pay my taxes and have never once considered leaving this country. I don't even speak Spanish, and clearly don't know anyone in Mexico. The importance of becoming a citizen never crossed my mind because I was always treated as a citizen, and never had any issue. I thought because I was adopted, I was immune to deportation. I knew I could get in trouble just like everyone else, but I didn't think deportation was a possibility. Having said that, it seems the US figured there was a major problem with granting citizenship to adopted children that were foreign born, and passed the child citizen dream act of 2001. I of course, was 21 at the time, and since it wasn't grandfathered, missed out on an automatic granting of citizenship from the US. So here I am, stuck. I can't apply for citizenship and be approved until after 5 years of staying out of trouble since the legal problem was a crime of moral turpitude (I took a jacked from a bar and it happened to belong to a police officer-I was drunk, it was 4 in the morning, and it was snowing and I'm not from a cold area) nevertheless, it was wrong, and I understand that, and paid my fines, and did community service for it. It has been one year, and I have another 4 to wait. I am just seeing if there is any other possibility that I might already be a citizen. My circumstances are so different when I was adopted. Do I maybe qualify as an orphan when I was adopted? Also, if I get into trouble again, then I would have to be proved guilty of the crime, and if that did happen, then I obviously would be detained by immigration. If that did happen, do they even care about my situation? Would they really kick me to Mexico where I know no one? That is a foreign country to me. My life, family, and everything is here. I know I'm thinking extreme, and I am not planning on getting into trouble again, but I'd rather be safe than sorry. Does anyone see that I could possibly already be a citizen? Please let me know. I am just a regular guy that doesn't have a lot of money, and is struggling like the rest of the country. Thanks in advance.

• Answer:

  Under the current law you would have become a citizen if you were under age 18 and had been adopted prior to 2-22-2001. It appears your were older. More info here: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=d4c3a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=d4c3a3ac86aa3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD