Am I a Citizen or do I need the I-130

[Cready]

Hi everyone,

My mother is Canadian born but has citizenship and has lived in the US on and off during her lifetime as my Grandmother is US born and was back and forth. My mother currently resides in the US. My father is Canadian and has no claim to citizenship (they are divorced). I am over 21 married with children.

The issue i seem seem to be running into is my mom does not have 2 years of being in the US after age 14 but prior to my birth. Since I am now over 18 it seems I cannot use my grandmothers residency to apply for citizenship. Does this mean the only option I have is the I-130? I’ve heard this can take a substantial amount of time. Has anyone deal with something similar to my situation?

[newacct]

Were you born in wedlock or out of wedlock?

[newacct]

So it seems like you are not a US citizen and your only option is to be petitioned to immigrate.

[sammypearl]

If she did not know she had to apply prior to her 18th birthday to get derivative citizenship through her grandmother would this apply? This is right from the immigration website.
8 FAM 307.1-4 DEFENSES OF UNAWARENESS, IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE, AND MISINFORMATION IN RETENTION CONTEXT
(CT:CITZ-7; 08-14-2018)

a. The defenses of unawareness, impossibility of performance and misinformation, explained in 8 FAM 307.2, require more complex analysis to develop and should not normally be pursued where retention of citizenship is the core issue.

b. The consular officer is not required to discuss the option of employing one of the defenses unless the applicant provides information in an interview or in documentation that clearly suggests that such a defense may be viable.

[newacct]

If she did not know she had to apply prior to her 18th birthday to get derivative citizenship through her grandmother would this apply? This is right from the immigration website.
8 FAM 307.1-4 DEFENSES OF UNAWARENESS, IMPOSSIBILITY OF PERFORMANCE, AND MISINFORMATION IN RETENTION CONTEXT
(CT:CITZ-7; 08-14-2018)

a. The defenses of unawareness, impossibility of performance and misinformation, explained in 8 FAM 307.2, require more complex analysis to develop and should not normally be pursued where retention of citizenship is the core issue.

b. The consular officer is not required to discuss the option of employing one of the defenses unless the applicant provides information in an interview or in documentation that clearly suggests that such a defense may be viable.

But that is about retention requirements, where people (born abroad between 1934 and 1952 to only one US citizen parent) would automatically lose citizenship if they failed to reside in the US during certain ages.

That is different from failing to apply for a naturalization process to gain citizenship.

[sammypearl]

No if you go to the immigration site, the last clause of misinformation applies to retention the defense of unawareness is directly in regards to the fact of your unawareness of a claim to citizenship