Proving U.S. Citizenship at American Embassy

[stripedbass]

I'm a naturalized American citizen. I have a cousin in Kenya whom I'm trying to help. He needs to get his U.S. citizenship because he is an American citizen by birth. He was born in New Mexico in 1965. He has a New Mexico birth certificate.

I was also able to find a local NM newspaper article mentioning that his mother gave birth to a child (but he is not mentioned by name but his mother is mentioned). In those days local newspapers gave birth announcements.

His parents were one of the first Kenyan students to come to America for college. They met in New York, where they got married. They have a marriage certificate.

He returned to Kenya as a baby and has been there ever since. He now wants a U.S. passport. But the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi does not believe that he is the person mentioned in his New Mexico birth certificate because he does not have a national Kenyan ID. He did not apply for a Kenyan ID because he was afraid of losing his U.S. citizenship since Kenya for a long time did not recognize dual citizenship (the government is now in the process of implementing dual citizenship). He has been struggling with the U.S. Embassy since 2003.

I recognize that this is a big problem but does anyone have any tips as to where my cousin can start in terms of fixing his problem? Any feedback will be highly appreciated.

[nwctzn]

I'm a naturalized American citizen. I have a cousin in Kenya whom I'm trying to help. He needs to get his U.S. citizenship because he is an American citizen by birth. He was born in New Mexico in 1965. He has a New Mexico birth certificate.

I was also able to find a local NM newspaper article mentioning that his mother gave birth to a child (but he is not mentioned by name but his mother is mentioned). In those days local newspapers gave birth announcements.

His parents were one of the first Kenyan students to come to America for college. They met in New York, where they got married. They have a marriage certificate.

He returned to Kenya as a baby and has been there ever since. He now wants a U.S. passport. But the U.S. Embassy in Nairobi does not believe that he is the person mentioned in his New Mexico birth certificate because he does not have a national Kenyan ID. He did not apply for a Kenyan ID because he was afraid of losing his U.S. citizenship since Kenya for a long time did not recognize dual citizenship (the government is now in the process of implementing dual citizenship). He has been struggling with the U.S. Embassy since 2003.

I recognize that this is a big problem but does anyone have any tips as to where my cousin can start in terms of fixing his problem? Any feedback will be highly appreciated.

You should seek help from an attorney. If he has an original NM birth certificate, there should be certainly ways to prove his identity. How did he leave the US as a baby? Did he have any Kenyan passport at that time or was he listed as a child in his parents' passport?

[stripedbass]

I don't exactly know how he travelled back to Kenya with his parents. I know his mother still has the Kenyan passport she used at that time.

When you say I should get help from an attorney, do you mean a Kenyan or American one?

[nwctzn]

I don't exactly know how he travelled back to Kenya with his parents. I know his mother still has the Kenyan passport she used at that time.

When you say I should get help from an attorney, do you mean a Kenyan or American one?

There must be some paper trails about how he traveled from the US. I would look into that and that is why I suggested to check his parents' passports.

The nationality of the attorney does not matter as long as he/she is an expert and can handle interactions with the embassy.

Hope this is of help and please let us know how it goes.

[stripedbass]

I will have to ask my aunt whether there is a paper trail as to how he got to Kenya from America as a baby.

In terms of the attorney, what I was asking was whether you meant that he should get one in Kenya or in America. This is what I'm not clear about. Please clarify.

[nwctzn]

I will have to ask my aunt whether there is a paper trail as to how he got to Kenya from America as a baby.

In terms of the attorney, what I was asking was whether you meant that he should get one in Kenya or in America. This is what I'm not clear about. Please clarify.

Not sure about the attorney question. I think the problem is that he has an original NM birth certificate but there is a problem in proving his "Kenyan" identity and he is not registered there with a Kenyan ID. So a Kenyan attorney might be able to help I think.

[stripedbass]

I see your point. Thanks. He also doesn't even have a driver's license.

In the meantime, I have told him to save any kinds of records he has such as photos, immunizations and school records.

[stripedbass]

I have now gotten more information from my aunt in Kenya. Guess what? My cousin, who has been trying to prove his U.S. citizenship to the American Embassy in Nairobi for almost 10 years, had a U.S. passport issued to him when he was a baby in New Mexico. In fact, this is how he traveled back to Kenya when his parents completed their college education in New Mexico back in 1966.

The problem is that my cousin misplaced his American passport around 10 years ago. My cousin's sister (also my cousin) writes in an e-mail I got 2 days ago that:

"Mom [my cousin's mother who studied in America in the 1960s] remembers clearly and for certain that he had it issued. And she even remembers that a few years after they'd been in the country [Kenya], the [American] embassy [in Nairobi] contacted them to find out about his welfare because they had the record that an American citizen had come into the country [Kenya] and hadn't been in contact with the embassy for a while ( I guess they used to do this to just keep a check on their citizens welfare)..."

My question is this: Is it possible for me to get proof that my cousin was issued an American passport, back in 1966? If so, where would I go?

I would really appreciate any feedback I can get!

[Dtrain]

Hi Stripedbass
Since Kenyans now are allowed to have dual citizenship then let him go get himself an ID which i believe should show the same name if he did not change it. I was also thinking to let him go to Kenyan immigration and try to get a copy of arrival record if they will still have it somewhere, that will help to proof that he came back to Kenya with a US passport.

The more documents he gathers the better his case to convince US Embassy staff, there are so many ways that should proof he is a US citizen if he really was born there. I wish him good luck but it's not gonna be an easy job.

[stripedbass]

Dtrain,

My cousin never changed his name.

He has already put in an application with the Kenyan Government to gat a national ID, now that dual citizenship has been recognized.

Getting arrival records from the Kenyan Government would be a nightmare, especially since we're talking about 1966, pre-computer time in terms of Kenyan Government records.

There has got to be an archival type office in the State Department that has records of everyone that is issued a passport. This is what I'm working on. If anyone has any leads I'll really appreciate it.

However, we have already have the following documents:

1) His New Mexico birth certificate.

2) The Kenyan passport that his mother used to travel to America and back to Kenya (with the relevant U.S. visa and arrival and departure stamps).

3) His parents New York marriage certificate (they were married in NY).

4) I was also able to find a local NM newspaper article (in microfiche) mentioning that his mother gave birth to a child (but he is not mentioned by name but his mother is mentioned). In those days local newspapers gave birth announcements.

[nwctzn]

Dtrain,

My cousin never changed his name.

He has already put in an application with the Kenyan Government to gat a national ID, now that dual citizenship has been recognized.

Getting arrival records from the Kenyan Government would be a nightmare, especially since we're talking about 1966, pre-computer time in terms of Kenyan Government records.

There has got to be an archival type office in the State Department that has records of everyone that is issued a passport. This is what I'm working on. If anyone has any leads I'll really appreciate it.

However, we have already have the following documents:

1) His New Mexico birth certificate.

2) The Kenyan passport that his mother used to travel to America and back to Kenya (with the relevant U.S. visa and arrival and departure stamps).

3) His parents New York marriage certificate (they were married in NY).

4) I was also able to find a local NM newspaper article (in microfiche) mentioning that his mother gave birth to a child (but he is not mentioned by name but his mother is mentioned). In those days local newspapers gave birth announcements.

Yes, it looks like getting a record from the Department of State about the passport is the safest bet. Don't know though how you can have access to that info. Maybe you can consult an immigration attorney in the US regarding this.

[stripedbass]

Since Kenya now recognizes dual citizenship, if my cousin in Kenya applied for a Kenyan passport and got one, would this harm his chances of getting his U.S. citizenship?

In other words, we want him to get the Kenyan passport for identification purposes, in his struggle to get his U.S. citizenship via the American Embassy in Nairobi.

Does the U.S. have any problems with an American born citizen having a passport from the country of his biological parents?

Do you see what I'm asking?

He has also applied for a Kenyan National ID but the process is taking quite a bit of time. He's still waiting for it. We're thinking that the Kenyan passport might come more quickly.

[nwctzn]

The U.S. recognizes multiple citizenship and you can go ahead and get the Kenyan passport. I myself am a dual citizen.

[stripedbass]

nwctzn,

Thank you so much for the answer. It was very useful. However, I'm concerned about the the sentences below. If my cousin applies for a Kenyan passport for the purposes of getting an ID, does it make him a person who "acquires a foreign citizenship..."?

This is the passage that concerns me:

"However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship."

[nwctzn]

nwctzn,

Thank you so much for providing that State Department link. It was very useful. However, I'm concerned about the the sentences below from that link. If my cousin applies for a Kenyan passport for the purposes of getting an ID, does it make him a person who "acquires a foreign citizenship..."?

This is the passage that concerns me:

"However, a person who acquires a foreign citizenship by applying for it may lose U.S. citizenship. In order to lose U.S. citizenship, the law requires that the person must apply for the foreign citizenship voluntarily, by free choice, and with the intention to give up U.S. citizenship."

The wording is "WITH the intention to give up U.S. citizenship" however, your relative will get the Kenyan passport [which by the way he acquired Kenyan citizenship through Kenyan parent(s)] "WITHOUT the intention to give up U.S. citizenship"

So your relative should be fine.

Please keep us posted how it goes. Best of luck!