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  1. #1
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    Default Does a Diplomat's Child Get U.S. Citizenship

    Hello. This is a complex long question about US citizenship which is confusing, just saying in advance.
    I was born in the mid 90's in Washington, DC to an accountant who worked at the Ukrainian embassy. He had diplomatic immunity, but according to him his immunity/paperwork or something along the line was different from the actual diplomats. He wasn't holding an actual diplomatic position and frankly the only reason he got hired there is because he is fluent in English, which was very rare in post-Soviet countries in the 90's. Since my father has a poor knowledge of law and stuff like that he doesn't remember/know what exactly he had and who he was exactly.
    When I was born I was given a US birth certificate, which stated the Americanized version of my name (Andrew, real name Andriy) , they also gave me a social security number. When my father tried to get a US passport for me in DC he accidentally gave the people his diplomatic passport instead of his drivers license, so I was denied a passport and I'm assuming they have a record of that somewhere.
    In 2003 my father was once again sent to America, this time on a proper diplomatic post. When we were obtaining visas my dad and mom(she is also Ukrainian) got one type of diplomatic visa (X1 with X being a letter that I don't know) and i got another (X2 or something like that) and the at the embassy they said that the only way for me to get the other visa was for my dad to sign a paper which would say that he wouldn't seek US citizenship for me, forfeit any claims for my citizenship or something in that tone. My father refused to sign the paper so i had the X2 visa. When in America I attended a US public school for 4 years, where my name in their records was Andrew. My father didn't attempt to do anything about my citizenship in this term. He was recalled in 2008. Since then there are no American documents about me and in all of my Ukrainian documents I am Andriy
    Since then my father or I have not made any contact with US authorities about my citizenship and I have not traveled to the US. Now as far as I understand as long as I have a valid birth certificate and a social security number most US government institutions and private employers will say that I am a US citizen, however if I apply for a passport they will reject me (please correct me if I am wrong).
    I wish to legally live in the US. I'm assuming that in most aspects I would be considered an American, however I wouldn't be able to get a passport. Is there any way to somehow be able to get a passport, like prove to them that technically my dad wasn't a diplomat or something like that? If not might I be eligible to obtain a green card or permanent residence just based on the fact that I was born there?
    Thank you for your time and for reading. Any advice would be appreciated.

  2. #2
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    If you have an American birth certificate, you are an American citizen.

  3. #3
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Quote Quoting Dogmatique
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    If you have an American birth certificate, you are an American citizen.

    Maybe not

    https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/H...-Chapter3.html


    See ​.​ Children of certain diplomats who are born in the United States are not U.S. citizens at birth because they are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See ​8 CFR 101.3​


    https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/...0-0-11585.html

  4. #4
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Quote Quoting jk
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    Maybe not

    https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/H...-Chapter3.html


    See ​.​ Children of certain diplomats who are born in the United States are not U.S. citizens at birth because they are not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States. See ​8 CFR 101.3​


    https://www.uscis.gov/ilink/docView/...0-0-11585.html
    OP should definitely read the second link and discuss it with his father. He may or may not be a US citizen at this point. I am guessing that he might be since his father was not a regular diplomat when he was born, but the devil is in the exact details.

  5. #5
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    Jan 2007
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    This link will take you to attorneys who speak Ukrainian who are also members of the American Immigration Law Association. This is the organization to which many immigration law specialists belong. You may do other searches here as well; I chose by language since there was no option for diplomatic issues. I suggest firms in New York and the Washington, DC area would be the best place to start. I would expect firms in other cities to be primarily family or employment law.

    I suggest emailing with the information you posted above and ask if they are experienced in this area and their fee.

    http://www.ailalawyer.org/english/Se...iles=100&last=

  6. #6
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Under what circumstances is a non-US citizen child given a US birth certificate?

    (outside of the obvious, please)

  7. #7
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Quote Quoting Dogmatique
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    Under what circumstances is a non-US citizen child given a US birth certificate?

    (outside of the obvious, please)
    When they are born within the borders of the US. There has to be some record of their birth so they get a birth certificate but technically it is not a US birth certificate but a certificate from the state they are born in. Having a US birth certificate does not bestow citizenship. It is merely a record of the birth.


    it would be no different than of i was a resident of Florida but was traveling in California with my wife and she went into labor and gave birth in California. The child would have a California birth certificate.

  8. #8
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Quote Quoting jk
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    When they are born within the borders of the US. There has to be some record of their birth so they get a birth certificate but technically it is not a US birth certificate but a certificate from the state they are born in. Having a US birth certificate does not bestow citizenship. It is merely a record of the birth.

    it would be no different than of i was a resident of Florida but was traveling in California with my wife and she went into labor and gave birth in California. The child would have a California birth certificate.
    But in that example the child would be, by virtue of jus soli or jus sanguinis, a US citizen. Right?

  9. #9
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Quote Quoting Dogmatique
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    But in that example the child would be, by virtue of jus soli or jus sanguinis, a US citizen. Right?
    Personally, I have never heard of a second kind of birth certificate issued in the US. I always thought that the official birth certificate was issued by the embassy for a diplomats child who was born in the US.

    However, there are two classes of embassy employees. One class the children born here are not US citizens, in the other class they are. If you read the link I recommended that the OP read it explains how it works pretty clearly.

  10. #10
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    Default Re: Citizenship of Diplomat() Child

    Quote Quoting llworking
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    Personally, I have never heard of a second kind of birth certificate issued in the US. I always thought that the official birth certificate was issued by the embassy for a diplomats child who was born in the US.

    However, there are two classes of embassy employees. One class the children born here are not US citizens, in the other class they are. If you read the link I recommended that the OP read it explains how it works pretty clearly.
    I don't doubt what you're saying, I'm curious about JK's post/s.

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