1. Five Years of Physical Presence in the US:
A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth. The only requirement is that the US citizen parent has five years of physical presence in the US before the birth of the child. Two of the five years must be after the parent was 14 years old.
To calculate the five years of physical presence, naturalized citizens may count any time they spent in the United States both before and after being naturalized, regardless of their immigration status during the time they include in the five years. This means that naturalized US citizens can even count any time when they were in the States illegally, before their naturalization. Of course they must be able to show proof of residence in the US for the five years they claim.
2. Changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual: Immigrant Visa Waivers
Some immigrant visa applicants are found to be ineligible during the consular interview because of medical reasons or because they mis-stated facts about their application. If their sponsor is a US citizen, they may be eligible to overcome the denial by filing an I-601 Waiver Request with US CIS.
In the past, the I-601 Waiver Request was submitted to the US Consulate in Saigon and then forwarded to the CIS District office in Bangkok for processing. This was a time consuming process, sometimes taking six months or more. Consular officers now instruct these denied visa applicants to file the form I-601 directly with the USCIS Lockbox. The Lockbox facility will send all Form I-601 applications to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center. It is hoped that this will speed up the processing of the Waiver Requests.
3. Social Security Numbers for Immigrants
The Social Security Administration has added a couple of new sentences to the letter that all immigrants receive. It says, “You can expect to receive your Social Security card at the address you gave when applying for the immigrant visa. If you do not receive a card at your U.S. address within three weeks of being admitted into the United States, please call the nearest Social Security office. The telephone number is listed at www.ssa.gov/locator and in the local telephone directory under "United States Government."
4. DERIVATIVE BENEFICIARIES CANNOT PRECEDE PRINCIPAL ALIEN. Consular officers should inform visa applicants that they cannot precede the principal applicant in entering the United States. Their visa is valid only if they accompany or follow-to-join the principal applicant. For example, if your mother is the principal applicant, you must enter the US with her or later, as Follow-to-Join. There is no way that you can enter the US legally before the principal applicant arrives in the US.
5. Can an American citizen sponsor his or her foreign-born step-child for immigration to the United States? Yes, absolutely. The citizen can file Form I-130 if the citizen's marriage to the child's mother or father occurred before the child reached the age of 18.
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Q.1. What should a new immigrant do if he does not receive a Social Security card within 3 weeks of entering the US?
A.1. The new immigrant should take his passport and birth certificate to the nearest Social Security office. After they have received the necessary documents, the Social Security card will be mailed to the applicant within 2 weeks.
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Q.2. In our case, my grandfather is the sponsor and my father is the principal applicant. We have all received visas but my father needs some time to conclude business in Vietnam. Can my mother and I go to the US now so that I can register for the next semester of school?
A.2. Your visa is only valid if you enter the US with your father or after your father. There is no option of entering the US before your father arrives.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com
Immigration Support Services-Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
42 Dang Thi Nhu, P. Nguyen Thai Binh, Q1, HCM (848) 3914-7638
A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth. The only requirement is that the US citizen parent has five years of physical presence in the US before the birth of the child. Two of the five years must be after the parent was 14 years old.
To calculate the five years of physical presence, naturalized citizens may count any time they spent in the United States both before and after being naturalized, regardless of their immigration status during the time they include in the five years. This means that naturalized US citizens can even count any time when they were in the States illegally, before their naturalization. Of course they must be able to show proof of residence in the US for the five years they claim.
2. Changes to the Foreign Affairs Manual: Immigrant Visa Waivers
Some immigrant visa applicants are found to be ineligible during the consular interview because of medical reasons or because they mis-stated facts about their application. If their sponsor is a US citizen, they may be eligible to overcome the denial by filing an I-601 Waiver Request with US CIS.
In the past, the I-601 Waiver Request was submitted to the US Consulate in Saigon and then forwarded to the CIS District office in Bangkok for processing. This was a time consuming process, sometimes taking six months or more. Consular officers now instruct these denied visa applicants to file the form I-601 directly with the USCIS Lockbox. The Lockbox facility will send all Form I-601 applications to the USCIS Nebraska Service Center. It is hoped that this will speed up the processing of the Waiver Requests.
3. Social Security Numbers for Immigrants
The Social Security Administration has added a couple of new sentences to the letter that all immigrants receive. It says, “You can expect to receive your Social Security card at the address you gave when applying for the immigrant visa. If you do not receive a card at your U.S. address within three weeks of being admitted into the United States, please call the nearest Social Security office. The telephone number is listed at www.ssa.gov/locator and in the local telephone directory under "United States Government."
4. DERIVATIVE BENEFICIARIES CANNOT PRECEDE PRINCIPAL ALIEN. Consular officers should inform visa applicants that they cannot precede the principal applicant in entering the United States. Their visa is valid only if they accompany or follow-to-join the principal applicant. For example, if your mother is the principal applicant, you must enter the US with her or later, as Follow-to-Join. There is no way that you can enter the US legally before the principal applicant arrives in the US.
5. Can an American citizen sponsor his or her foreign-born step-child for immigration to the United States? Yes, absolutely. The citizen can file Form I-130 if the citizen's marriage to the child's mother or father occurred before the child reached the age of 18.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.1. What should a new immigrant do if he does not receive a Social Security card within 3 weeks of entering the US?
A.1. The new immigrant should take his passport and birth certificate to the nearest Social Security office. After they have received the necessary documents, the Social Security card will be mailed to the applicant within 2 weeks.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Q.2. In our case, my grandfather is the sponsor and my father is the principal applicant. We have all received visas but my father needs some time to conclude business in Vietnam. Can my mother and I go to the US now so that I can register for the next semester of school?
A.2. Your visa is only valid if you enter the US with your father or after your father. There is no option of entering the US before your father arrives.
ROBERT MULLINS INTERNATIONAL www.rmiodp.com
Immigration Support Services-Tham Van Di Tru
9070 Bolsa Avenue, Westminster CA 92683 (714) 890-9933
779 Story Road, Ste. 70, San Jose, CA 95122 (408) 294-3888
6930 65th St. Ste. #105, Sacramento CA 95823 (916) 393-3388
42 Dang Thi Nhu, P. Nguyen Thai Binh, Q1, HCM (848) 3914-7638
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