Citizenship question s/o

strawberry cola

Thu, Jan 14 2021, 8:53 pm

I posted recently with a query on behalf of a friend in Israel, whose tickets to the US to obtain citizenship for her children were cancelled due to COVID. Two posters answered me with relevant questions, which I sent to my friend. When I tried to post her answer on the original thread, a message popped up saying that only people with special access can post on that forum. I'm confused, since I posted the original post.
This is the answer I received from my friend. Thanks in advance to anyone who can advise:

I was born in the US; I have American citizenship and an American birth certificate. My parents made Aliyah when I was six months old. I presume that my children’s receiving citizenship will be because of my parents, is that correct? Or does my own status, as described above, allow for it? Someone here in Israel told me that if a child applies for citizenship because of his grandparents he must do it in the US. I am trying to clarify whether, because of the COVID- 19 situation, it is possible to do it without flying in. Is there a purpose to trying- perhaps with the help of a US government official- or should I not even try?
And perhaps the person who informed me of the grandparent clause was mistaken, since I am a citizen, not just my parents?
Any relevant information would be greatly appreciated.

nanny24/7

Thu, Jan 14 2021, 9:06 pm

I am sorry I am really not knowledgeable but I anectodally have heard of quite a few people who were American citizens and traveled in to the U.S. make their children citizens. I do know that there are very strict age deadlines and after a certain age it's too late to make them citizens.
I don't remember the exact age, perhaps 18 years old? This was before covid though. Your best bet is to contact the United States Embassy / Consulate office in Israel and ask them if they can handle any of that at their offices in Israel.
You should be able to Google all their contact information including email and then send them an email. I recall they have one office in Jerusalem and another someplace else in Israel.
I don't know how fast they would respond and if this is time sensitive for your friend.
It definitely needs to be done in person with the children present, but if she is lucky perhaps the consulate officials can provide that service and meet with them. I don't know.

MySpace

Thu, Jan 14 2021, 9:25 pm

I believe her children are automatically citizens she does not need to apply or that. If however she wants to apply for things like a US birth certificate(consular report of birth abroad), passport, social security that can be done through the US embassy in Jerusalem or Tel Aviv. Due to Covid they are only open for emergency services now.

MySpace

Thu, Jan 14 2021, 9:37 pm

Sorry for posting without checking it out before hand.The parent needs to have lived in the US for a substancial amount of years, it seems that her moving to Israel at the age of 6 months can get in the way, and she may need to formally apply.

I was posting based on my experiences of growing up in the US and then living in Israel after getting married for many years. I did not need to apply for any of my children.
Sorry

essie14

Fri, Jan 15 2021, 12:19 am

MySpace wrote:

Your children are automatically citizens if you yourself lived in the US past the age of 14.
Anyone who made aliyah before that age must use the grandparents clause to make their children citizens.

OP, this is an excellent lawyer in Israel who deals with these exact situations. She can tell your friend what the deal is now.
https://www.wolgelaw.com/

Teomima

Fri, Jan 15 2021, 12:50 am

My brother is going through this now.

If you're friend's husband is not a US citizen, then based on what you tell us, she alone does not meet the criteria to automatically transfer citizenship to her children. When only one parent is a US citizen, there are certain physical requirements for time having resided in the United States. Her children can, however, become naturalized US citizens through their grandparents. In order to make this happen there is a LOT of paperwork that needs to be submitted and a long processing time. She applied for expedited naturalization with a USCIS field office in the United States (she can choose which office). She is then given a date to appear there, in person (her and the child. The father can come though isn't required), in order to finalize citizenship. This process can take a while and the offices have been closing frequently. My brother's dates have been changed many times over the course of the last year, due to flight cancellations and office closures. It's gotten to the point he's seriously considering flying in, going to the office, then turning around and flying back out immediately. But currently they're postponing everything on both ends.

There is no reason to rush this process. You have until the child is 18. The only reason to do it faster is for the financial benefits when claiming a dependant on your tax returns. It can add up to a lot of money, which is nice. But this year the uncertainty and the travel and the risk might not make it worthwhile.

chanchy123

Fri, Jan 15 2021, 3:23 am

Teomima wrote:

I did this with my kids, there is a rush because I file US taxes and can’t get tax returns for children who are not US citizens, so every year I miss is worth money (especially if you have several children). As I did in the other thread, I recommend OPs friend talks to an immigration attorney that specialises in such cases. PM me for a recommendation.