# Family Preference Visa Question



## TheLordDave (Jan 2, 2011)

Hi All,
Quick question, 

I will try to summise as much as possible.

My father is a U.S citizen by birth. I am not, I was born in the Uk.

My father failed to register my birth at the consulate so I do not have dual citizenship. The rest of my cousins do as does my younger brother.

I am 31. All of my family has moved back to the U.S one by one, leaving me as the last one aboard the sinking ship that is the U.K

I have been looking at how I go about moving to the U.S and it seems I would need to apply but would be under a preference category as an unmarried son over the age of 21. This seems to have a long wait time associated with it.

On the immigration site it says that if I get married before a visa is granted then i would shift to another category that would take even longer.

This I understand.

The issue I have is that I have a long term partner/fiancee and a young baby. Do any of you know what the best course of action would be for us to all emigrate?

Would I be best getting married and accepting the longer wait time or apply as an unmarried son and somehow sponsor my partner and son once my visa was granted?

Obviously the wait times are so long that by the time this was granted my child would likely be in school and we would not want to uproot him so it may be a dead issue and we will have to look at other locations such as Australia/Canada.

Im a Software Engineer running a consultancy firm and my partner is a probation officer if that makes a difference.

Thanks
Dave


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

You say your father is a US citizen by birth. Did he, perchance, live in the US for at least a few years after the age of 14? If so, you may actually be a US citizen. (The rules are a bit odd - but check out all the options before you go the family visa route.)

Start here and follow the links as appropriate: Transmission Requirements for U.S. Citizenship | Embassy of the United States
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## TheLordDave (Jan 2, 2011)

He did but sporadically.

From birth till 8 years old. Then for about 10 months when he was 21. Then Back to the uk and had me. Then moved back to the states when he was about 40. Lived there for about 15 years now.


----------



## EVHB (Feb 11, 2008)

Don't worry too much about uprooting kids, they are very resilient. Lots of expat kids 'survive' moving to another country. Our son was almost 16 when we moved, he did great. I know lots of teenagers who moved and who are doing great. Every now and than there's someone who doesn't like it, and where settling in is a struggle. But you can also have that problem with adults or even young kids. My colleague was 7 when she came here and it took her 5 years before accepting that this was her new country!


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

It looks like he cannot transfer citizenship so Green Card is your only way unless you or your partner make the move by employer/investment.


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

TheLordDave said:


> He did but sporadically.
> 
> From birth till 8 years old. Then for about 10 months when he was 21. Then Back to the uk and had me. Then moved back to the states when he was about 40. Lived there for about 15 years now.


Unfortunately no - it's based on how much time he had in residence in the US at the time you were born. (And it's those few years after the age of 14 that are critical.)
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Was your father out of the US as member of a military family?


----------



## BBCWatcher (Dec 28, 2012)

Bevdeforges said:


> And it's those few years after the age of 14 that are critical.


It's really all the years before the birth of the child in question that are considered, with an overall minimum and a (smaller) minimum number of years after reaching age 14. But those years don't necessarily have to be anywhere near age 14.

For example, it's certainly biologically possible to be a first time father at age 78 (or much older) and clock all the required U.S. residence time after age 70 for purposes of qualifying to transmit U.S. citizenship. That is....

1. Father born a U.S. citizen (outside the U.S. in this example).
2. Lived from age 0 to age 70 outside the United States.
3. Lived in the United States for 5 years from age 70 to 75.
4. Fathered a child at age 78 outside the United States (in wedlock, with a non-citizen wife).

That child would be born a U.S. citizen according to current U.S. citizenship law. The 5 year total U.S. residence requirement is met, and the 2 year U.S. residence requirement after the parent's 14th birthday is also met. None of those years were anywhere near the parent's 14th birthday, but they don't have to be -- they can all be decades after the parent's 14th birthday.

This also works for women, by the way. There are historical reports of women as old as age 73 giving birth through natural conception. Women can also now freeze their own embryos and later begin their pregnancies into their 70s. Or a younger surrogate mother can carry an embryo to term. Either way, the biological mother can thus transmit her U.S. citizenship even if she is well advanced in age and even if she only established and maintained U.S. residence at a nearly so advanced age.

Taking that surrogacy idea a step further, if the surrogate mother happens to give birth physically within the United States (and she is not a foreign diplomat) then that works, too. Even if the biological mother is halfway around the world, even if the biological mother isn't even alive. The U.S. Constitution is very simple the way: baby born + U.S. territory = U.S. citizenship.


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

Was actually referring to the situation of the OP here (see message #3). Given that timeline, there are only about 10 months of US residence for Dear Old Dad after age 14 and before the OP was born. Ain't going to cut it.

The possible extreme situations are vaguely interesting, but have no relevance here.
Cheers,
Bev


----------



## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

Bevdeforges said:


> Was actually referring to the situation of the OP here (see message #3). Given that timeline, there are only about 10 months of US residence for Dear Old Dad after age 14 and before the OP was born. Ain't going to cut it.
> 
> The possible extreme situations are vaguely interesting, but have no relevance here.
> Cheers,
> Bev


Do you know the exact circumstances of OP's father?


----------



## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

twostep said:


> Do you know the exact circumstances of OP's father?


Only what is given in message #3 - though that does seem to rule out any of the proffered "extreme" scenarios. 
Cheers,
Bev


----------

