Am I a Citizen of the United States?

Am I a Citizen of the United States?

By Immigration Lawyer Minnesota Vincent Martin

Many people are citizens of America by birth or through some other part of the immigration law and don’t even know it. If you are a citizen by law, you do not need to take the citizenship and naturalization test through the INS or U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Even if you have no documentation or consider yourself an “illegal alien” for example, no green card, no visa, no immigration paperwork, if you are citizen by law, your lack of documentation does not change the fact that you are a citizen – you just need proof of it.

Keep in mind that this article does not address amnesty or other types of laws that grant people immigration status. This article talks about the possibility that you may be a citizen by virtue of your parents’ or grandparents’ U.S. citizenship, or your place of birth.

The laws that determine whether you are a citizen automatically under the law have changed over the years. Under most circumstances, if you were born in the United States, you are a U.S. citizen. But in some instances, even if you were not born in the U.S., you may still be a citizen.

If you were born outside of America, the law typically looks to the law that was in effect at the time of your birth, your parent’s birth, your grandparent’s birth, etc. In some instances, merely being the child of a U.S. citizen makes you a citizen no matter where you were born, but in other instances the law requires that your American parent have resided in the United States for a period of time before citizenship can be automatically bestowed on you. Another factor to consider is whether your parents were married at the time you were born. The immigration law regarding children born out of wedlock can determine whether you received citizenship automatically or not.

If you were not a citizen at birth, you may have acquired citizenship through your mother or father when he or she became a citizen or naturalized. This typically requires that your parent naturalize before your 18th birthday. For example, if you have a green card and you are under 18 at the time that you parent becomes a U.S. citizen, you may have received citizenship automatically along with your parent, even though you don’t have documentation of it. In this case, you would not need to take the citizenship test, you would simply apply for a certificate of citizenship. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) would be the applicable law.

If you think that you may already be a citizen by law, you should contact an immigration attorney to get a legal opinion about your case. If you simply show up at the border, airport or other immigration office and merely try to claim citizenship without proper proof, the immigration service will send your case to the immigration judge and essentially place you into deportation. You will then have to prove your claim to the judge. With proper planning, if you have a legitimate claim to citizenship, you may be able to avoid the deportation process by receiving a certificate of citizenship or U.S. passport.

Vincent Martin is an immigration lawyer at Cundy and Martin, LLC, in Bloomington, MN. As an immigration attorney, his practice is devoted exclusively to immigration law. Vincent may be reached at 952-746-4111 or www.cundyandmartin.com .

Possession of Child Pornography and Immigration

By Minneapolis Immigration Lawyer

Child pornography is a crime involving moral turpitude for which U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement - ICE - can revoke an immigrant's U.S. citizenship. This is according to a recent decision by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. You can find the case at:

http://www.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2009/04/20/0755470.pdf

www.cundyandmartin.com

July Visa Bulletin

http://travel.state.gov/visa/frvi/bulletin/bulletin_4512.html?css=print


http://www.cundyandmartin.com/

My Immigration Lawyer Made a Mistake

When your lawyer makes a mistake, this is commonly called Ineffective Assistance of Counsel. Immigration courts have typically recognized mistakes made by lawyers as justification to reopen a case or otherwise let the immigrant try to fix his or her case. Below is a release from the Attorney General addressing the current state of this issue.

Attorney General Vacates Compean Order, Initiates New Rulemaking to Govern Immigration Removal Proceedings

Attorney General Eric Holder today vacated the order issued in Matter of Compean by Attorney General Mukasey in January and announced his intention to initiate a new rulemaking proceeding for regulations to govern claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in removal proceedings.

"The integrity of immigration proceedings depends in part on the ability to assert claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, and the Department of Justice’s rulemaking in this area will be fair, it will be transparent, and it will be guided by our commitment to the rule of law," Holder said. "It is important that the
American people have the opportunity to participate in formulating our procedures in this area, and this new process will ensure they do."

On January 7, Attorney General Mukasey issued an order in Matter of Compean overturning Board of Immigration Appeals precedent and procedures governing assistance of counsel in removal proceedings. The order limited non-citizens’ ability to make claims of ineffective assistance of counsel in immigration
proceedings, and it did so without the full range of public input that a notice and comment rulemaking would have provided.

In the order issued today, Attorney General Holder directs the Executive Office for Immigration Review to initiate rulemaking procedures as soon as practicable to evaluate the existing framework for making claims of ineffective assistance of counsel, to solicit public comment, and, if appropriate, to issue a final rule.
By vacating the previous order, Attorney General Holder restores the procedures governing removal proceedings to those in place before the issuance of Attorney General Mukasey’s order.

www.cundyandmartin.com

H1B Visas Still Available

According to the most recent count by USCIS, there are still thousands of H-1B visas available. Since qualified candidates can have their petitions filed relatively quickly, there is still time to apply for H-1b visa.


www.cundyandmartin.com

President Obama and Immigration

The New York Times is reporting that President Obama plans to begin addressing the country’s immigration system this year, including looking for a path for illegal immigrants to become legal. Click here for the rest of the story:

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/09/us/politics/09immig.html?_r=2






www.cundyandmartin.com

TN Visa

TN status is available under NAFTA for professional workers from Canada and Mexico if they are filling one of the following positions and have the necessary qualifications for the position. TN status may now be granted for up to three years.

Accountant Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or C.P.A., C.A., C.G.A. or C.M.A.
Architect Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Computer Systems Analyst Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or PostSecondary Diploma or PostSecondary Certificate, and three years experience
Disaster Relief Insurance Claims Adjuster (claims Adjuster employed by an insurance company located in the territory of a Party, or an independent claims adjuster) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree, and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims; or three years experience in claims adjustment and successful completion of training in the appropriate areas of insurance adjustment pertaining to disaster relief claims.
Economist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Engineer Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Forester Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Graphic Designer Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or PostSecondary Diploma or PostSecondary Certificate, and three years experience
Hotel Manager Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree in hotel/restaurant management; or PostSecondary Diploma or PostSecondary Certificate in hotel/restaurant management, and three years experience in hotel/restaurant management
Industrial Designer Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or PostSecondary Diploma or PostSecondary Certificate, and three years experience
Interior Designer Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or PostSecondary Diploma or PostSecondary Certificate, and three years experience
Land Surveyor Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial/federal license
Landscape Architect Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Lawyer (including Notary in the Province of Quebec) LL.B., J.D., LL.L., B.C.L. or Licenciatura Degree (five years); or membership in a state/provincial bar
Librarian M.L.S. or B.L.S. (for which another Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree was a prerequisite)
Management Consultant Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or equivalent professional experience as established by statement or professional credential attesting to five years experience as a management consultant, or five years experience in a field of specialty related to the consulting agreement
Mathematician (including Statistician) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Range Manager/Range Conservationalist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Research Assistant (working in a post-secondary educational institution) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Scientific Technician/Technologist Possession of (a) theoretical knowledge of any of the following disciplines: agricultural sciences, astronomy, biology, chemistry, engineering, forestry, geology, geophysics, meteorology or physics; and (b) the ability to solve practical problems in any of those disciplines, or the ability to apply principles of any of those disciplines to basic or applied research
Social Worker Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Sylviculturist (including Forestry Specialist) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Technical Publications Writer Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or PostSecondary Diploma or PostSecondary Certificate, and three years experience
Urban Planner (including Geographer) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Vocational Counsellor Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree

Medical/Allied Professional
Dentist D.D.S., D.M.D., Doctor en Odontologia or Doctor en Cirugia Dental; or state/provincial license
Dietitian Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Medical Laboratory Technologist (Canada)/Medical Technologist (Mexico and the United States) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or Post-Secondary Diploma or Post-Secondary Certificate, and three years experience
Nutritionist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Occupational Therapist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Pharmacist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Physician (teaching or research only) M.D. or Doctor en Medicina; or state/provincial license
Physiotherapist/Physical Therapist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree; or state/provincial license
Psychologist State/provincial license; or Licenciatura Degree
Recreational Therapist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Registered Nurse State/provincial license; or Licenciatura Degree
Veterinarian D.V.M., D.M.V. or Doctor en Veterinaria; or state/provincial license

Scientist
Agriculturist (including Agronomist) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Animal Breeder Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Animal Scientist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Apiculturist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Astronomer Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Biochemist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Biologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Chemist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Dairy Scientist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Entomologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Epidemiologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geneticist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geochemist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Geophysicist (including Oceanographer in Mexico and the United States) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Horticulturist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Meteorologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Pharmacologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Physicist (including Oceanographer in Canada) Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Plant Breeder Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Poultry Scientist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Soil Scientist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Zoologist Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree

Teacher

College Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
Seminary Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree
University Baccalaureate or Licenciatura Degree