Q. Must I wait until I turn 21 to petition for my husband? I am a 19-year-old permanent resident. I immigrated last year then returned home to marry my boyfriend. - Name withheld, Long Island
A. Isn’t young love grand! You may petition now for your boyfriend - provided that your marriage was valid and recognized under the laws of your country. A permanent resident or U.S. citizen of any age can petition for a spouse.
Generally, U.S. immigration law recognizes marriages if valid in the state or country where the couple wed. There are a few exceptions – for example, if the union is “contrary to public policy,” as would be a polygamous marriage. Another exception is same-sex marriages, which cannot be the basis for an immigration benefit because of a law called the Defense of Marriage Act.
Here’s some extra advice: apply for citizenship as soon as you qualify. That should be three months before you have been a permanent resident for five years. Your husband will get here more quickly if you naturalize.
Can son claim citizenship?
Q. Can my son claim U.S. citizenship? If so, how does he go about it?
My husband is a U.S. citizen. I’m a permanent resident, but I will start the process of getting my U.S. citizenship next month. My son is 16 years old. He is a permanent resident. ‘
-Alicia Flores, Staten Island
A. From what you write, your son is a U.S. citizen. He need not take any action – he got his citizenship automatically. He can get proof by getting a U.S. passport. Children who turned 18 on February 27, 2001, or after, who are permanent residents, receive U.S. citizenship automatically upon the naturalization of just one parent.
To claim through the father, the child must be legitimate.
The rules for getting automatic (derivative) citizenship vary depending on when the parent(s) naturalized. Children who turned 18 on or after Feb. 27, 2001, get citizenship automatically when they have met all of the following conditions:
Children who turned 18 prior to Feb. 27, 2001, automatically became U.S. citizens if: (1) a parent naturalized before the child turned 18, (2) the child became a permanent resident before turning 18, (3) the child was unmarried, and the child met one of the following conditions:
The other parent was or became a U.S. citizen.
The child was born out of wedlock and the parent naturalized was the mother.
The child’s other parent was deceased.
The parents were divorced or separated, and the parent being naturalized had legal custody.
Stepchildren cannot get citizenship through the naturalization of a stepparent. Adopted children can.
The order of events makes no difference. If a child is a permanent resident and under 18, and then a parent naturalizes, the child gets automatic citizenship. If the parent was born in the U.S. or naturalizes, and the child gets permanent residence, the child becomes a U.S. citizen the moment he or she becomes a permanent resident, if that happens before the child is 18.
Can deported daddy return?
Q. My children’s father was deported because of a drug conviction in 2002. Life has been hard here raising his children by myself. Will he ever be able to return to the U.S. to help?
- Yoshira, Yonkers
A. Unless the conviction was for a minor marijuana possession charge, he is permanently barred from ever getting permanent residence. After many years, if he rehabilitates, he might eventually get a visitor’s visa, but my guess is that the children will be grown by then.
U.S. immigration law is very harsh on individuals convicted of drug-related offenses. The one exception is where the individual was convicted of a single offense of simple possession for 30 grams or less of marijuana. In that case, the individual can get permanent residence if he or she can prove that a U.S. citizen or permanent spouse, parent, or child will suffer extreme hardship.
Allan Wernick is a lawyer and director of the City University of New York Citizenship and Immigration Project. He is the author of “U.S. Immigration and Citizenship - Your Complete Guide, Revised 4th Edition.” Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, Daily News, 450 West 33rd Street, New York, N.Y. 10001. Professor Wernick’s web site is www.allanwernick.com.
Allan Wernick’s Immigration column is reprinted from the Thursday, October 16 edition of the New York Daily News.
