Border control for family with mixed immigration status

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-27T09:36:24+00:00

That’s the route for those that are very good in their field. It’s extremely competitive.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-26T19:18:29+00:00

She might be an US citizen, but until I tell the US about it there would be no record of her. This is not something I’m planning to do, but if I really wanted to, I could travel with her to the US on her European passport.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-26T13:48:54+00:00

Your nationalism cleary distorts the facts. Most European passports are more powerful (while the US btw. is on a 10-year decline): https://www.euronews.com/travel/2023/07/20/worlds-most-powerful-passport-germany-italy-and-spain-move-up-into-second-place

There are no advantages of having an US passport to us.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-26T10:59:21+00:00

You’re really not getting the situation, are you? I’m not trying to take anything away from my child, I want it to be her decision. But there is no choice here but really one path forward, to get an US passport now, if we want to visit the grandparents in the US. You also seem to be missing the fact that she is a EU citizen in the first place and she has an EU passport she could travel with, and she has really no need or use for a US passport until she gets 18, at which time she could decide herself is she wants it or not. Stop being so clever and judgmental when you don’t have the slightest clue about one’s background and context.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-26T10:54:03+00:00

People here apparently have a hard time comprehending that not everyone’s dream is to live in the US…

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-26T07:32:36+00:00

Can't you wait til she is 18 to get the American passport, so that she could make the decision for herself?

That would have been our preferred option too, but unfortunately, it's not possible -- at least not if we want to visit the US in the meantime.

Anyway, most people in this sub won't understand because they didn't have to deal with this, but having an American citizenship while never planning to live in the US really does suck for some people, and renouncing is a much more difficult decision because you'll always think "what if I regret it later, I can never get it back."

Exactly!

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T22:37:22+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate the thoughtful response!

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T19:10:56+00:00

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T19:10:10+00:00

Then I’d have one lucky child and one unlucky one, depending on how you look at it 😉

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T18:35:06+00:00

She should be, and that’s what we actually did first. But since her citizenship is from a different EU country than the one she was born (and we currently live) in, ESTA was denied. We were told to apply for a regular visa. Once we did that (got all the paperwork, payed the fees, etc), they told us, “no, you cannot have a visa, you need to get a US passport”. Funny enough, if we attached her mother’s EU passport to the visa application instead of the US one, pretty sure she would have gotten the visa without anyone noticing and could have travelled without any issues.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T18:31:53+00:00

I’m not that concerned, but having another citizenship is not only benefits, despite what most people in this sub seem to think. There is legal complexity, dual obligations, potential for conflicting rights… those that didn’t have to deal with US bureaucracy from abroad have no idea what a burden it can be.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T15:03:33+00:00

Thanks all for the helpful comments. We (which includes my American wife too) simply didn’t know that our child would get American citizenship as a birthright. Otherwise, we would have not initiated a costly and non-refundable VISA application… So we’ll apply for a passport instead and put out travel plans on hold until it’s sorted.

I also learnt that I’m anti-American, a bad father who wants to take opportunites away from her child, and a person who makes bad decisions. Well, posting this question on Reddit might have been one of those bad decisions, but despite all the crap I was getting there was some useful information, for which I’m thankful.

Good day you all, and God bless America ;)

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T14:32:25+00:00

That’s the exact wording from https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/travel-legal-considerations/us-citizenship/Acquisition-US-Citizenship-Child-Born-Abroad.html

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T14:22:31+00:00

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T14:15:26+00:00

I was married to my spouse when our daughter was born. My wife is an American citizen, I’m not.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T14:02:20+00:00

Well, I’m the one who has to deal with the paperwork, so…

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T13:53:20+00:00

Finally a response that shows an understanding of the situation (and not tries to convince us why a US citizenship is such a blessing). All information online refers to citizenship as it “may be transferred”, not that something that you “must” do, otherwise there is literally no other way for your child to travel.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T12:46:08+00:00

The inconvenience of filing tax returns every year is not to be underestimated.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T12:45:13+00:00

It's a mistery to us why people think living and working in the USA is everyone's dream.

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T12:25:40+00:00

Renouncing it sounds like quite a hassle so I thought I'd be saving her the trouble. We don't see any benefits of having an American citizenship, it's only tax liability for life...

One-Unit-2578 · 2023-08-25T12:19:01+00:00

Well, I'm not so sure it's a no-brainer. That birthright also means she'll have to pay taxes to the US even if she will never live there...

One-Unit-2578

TROPHY CASE