In general, the immigration rights of the marital, minor children born to U.S. citizens or born to foreign national permanent resident immigrant parents are directly dependant on and affected by the respective rights of the U.S. citizen parent or the resident alien parent or parents.

In general, the immigration rights of the marital, minor children born to U.S. citizens or born to foreign national permanent resident immigrant parents are directly dependant on and affected by the respective rights of the U.S. citizen parent or the resident alien parent or parents.

• Children Born to U.S. Citizen
A child born to a United States citizen and a foreign national in the United States or in a foreign nation would be eligible for full U.S. citizenship based on his or her relationship with the U.S. citizen parent. Once the child's U.S. citizenship is formally recognized he or she would essentially have the full spectrum of U.S. citizenship rights and would no longer need to deal with the U.S. Department of Immigration.

• Children Born to Permanent U.S. Residents
The minor child born to immigrant parents legally and permanently residing in the United States would need to obtain valid green cards in order to legally work in the United States. Those children would also need to obtain the proper documents to pursue a course of academic or vocational study within the United States. In general, if the permanent U.S. resident parent loses his or her right to remain in the United States for any reason then his or her minor child or children would similarly lose their right to legally remain in the United States. Once a minor child of born to permanent resident parents reaches the age of majority then that individual must then make arrangements to be legally inside the United States based on his own immigration documentation.

• U.S. Citizen Adoption of Foreign National Children
Native born and naturalized U.S. citizen parents and permanent resident parents may adopt a foreign national child and thereafter seek to obtain citizenship status for the adopted child. The native born U.S. citizen may seek the child's citizenship rights based on the formal parental relationship with the child. The naturalized U.S. citizen parent may also seek validation of citizenship rights for an adopted child based on his or her citizenship status. The permanent U.S. resident adoptive parent would need to arrange for the adopted child's legal entry into the United States. Usually the adopted child would be considered on "orphan" or a person whose natural parents are either deceased or have permanently and legally abandoned the child. A child is also considered eligible for "orphan" status where only one birth parent is absent but the other parent is incapable of providing for the child.
Vaughan de Kirby
Connect with me
San Francisco California EB-5 Investment Immigration Attorney