I've posted a similar question on these boards before, but I've been getting mixed answers. My father is a US citizen. My mother is Canadian. I was born in Canada. I am a US citizen, correct? I recently spoke to a USCG recruiter and he told me I would not be able to join...is this true? If so, how do I work around this? I hold dual citizenship, do I need to denounce my Canadian citizenship? Thanks in advance, hope I don't annoy anyone with my reposting this question, but I'm pretty confused. Thx.

Yes, you are a U. S. Citizen by birth. You should have a report of birth of U. S. Citizen aboard by American parent(s).

I know this because I was born in England, father was (then) a U. S. Air Force Major. Mother was U. S. Citizen too, but even if she wasn't, I would have still been a U. S. Citizen by birth.

They always told me I was a dual citizen, and I believed it. Besides the report of birth I mentioned earlier, I had a British birth certificate. But in August 1972 when I finally made it down to the local draft board to register (they didn't use the post office in those days), they told me that wasn't the case. I was a U. S. Citizen by birth. Same thing when I enlisted in the Coast Guard.

Even if you were just a Canadian Citizen, (or subject if that's the case) you could still join as long as you are a resident. You could not hold a security clearance however, and there are certain jobs you couldn't go into unless you became a U. S. Citizen.

That indeed is where my problem would lie. I want to shoot for the ME rating...and after my military service, I would like to join the FBI. Both would require security clearances. I just want to know what needs to be done. I am willing to give up my other citizenship, but I'm not sure how to, or if there is another route.

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I am willing to give up my other citizenship, but I'm not sure how to

Really don't know what to tell you here, except to contact the Canadian State Department and see what they can advise.

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Originally posted by Retired_CG_Recruiter:
Yes, you are a U. S. Citizen by birth. You should have a report of birth of U. S. Citizen aboard by American parent(s).

I know this because I was born in England, father was (then) a U. S. Air Force Major. Mother was U. S. Citizen too, but even if she wasn't, I would have still been a U. S. Citizen by birth.

not stricly true.. your only a us citizen by birth if your dad had not resided out of country for x number of years. what you need to find out is for the time of your birth what that period of time was (it changes every so often) if it was outside of that period ie the limit is 10 years he was there 11 years you cannot claim us citizenship through birth (i know a couple people who this has happened)

its the same with being dual ( i am dual british and american, hold 2 passport and 2 birth certs, being that my mum was english and not resided out of the uk for x number of years prior to my birth in the us, and i was us by birth owing to my dad and the fact i was born on us soil)

also ask the canadian embassy about your rights, the english do NOT recognize you not being british (my brother had to give up his british nationality for his sec clearence, the brit government just took his passport and told him when he wants it back he can have it back without any problems) i didnt have to surrender mine to join as my job didnt require as high a clearence

the ONLY way you need to give it up is if its in accordance to your sec clearence, ie ts with alphabet soup would need you to be soley american, being you cannot hold a passport to another country
you can join dual.

also america doesnt recognize us duals as long as you have american citizenship by birth your american to the us government by all intents and purporses. and if they want you to renounce your other citizenship for a sec clearence you just have to write into your embassy in the states and hand your passport in

Okay. Thanks for the help gentleman. I figured I would have to contact the government, but I thought I would check on here first. Thank you

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Originally posted by SeaBoundWoman:
Okay. Thanks for the help gentleman. I figured I would have to contact the government, but I thought I would check on here first. Thank you

and ladies lol

My bad rgbilyeu. I should've been less discriminatory as I am a lady, too. Let's try this again.

Okay. Thanks for the help ladies and gentlemen. I figured I would have to contact the government, but I thought I would check on here first. Thank you

Peace?

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not stricly true..

Well, I had several other young men and women I enlisted in the same situation. One I remember in particular had a father seving in Germany on active duty in the U.S Army. She was born in Germany. Her mother was a German National. She had the exact same form I had. In fact I am looking at mine now. It says:

quote:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
REPORT OF BIRTH
CHILD BORN ABROAD OF AMERICAN PARENT OR PARENTS
RAF Station, Brize Norton, Oxon England

I put her in as a native born citizen. She got into a career field that required a top secret clearance. She's still on active duty today.

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Originally posted by Retired_CG_Recruiter:

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not stricly true..

Well, I had several other young men and women I enlisted in the same situation. One I remember in particular had a father seving in Germany on active duty in the U.S Army. She was born in Germany. Her mother was a German National. She had the exact same form I had. In fact I am looking at mine now. It says:

quote:

DEPARTMENT OF STATE
FOREIGN SERVICE OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
REPORT OF BIRTH
CHILD BORN ABROAD OF AMERICAN PARENT OR PARENTS
RAF Station, Brize Norton, Oxon England

I put her in as a native born citizen. She got into a career field that required a top secret clearance. She's still on active duty today.

i was refering to the she will be us if her dad was... your situation your recruits dad was AD so would have resided out of country per military orders and would only be out a limit amount of time before returning to the us.. the mil would get him out of the time restraint also ad would not be counted by that country as a resident.

because the OP is canadian I am presuming her father went over of his own will not per military orders. therefore if he went resided in that country without taking up perment residence in the us again for x number of years she cannot claim us citizenship by birth.


its completely different if her dad chose to reside in canada and was there for more then x number of years

and if he resided there longer than x number of years in which he could not claim her as a us by birth through him... example myself i am dual but because i have resided overseas for so long unless i have a child born on us soil i cannot claim them as us through myself.

i understand about natives born abroad my brother was born at RAF lakenheath he went in as a us national, again just gave up his british passport and wrote to the british embassy

the time frame of how long the OPs father permentally resided out of country is the key into whether she will get it
nothing to do with her being canadian its all about how long her dad resided in canada prior to her birth.

another example friedn of mine daughter to a us service member who grew up in liverpool (he is not uk citizen) gave birth to her in the uk on a raf base but was not allowed to claim her a us national as he had not resided in the us for any length of time so she is now a brit and no trace of american owing to this time frame of parental residency outside the us

i would also say that i am assuming that as she isnt clear if she is a us citizen that she has only a canadian birth cert which would make thigs a harder process.
because the born abroad in civilian world is up to parents to register

rgbilyeu, maybe I should clarify to get a more informed answer. Please, let me explain.

My father was born in the US. He lived in the US until the age of 35 (approximately). I was born when he was 40. My mother was born in Canada. She has lived in Canada her whole life. I was born in Canada. I know that I am a US citizen. What I don't know is how much trouble my dual citizenship will cause me and if I should get a Certificate of Citizenship from the US government (Form N-600). I also am not sure if I should renounce my Canadian citizenship (last resort if it's necessary).

Sorry for not giving enough details and making myself clear. That was my bad.

Thx.

Do you have one of those forms I mentioned?

The young woman I mentioned never said anything to me about dual citizenship. Her mother and father split up when she was quite young. Her mother took her back to Germany. In fact, she spoke only German in her tender years. Her mom remarried an Army Warrant Officer and they came back to the U. S. I don't know if her mom ever was or became a U. S. citizen.

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What I don't know is how much trouble my dual citizenship will cause me and if I should get a Certificate of Citizenship from the US government (Form N-600).

Again, I never ran across that situation when I was recruiting. The only problem I can think of is the possiblity of entering into a rating where you would be required to hold a security clearance.

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I recently spoke to a USCG recruiter and he told me I would not be able to join...is this true?

I don't know why he said that. The only problem we ever ran into was when the applicant was a citizen of a Soviet Block or Chinese Communist Nation. They had to become a U.S. Citizen first or be granted a waiver to join. Don't know if that's still the situation today.

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Originally posted by SeaBoundWoman:
rgbilyeu, maybe I should clarify to get a more informed answer. Please, let me explain.

My father was born in the US. He lived in the US until the age of 35 (approximately). I was born when he was 40. My mother was born in Canada. She has lived in Canada her whole life. I was born in Canada. I know that I am a US citizen. What I don't know is how much trouble my dual citizenship will cause me and if I should get a Certificate of Citizenship from the US government (Form N-600). I also am not sure if I should renounce my Canadian citizenship (last resort if it's necessary).

Sorry for not giving enough details and making myself clear. That was my bad.

Thx.

if you have a us birth cert of a board abroad cert and can posses a us passport it will only cause trouble in reference to your sec clearence.

my appologies for my misunderstanding you, i was reading it as your father had been outta country longer and you were unsure whether you could posses us citizenship.
in this instance you dont fall into that beautiful grey area from the sounds of it.

and retired CG: i didnt mean to sound rude, I missread the situation and obviously was speaking about something that does not apply in this instance- the parent residing out of country for too long to claim a us child on foreign soil. my appologies to you as well

Retired, I do not have the form you mentioned. Would this help me with security clearance?
Rgbilyeu, don't worry about the misunderstanding. It happens :P

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Originally posted by SeaBoundWoman:
Retired, I do not have the form you mentioned. Would this help me with security clearance?
Rgbilyeu, don't worry about the misunderstanding. It happens :P

any form of us registered birth this born abroad or a straight up us birth cert will aid you in your clearence

Well then I'll have to get it. Retired, what is the name of the form and how do I go about getting it?

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my appologies to you as well

No need to apologize. I'm no expert on this stuff. However, I always thought that if you were born abroad and at least one parent was a U. S. Citizen, so were you. Mainly based on the experience and others like it that I mentioned earlier.

SeaBound, it looks like form FS 240. Mine's a copy and it's kind of hard to read. I googled it and this was what I found. This should tell you everything you need to know.
http://travel.state.gov/passpo...first/first_828.html

Thank you retired. You're the best

Aw shucks, it ain't no big thing!

I've known a few Canadian Citizens on active duty in the Coast Guard. Most of them were from the Windsor, Canada area. They enlisted in Detroit. There's a small boat station in St. Clair Shores, Michigan, along with plenty of other Coast Guard units in Detroit, Belle Isle, Port Huron, and other places.

And despite what that beer commercial said, they didn't say "about", they said "a-boot"!

Any other questions, please feel free to ask.