Post-Conviction Relief for Immigrants

(B)  Unknown U.S. Citizenship.  A United States citizen is exempt from deportation or any other disability inflicted by the immigration authorities.  It is very important to screen clients for U.S. citizenship they may not know they possess.[21]  The most common form is “derivative citizenship,” acquired by an unmarried minor lawful permanent resident both of whose parents (or whose sole custodial parent) naturalized to United States citizenship before the child reached the age of 18.  In this instance, the child acquired United States citizenship automatically, without applying for any document and often without being aware of the new status.  United States citizenship is a complete defense to deportation, and amounts to a “get out of jail free card” insofar as immigration authorities are concerned.  It is also perfectly legal for a U.S. citizen to re-enter the United States after having been deported, no matter what criminal record the person has.  The most efficient way to assert this status is to verify the status, gather proof of every element, and submit it to the Passport Office, requesting a United States passport on the basis of the proof of U.S. citizenship.

[21] See Swanson, Challenging Alienage – Is Your Client a U.S. Citizen?, Appendix 9-B, in K. Brady, California Criminal Law and Immigration (2003).