American Citizenship Question

[Shibby]

Well as you know my girlfriend is going to have her baby here in the states. She is from Poland and not a citizen. I have been looking for stuff online about her getting citizenship. This is what someone else already asked on the Q and A part. This question fits us almost exact. http://www.visalaw.com/04jan4/3jan404.html

Q - I am currently in the US on a student visa. I am pregnant and I will have the child while still in the US. My understanding is that the child will be eligible for US citizenship. My question: Is there any process/visa that will allow me to reside in the US to raise my child (a US citizen) in this country?



A - The child is automatically a US citizen if he or she is born here. But until the child is 21 years old, a parent cannot benefit from the child's citizenship status. The child is, of course, entitled to remain in the US. But most people bring their children home with them. The child can eventually choose to return to the US and will not require any sort of permission to do so. There is a common misperception that having a child in the US opens up a lot of doors to immigrate to this country. That's just a myth and having a child here really will not make a big difference for most people.


Anyone have any expierence with this, or know if there is a loophole for a faster way to get her citizenship then the basic way or marriage? She wants to be to get a job.

[THE BOUNCER]

Sana says the fastest way is to get married, the second way is to get a job that will sponsor her on a working visa, then they might help her apply for her green card.

[Shibby]

Well she will have an assosiates degree after this summer in Telecomunications. She's going to continue and get a masters in biotechnology. So we will have to see. I'm more interested in her finishing her degree since she is so far along and driven. I will keep chipping away at mine and support us and then finish up mine full force once she has a job. I'm not all about staying single, but we weren't planning on getting married before the baby came along. I do love her but I want to get married for the right reasons when the time is right.

[Scrumhalf]

I am very familiar with US citizenship laws because of various members of my family who are immigrants.

First of all, PLAY ABSOLUTELY BY THE RULES FOR IMMIGRATION!!!! Do not let her do anything even marginally shady, like working if she does not have a work permit, etc. The INS can summarily reject all immigration petitions if the find out any violations, etc. and she will be deported for a long time, sometime for life.

With that out of the way, basically, there are only 3 ways to legally stay in this country.

1. Marry a US citizen - if she marries you, she will automatically be eligible for a green card without any waiting period.

2. Get a job where the company is willing to petition to the INS to get her a green card. This is usually only possible if she has skills that the company cannot find Americans to fill. Needless to say, this only happens with advanced degrees like doctorates, etc.

3. Have her apply for the green card lottery. Every year, the US govt. has a lottery where a certain number of green cards are handed out. I don't know how easy or hard the odds are.

The fact that the child is born her will make him/her a US citizen automatically but does nothing for your girlfriend.

Your best most foolproof method is to marry her. If not, she can continue to be on a student visa. Of course, if she has a degree that is in great demand, she may be able to find an employer who will apply for a green card for her.

[JUICE]

i'll ask some family members of mine. Since they were from here and there spouses from Mexico, they had kids here.

[Scrumhalf]

Generally, a master's degree is going to be about the minimum she would need to get an employer to go through the trouble of applying for a green card for her.

[Shibby]

She works at the college under institution work study. She does not pay taxes, but she did have to fill out paper work about working in the US. That's all legal right?

[shortz]

badgermoon, from over at BM has been through this. It's not as "easy" as you may want to believe. He has been through it all.

He hasn't been active for a few months though, so I am not sure if you could get in contact with him through the board.

[Shibby]

Did he get married?

[Scrumhalf]

Originally posted by Shibby
She works at the college under institution work study. She does not pay taxes, but she did have to fill out paper work about working in the US. That's all legal right?

Yep, as long as the work is through the university, she should be ok. Most student visas allow some limited kind of work, especially on campus or in some department helping out with research, etc. When in doubt, she can always check in with the international student office. They should be very helpful in making sure she is following all the rules.

[BBAddict]

Originally posted by shortz
It's not as "easy" as you may want to believe.

The place I work hires a lot foreign students, so we help them get green cards. The process is long and tedious most the time and takes a lot of work, unless they get lucky with the lottery. Good luck--like others said, the best way to get a green card is an advanced degree.

[shortz]

Originally posted by Shibby
Did he get married?

Not sure. I suppose though. After dragging it out for a long time, it sounded like she finally got the ok to come over. He has been off the baord since.

[imonboardtoo]

As fara s the employer application option, I'd nix that. My company does this, and the rules are very strict. we have to advertise to fill the jobs, and only after we don't find a local can we try the H1B visa route. She has near zero chance of that. Lottery or marriage are the only real choices.