World Journal Weekly Q & A - September 16, 2012
Q & A 1. 2.
Q&A 1.
Sister in Taiwan Wants to Give up U.S. Citizenship - What to do?
Wu reader asks:
My sister is a U.S. citizen but she is permanently living in Taiwan. She wants to give up her U.S. citizenship. My questions are:
- Can she give up her citizenship in Taiwan? Or must she come back to U.S. to process? Her address in the U.S. is in New York.
- Where should she go for this process?
- What documents should she provide?
- How long will it take?
- How soon can it be effective?
Dear reader:
- Your sister can give up her citizenship in Taiwan. In point of fact, the law does not allow the giving up of U.S. citizenship in the U.S. except in times of war.
- She should contact the American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) to start the processing.
- She should first check with the AIT to determine the exact documents that it expects to see since different diplomatic posts have their own peccadilloes and require different documents. She can also check whether an appointment is necessary for renouncing U.S. citizenship. Definite documents that she will require are the U.S. passport and passport of the country of which she will be or continue to be a citizen.
- The length of time varies depending upon how long it takes the diplomatic post to set up the interview, whether there is the second interview, and the length of time between the interviews.
- The renunciation becomes effective when the U.S. Department of State approves it. All documents are forwarded to Washington D.C. and the Department of State usually takes 1-2 months to decide and process the paperwork. Afterwards all documents are sent back to the diplomatic post which will either mail the certificate of loss of nationality to your sister or ask her to come in to receive it.
Q&A 2.
Husband and Wife with G-4 Status want Immigration as Retired UN Workers, but Wonder if USC Son's Sponsorship is Easier; also Husband has Crime in Hong Kong and Wonders how He can Get the Green Card.
Tang reader asks:
My wife and I came to New York in 1978. She works at the United Nations (U.N.) under G4 visa. I am also holding G4 visa. She will retire next year. According to the regulation, she can apply for permanent resident. I am her spouse, therefore, I can apply with her at the same time. However, before I came to U.S., I was jailed in 1975 in Hong Kong for two years for a crime I committed. I was released from jail in 1977. The same year, I went to school in England, later came to U.S. in 1978. Can I apply for waiver first and then apply for green card? Do I have any chance to get green card?
My son was born in the U.S. He is now 30 years old and has been working for years. Will it be easier for my son to apply for me?
Dear reader
It is much faster for your U.S. citizen son to apply for you and your wife's permanent residence rather than your waiting for adjustment of status as retired G-4 visa holders. The question on your admissibility will be whether your crime in Hong Kong would be a crime in the United States, and if a crime in the U.S., how seriously it is viewed under U.S. law. We have had cases over the years in which crimes in other countries are not regarded as crimes in the U.S., or even if a crime in the U.S., the overseas statute did not require the requisite amount of criminal intent as such a crime would require under U.S. law. In these cases, the individuals received their green cards.
In addition, if you do have a disqualifying crime, a waiver may depend upon the seriousness of your crime. The more serious the crime, the more reluctant an adjudicating officer may be to grant the waiver. Waivers can be given where you are able to prove that it has been 15 years since the crime was committed, that your admission would not be contrary to the national welfare, safety, or security of the United States, and that you have been rehabilitated; or that extreme hardship would occur to either a U.S. citizen or permanent resident parent, spouse, son or daughter if your application for admission was denied.
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