Can I use my father to establish citizenship?

I am attempting to gain immigration into the US. My father was born in California but emigrated to the UK when he was very young. Would I still be able to use him in order to gain any type of residency in the United States? Thank you.
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Answered By: Law Offices of James C. Bechler, A.P.C.
Your father can petition you for citizenship in the U.S. if you are an unmarried child under 21.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/25/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

Answered By: Law Office of Jack C. Sung
It is possible to gain immigration into the US by virtue of being a daughter of a US citizen. Your eligibility depends on your date of birth as the law for citizenship transmission has changed every 20 years or so. Whether or not someone born outside the US to a US citizen parents is a US citizen depends on the law in effect when the person was born. These laws have changed over the years, but usually require a combination of the parent being a US citizen when the child was born, and having lived in the US or its possessions for a period of time. The last time the law was changed was in November 1986. If you were born after November 1986.

If you were born after November 1986, your citizen parent must, before you were born, be physically present in the United States for at least 10 years, and 5 of which must have been after the parent turned 14.

Therefore, without knowing more, if your citizen father emigrated to the UK when he was young, most likely he will not be able to satisfy the physical presence requirement for you to obtain citizenship by blood relations.

Answer Applies to: California
Replied: 8/23/2010

Disclaimer: The response above does not form an attorney-client relationship. This answer may or may not apply to you and should not be relied upon as legal advice. LawQA does not make any representation as to the expertise or qualifications of this attorney. This attorney may or may not be admitted to state bar of your state.

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