Children's Visa

[phil]

Hi All,

 

Last year my wife was awarded a PRC. We are still currently living in China though we do plan to move back to America eventually but we don't know exactly. Just this week she gave birth to our 2nd son in China. Now we are faced with a difficult decision of deciding which citizenship he will have. Naturally I would prefer he have American citizenship but in the short term its really not so convenient. We'd have to make a 2 hour bus trip to Shanghai with the newborn and her mother within 30 days (which if you know chinese women is quite a terrible thought). That's not really the big deal though, he also could have free and quality health insurance under his mother's plan, we'd get paid back for all costs related to the delivery here, no chinese visa matters for him and we'd get a big break when and if he goes to school here.

 

My real question is if we let him be a Chinese citizen for now, how hard would it be for him to get into America with us later? Could he get a temporary visa if we decided to travel to America next year? Would it be easier for him to get a PRC than it is for a spouse to get one?

 

Thanks in advance for any help/suggestions.

[Guest Pommey]

how soon after your wife got her green card did you move to china? ie how long have you been there ?

The reason I ask is that your wife is expected to reside in the USA, if you leave it too long she will need to get a re-entry permit or might just be denied entry and lose the GC.

 

As to your sons citizenship I;m not sure is there a time frame from birth you must obtain usc .

[Randy W]

You can go to a consulate anytime you're ready and get an American passport for him. If you want him to have dual citizenship, well, sounds like you would get the Chinese passport first.

 

He can maintain the dual citizenship at least until age 18 - after that, China may or may not require him to choose (not sure)

[phil]

how soon after your wife got her green card did you move to china? ie how long have you been there ?

The reason I ask is that your wife is expected to reside in the USA, if you leave it too long she will need to get a re-entry permit or might just be denied entry and lose the GC.

 

As to your sons citizenship I;m not sure is there a time frame from birth you must obtain usc .

 

My wife got the green card (or the immigrant visa) while we were living in China. Since getting the PRC in America, we've only been here a few months. Sometime within a year of when we left America, she'll go back and then try to obtain the re-entry permit (thats what we were told to do by the folks in foreign service).

 

My real question here though is about my son's visa. At this point I'm not that concerned about his actual citizenship, I just want to know how difficult it would be for him to get a visa to live with us in America as an immediate relative of his father (a US citizen) and his mother (a PRC holder). I assume he could eventually get US citizenship after staying in America a certain amount of time and renouncing his chinese citizenship.

[phil]

You can go to a consulate anytime you're ready and get an American passport for him. If you want him to have dual citizenship, well, sounds like you would get the Chinese passport first.

 

He can maintain the dual citizenship at least until age 18 - after that, China may or may not require him to choose (not sure)

 

I did not think it was possible for him to have dual citizenship. You are saying if at the time of birth we choose for him to be Chinese, we can to the consulate at anytime and still get him a US passport? Wouldn't that revoke his Chinese citizenship though? I suppose even if so that would be better than making that pain in the ass trip to shanghai within 30 days.

[Guest Pommey]

If you get him a USA passport no visa needed.

 

if not you need to file a CR-1 takes roughly a year (with no guarantee)

 

as Randy suggests just get the passports, seems easier.

[warpedbored]

You can go to a consulate anytime you're ready and get an American passport for him. If you want him to have dual citizenship, well, sounds like you would get the Chinese passport first.

 

He can maintain the dual citizenship at least until age 18 - after that, China may or may not require him to choose (not sure)

 

I did not think it was possible for him to have dual citizenship. You are saying if at the time of birth we choose for him to be Chinese, we can to the consulate at anytime and still get him a US passport? Wouldn't that revoke his Chinese citizenship though? I suppose even if so that would be better than making that pain in the ass trip to shanghai within 30 days.

You can get him an American passport without divulging to the Chinese government that he is an American citizen. When it comes time to go to America then you will need to get the child an exit visa. At that time you may need to chose. If China will let him keep dual citizenship you are home free. If not then I'm not sure how you would go about getting a visa for a child that is technically a US Citizen by birth. As others have pointed out your wife may also have a hard time keeping her green card if she doesn't make periodic visits to the US for a significant time. At least every six months is preferable unless you get a re-entry permit.

[phil]

You can go to a consulate anytime you're ready and get an American passport for him. If you want him to have dual citizenship, well, sounds like you would get the Chinese passport first.

 

He can maintain the dual citizenship at least until age 18 - after that, China may or may not require him to choose (not sure)

 

I did not think it was possible for him to have dual citizenship. You are saying if at the time of birth we choose for him to be Chinese, we can to the consulate at anytime and still get him a US passport? Wouldn't that revoke his Chinese citizenship though? I suppose even if so that would be better than making that pain in the ass trip to shanghai within 30 days.

You can get him an American passport without divulging to the Chinese government that he is an American citizen. When it comes time to go to America then you will need to get the child an exit visa. At that time you may need to chose. If China will let him keep dual citizenship you are home free. If not then I'm not sure how you would go about getting a visa for a child that is technically a US Citizen by birth. As others have pointed out your wife may also have a hard time keeping her green card if she doesn't make periodic visits to the US for a significant time. At least every six months is preferable unless you get a re-entry permit.

 

What do you mean by an exit visa? A visa to exit America or China?

[Guest Pommey]

You can go to a consulate anytime you're ready and get an American passport for him. If you want him to have dual citizenship, well, sounds like you would get the Chinese passport first.

 

He can maintain the dual citizenship at least until age 18 - after that, China may or may not require him to choose (not sure)

 

I did not think it was possible for him to have dual citizenship. You are saying if at the time of birth we choose for him to be Chinese, we can to the consulate at anytime and still get him a US passport? Wouldn't that revoke his Chinese citizenship though? I suppose even if so that would be better than making that pain in the ass trip to shanghai within 30 days.

You can get him an American passport without divulging to the Chinese government that he is an American citizen. When it comes time to go to America then you will need to get the child an exit visa. At that time you may need to chose. If China will let him keep dual citizenship you are home free. If not then I'm not sure how you would go about getting a visa for a child that is technically a US Citizen by birth. As others have pointed out your wife may also have a hard time keeping her green card if she doesn't make periodic visits to the US for a significant time. At least every six months is preferable unless you get a re-entry permit.

 

What do you mean by an exit visa? A visa to exit America or China?

 

 

china

[warpedbored]

A child born in China that is an American citizen will have to have an exit visa from the Chinese government to leave the country even with an American passport. No getting around it since the child's passport would have no entry stamp. Here is a post I made a while back with links to more information.

http://candleforlove.com/forums/index.php?...st&p=432495

[whome?]

The Shanghai ACS website has information regarding the Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America in order to establish US citizenship and US passport for your child.

 

http://shanghai.usembassy-china.org.cn/birth_citizen.html

 

You can wait up until the child is 18 to report the birth. The DOS website says you should do it as soon as possible. Shanghai ACS website says "However, since the Chinese government requires you to obtain a dependent visa within thirty days of your child¡¯s birth, it is best to apply as soon as possible after the birth of your child. The Shanghai Entry and Exit Bureau has recently begun charging fines of up to 1,000 RMB for children who are not registered within 30 days. If you are unable to obtain a U.S. passport in time to meet the 30 day deadline, you may use your child¡¯s Chinese birth certificate to register."

 

The GUZ ACS website:

 

http://guangzhou.usembassy-china.org.cn/ne...gistration.html

 

"Please note, as soon as a U.S. passport is issued, the baby's parents must apply for a Chinese visa to ensure that they don't have problems leaving the country. However, if one parent of the child is a Chinese citizen and the child was born in China, the Chinese government may consider the child a Chinese citizen. In that case, the child will have to obtain a Chinese passport before leaving the country. The child will still be a U.S. citizen and should always use his/her U.S. passport for international travel after departing China. Please contact the exit and entry administration office of the local Public Security Bureau for more information."

 

From what I know here asking the PSB is a crapshoot also because the answer will change on any given day.

 

My 1 cent worth:

 

1. Register your child here in China and go ahead and get them a Chinese passport if possible. They may not let you do this or ask you if the child will or has US passport/citzenship but try it anyway.

 

2. Report the birth and get US citizenship and passport as soon as you can. Reasons:

 

- You will need the SSN for your income taxes anyway and you will also apply for that when you report the birth.

- Even with the Chinese passport you will need a NIV or IV to get the child out of the country if it is not registered as USA citizen. It is easier to get a Chinese visa for the child's USA passport than to get the US visa for the child's China passport.