Green Card

agh!!

Hi! I'm graduating from college next year and would LOVE to live and work in New York!
Can anyone help me on this next bit?

My grandmother was American (and I have a lot of evidence to prove so) and came from Buffalo, New York, but moved over here when she was about 10 as most of her family died.
I was wondering if this information would give me any eligibility at all in obtaining a Green Card to work in the U.S. or does it not make any difference whatsoever?

lonestargirl

Nope, to pass US citizenship on even to your parent she would had to have spend 5 years in the US 2 of which were after her 14th birthday. Your parent would also have to satisfy this condition to pass citzenship on to you.

lil_lisa

However, since you are about to graduate, you may be eligible for the IWT 12 month visa. You should look into this. Currently, USIT, go4less (I think), IIC and maybe some other companies are offering it.

agh!!

Thanks for the replies.

I have found out though that she had her citizenship until she was 17, when she then gave it up to be able to vote in Ireland, would she have had to be in the country??

Is there anywhere I could ring that would be able to give me more info??

silja

It doesn't matter how long she had citizenship, as she wasn't living in the USA long enough to confer citizenship upon your parent. Even if she did, your parents never lived in the USA, so there is no way for you to get a visa or citizenship this way.

Jonathan redomond

I got an Email from the U.S Army, they said I could Enlist into the army if I get either an I-551 or G-845

What would i have to be or have to do to be able to get these forms to the required specification. Would i have to live in America for years first?

Any help really appreciated .

silja

Jonathan redomond wrote: »

I got an Email from the U.S Army, they said I could Enlist into the army if I get either an I-551 or G-845

What would i have to be or have to do to be able to get these forms to the required specification. Would i have to live in America for years first?

Any help really appreciated .

A I-551 a greencard stamp, a G-845 is verification that you are a greencard holder. So you'd first need some way to become a greencard holder/ permanent resident of the USA, such as a work visa that after a few years allows you to apply for a greencard, or a US citizen spouse or similar.

AMCCORK

i was speaking with someone recently and her grandfather was born in America. He moved to Ireland but I do not know when and married and never returned. Apparently there is an entitlement for two generations so they were able to get an American passport for her father who was never in his life in the states and then she as the second generation was able to get a visa which entitled her to work in the states and obtain citizenship after a number of years. I dont know how long the grandfather lived in the states for though so maybe he lived there long enough but for them there was talk of two generations and they had to go about getting a passport for their father first and were then able to apply for the visa. I also know that they had to do a bit of research and get copies of the grandfathers birth certificate etc.

Jonathan redomond

AMCCORK wrote: »

i was speaking with someone recently and her grandfather was born in America. He moved to Ireland but I do not know when and married and never returned. Apparently there is an entitlement for two generations so they were able to get an American passport for her father who was never in his life in the states and then she as the second generation was able to get a visa which entitled her to work in the states and obtain citizenship after a number of years. I dont know how long the grandfather lived in the states for though so maybe he lived there long enough but for them there was talk of two generations and they had to go about getting a passport for their father first and were then able to apply for the visa. I also know that they had to do a bit of research and get copies of the grandfathers birth certificate etc.

Thanks for your help. My Grandmothers brother , moved from Ireland to the US when he was about say, 50 yrs old and lived there untill he aged 92 . I dont know much about him or his life , id say he had a green card , and was a permanent resident. Would i still have to wait for years to become a resident, because heres what i was thinking, go to college for 4 years, i would be 22 when done. With qualification under belt , move to US and go to army. But i dont want to have to wait 4 or 5 years before joining , meaning id be 26 or 27 . To apply for Special forces you must be between 20-30, id be nearly at 30 which isnt what i was planning.
If anyone knows a quick way let me know, or perhaps you only have to remain in US for certain months per year to get residency?

silja

To get residency you need a visa which allows you to get residency, you can't just move there. Your grandmother's brother having lived in the USA is not going to get you a visa or US citizenship.

Try the DV lottery every year!

Murky Waters

US immigration laws have changed over the years resulting in them becoming more complex. It certainly doesn't sound to me that you would be entitled to claim derivative citizenship, but you need to get your facts straight & put in some time doing some research to get everything clear in your head. You will need to do a bit of research yourself on the USCIS website. You will always hear of someone else who got this that or the other, but nine rimes out of ten the circumstances & criteria that they met will not be applicable in your exact position.

With regard to the US armed forces, once you have a green card (Form I-551) you can join, & can obtain citizenship by naturalisation quicker than by other means, but you still need to have the green card to begin with to join up.

Don't pin your hopes on being entitled to anything, though you wil have to research things yourself with exact details, & afterwards get professional advice from an immigration lawyer just to make doubly sure that you haven't missed out on something.

All info regarding residency rules for permanent residents is also available on the USCIS site. These too have tightened up over the years, especially since 9/11.

Your best is to look into obtaining an education based visa for now, & in the meantime keep applying for the Diversity Visa Lottery.

Have a look at this video & also do your research on the USCIS website.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBrYEnA6LlU