US Citizenship question

Howyaboss

I have just discovered that my paternal grandmother was a US citizen. I found her old passport today while clearing out the garage. I was completely unaware of this until now, my father didn't tell me and I am certain he did not claim American citizenship. I would like to know if I can apply for an American passport?

I am 22 years old and seem to remember reading that you can claim citizenship from grandparents if you are under 18? Is this correct and if so, is there any way I can still claim?

IRLConor

Have a look at the FAQ here: http://dublin.usembassy.gov/service/passports-and-citizen-services/frequently-asked-passport-questions.html

My guess, based on a quick skim through that and some of the more obvious Google searches is that you probably can't get US citizenship via your grandmother unless your parents were also US citizens. You'd be best off giving the embassy a call to be sure though.

Howyaboss

Well I found this

http://dublin.usembassy.gov/service/passports-and-citizen-services/expeditious-naturalization.html

Apparently, I could have become a naturalized citizen if I had applied before the age of 18, which is really, really annoying since I didn't know about my grandmother's citizenship back then. Oh well, I'll get in contact with the embassy anyway just to make sure there is no way around the 18 years of age rule and when that fails I'll stew over my father's incompetence.

IRLConor

Howyaboss wrote: »

Well I found this

http://dublin.usembassy.gov/service/passports-and-citizen-services/expeditious-naturalization.html

Apparently, I could have become a naturalized citizen if I had applied before the age of 18, which is really, really annoying since I didn't know about my grandmother's citizenship back then. Oh well, I'll get in contact with the embassy anyway just to make sure there is no way around the 18 years of age rule and when that fails I'll stew over my father's incompetence.

Reading between the lines in that I think you could have become a naturalized citizen via your grandmother IF your parents had been US citizens as well (but just hadn't the residency requirements).