Immigrant?

[Mister K]

My friend keeps saying he is not an Immigrant but I am sadly confused as what really Immigrant is.

Basically to get to the point. He was born in UK and has lived here for 19/20 years, although has visited the US on holidays and every so often. Heh as family living their which I think is his uncle, aunty or something along those lines. As far as I know they are also from UK but have lived their for some time. So he was born in UK but had a US citizen ship since his birth. He is now moving together with his parents and sister to the US.

So as far as I know moving from country A to country B is called migration (the process) meaning that when he moves to the US he is an immigrant regardless of his citizenship as he was born in the UK and has lived 'here' for most of his life. Of course I know that he is a LEGAL Immigrant but the point being, he is an immigrant which he is denying.

Rather childish thing to argue about but you should really see what he argues about at times, not just with me but other lads in our class.

So, is he an Immigrant? At least by my way of thinking it would mean, yeah he is. What do you think?

[Pert]

If he's been a US citizen from birth (I assume one or more parents are US citizens), then he is not an immigrant, at least so far as the US government is concerned.

I think you've lost this one :X

[Mister K]

EDIT - I assume at least one of his parents is a US citizen? I wouldn't say he's an immigrant in that case.

Both parents are British, not sure if born US but they are from UK.

[Pert]

Both parents are British, not sure if born US but they are from UK.

Then how did he come to be a US citizen from birth? In any case, he's a US citizen now, right?

[Drofu]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthri..._United_States

Under United States law, any person born within the United States (including the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands)[1] and subject to its jurisdiction is automatically granted U.S. citizenship,[2] as are many (though not all) children born to American citizens overseas.

However:

http://www.congressforkids.net/citiz...doesittake.htm

Through their parents' naturalization, some children become U.S. citizens automatically, or "derivatively." Laws about "derivative citizenship" vary depending upon the date the parent(s) were naturalized.

Children become U.S. citizens derivatively through their parents' naturalization as long as all of the following requirements are met before the child's 18th birthday.

- At least one parent is a U.S. citizen,
- The child is under 18 years of age, and
- The child is admitted to the United States as an immigrant.


So I guess yes, yes he is.

[Mister K]

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthri..._United_States

Under United States law, any person born within the United States (including the territories of Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands)[1] and subject to its jurisdiction is automatically granted U.S. citizenship,[2] as are many (though not all) children born to American citizens overseas.

However:

http://www.congressforkids.net/citiz...doesittake.htm

Through their parents' naturalization, some children become U.S. citizens automatically, or "derivatively." Laws about "derivative citizenship" vary depending upon the date the parent(s) were naturalized.

Children become U.S. citizens derivatively through their parents' naturalization as long as all of the following requirements are met before the child's 18th birthday.

- At least one parent is a U.S. citizen,
- The child is under 18 years of age, and
- The child is admitted to the United States as an immigrant.


So I guess yes, yes he is.

Thanks for the info. Il ask him if his parents are born US (at least one of them).

Point being.

He was born in UK, lived in UK for 19-20 years and is moving now to the US.
Both parents as far as I am aware are from the UK but id have to check that.
Thought the process of moving from country A to B is called Migrating, meaning the person if not born "native" to country B is an Immigrant, although having the Citizenship would mean he is a LEGAL Immigrant which is besides the point.

[Pert]

Thanks for the info. Il ask him if his parents are born US (at least one of them).

Point being.

He was born in UK, lived in UK for 19-20 years and is moving now to the US.
Both parents as far as I am aware are from the UK but id have to check that.
Thought the process of moving from country A to B is called Migrating, meaning the person if not born "native" to country B is an Immigrant, although having the Citizenship would mean he is a LEGAL Immigrant which is besides the point.

If he was born to a US citizen (one or both parents), then the US government does not consider him to be an immigrant. If he is a naturalized citizen of the US, then he was at some point an immigrant, but is no longer one in the eyes of the USCIS.

EDIT - I presume that you are arguing dictionary definition, and he is arguing legal definition. You won't really get anywhere that way.

[Mister K]

If he was born to a US citizen (one or both parents), then the US government does not consider him to be an immigrant. If he is a naturalized citizen of the US, then he was at some point an immigrant, but is no longer one in the eyes of the USCIS.

Ok I see, il ask if any of his parents are US citizens. So assuming his parents are born British but has later in life received the US Citizenship for what ever reason would mean that he is an Immigrant (legal)?

[Porcell]

Need to get the facts straight. If the following statement you made is true:

So he was born in UK but had a US citizen ship since his birth.

then one or both parents are US Citizens. And since he is a US citizen then he can't "Immigrate" to the US.

Immigration is when a foreign national moves to a country with the intention of maintaining permanent residence. If this guy is in fact a US Citizen then he is NOT a foreign national and thus is NOT immigrating.

---------- Post added 2012-03-19 at 05:53 PM ----------

Ok I see, il ask if any of his parents are US citizens. So assuming his parents are born British but has later in life received the US Citizenship for what ever reason would mean that he is an Immigrant (legal)?

It doesn't matter when his parents got their citizenship. As long as Your Friend is a US Citizen already, then he is NOT an immigrant to the US when he moves there.

Here's another example. A buddy of mine did an ex-pat assignment for his company in Germany and he took his wife. While he was in Germany his wife had a baby. They then moved back to the US. The baby is a US citizen by parentage (born to two US Citizens who had the requisite time living in the US), and thus when the baby moves back to the US with the parents, the baby is NOT immigrating.

Same thing as your situation, but add 18 years. If the kid was born in the UK, but is a US citizen by birth (like you said), then he is not immigrating to the United States.

[Mister K]

So lets assume that he was not born with the US Citizenship and only received it few weeks/months or years ago, would that qualify him as an Immigrant when he moves to the US in lets say few months?

I understand it more deeply know, thanks heh ^^

[SinR]

But, the way I read it, both parents were UK Citizens at the time, making him an immigrant.


Now, if both parents were US Citizens when he was born and they claimed him as a US citizen, no, he wouldn't be an immigrant.

[Drofu]

let me read over this:

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/usc...00b92ca60aRCRD

Edit: Quickly read over it:

You May Qualify for Naturalization if:

- You have been a permanent resident for at least 5 years and meet all other eligibility requirements, please visit our General Path to Citizenship page for more information.
- You have been a permanent resident for 3 years or more and meet all eligibility requirements to file as a spouse of a U.S. citizen, please visit our For Spouses of U.S. Citizens page for more information.
- You have qualifying service in the U.S. armed forces and meet all other eligibility requirements. Visit the Military section of our website.
- Your child may qualify for naturalization if you are a U.S. citizen, the child was born outside the U.S., the child is currently residing outside the U.S., and all other eligibility requirements are met.

[Mister K]

- Your child may qualify for naturalization if you are a U.S. citizen, the child was born outside the U.S., the child is currently residing outside the U.S., and all other eligibility requirements are met.

That is most likely the case, even if parents are not born Americans they still have the citizenship. Id have to ask him though, but yeah that is probably the answer.

[Porcell]

That is most likely the case, even if parents are not born Americans they still have the citizenship. Id have to ask him though, but yeah that is probably the answer.

Yeah, figure out what the hell is going on, and then we can answer your question.

Is he a US Citizen or isn't he? If he is a US Citizen then he's not immigrating to the US. If he is not a US Citizen then he is immigrating. That's the only question you need to answer.

[Pert]

So lets assume that he was not born with the US Citizenship and only received it few weeks/months or years ago, would that qualify him as an Immigrant when he moves to the US in lets say few months?

I understand it more deeply know, thanks heh ^^

If he's a US citizen now, he will not be an immigrant when he moves to the US.

[Mister K]

Yeah, figure out what the hell is going on, and then we can answer your question.

Is he a US Citizen or isn't he? If he is a US Citizen then he's not immigrating to the US. If he is not a US Citizen then he is immigrating. That's the only question you need to answer.

Ok so it comes down to, if you have US Citizenship. If you do you are not an immigrant.

I was thinking at first that regardless of Citizenship, if you are born in country A and move to country B you migrate, meaning you are a immigrant which ofcourse is wrong. So I guess he is a migrant, not immigrant ^^

[Deleted]

this is a really easy question to answer.

you are an immigrant if you are a foreigner to whatever nation you move to.
how are you a foreigner to whatever nation you move to?
you're not a citizen of that nation.

a person acquiring citizenship after moving to a nation is still an immigrant, a naturalized immigrant, but an immigrant nevertheless.

[Primaliron]

Your friend is an immigrant.... and yet he is not.

Under social and cultural conventions he is an immigrant. He has left a country to live in another.

Politically/legally speaking he is not an immigrant because, despite the fact that he has never lived in the US, he is a US citizen.

Politics, providing a steady dose of oxymorons since it's inception.

[Mister K]

Your friend is an immigrant.... and yet he is not.

Under social and cultural conventions he is an immigrant. He has left a country to live in another.

Politically/legally speaking he is not an immigrant because, despite the fact that he has never lived in the US, he is a US citizen.

Politics, providing a steady dose of oxymorons since it's inception.

Yeah basically that is what I thought as well, logically he would be an immigrant (migrant?) but legally he is not.

Anyway thanks everyone for your replies