My mom adopted by US citizen

[carlo18n]

Hello,

My mom, a Filipino, was adopted by a US citizen when she was around 5 years old. She did not process any paperwork to get a green card though. She is now 59 years old. Is there any chance she can still gain US citizenship as her adoptive father was American? Her adoptive US citizen father has since passed away though.

Hoping to get some insights into this.

Thanks.

[rayb]

This is a good question.

Derivative citizenship based on adoption depends on the U.S. immigration regulations in effect at time of the adoption. If your mom was adopted by a U.S. citizen 54 years ago, the derivative citizenship rules then did not automatically bestow U.S. citizen on adoptive children.

In addition, U.S. citizenship based on adoption by a U.S. citizen cannot be claimed until the child is in the U.S.

If the adoptive parent is now deceased, there is no parent available to petition your mom for an immigrant visa to the U.S., so she can't effectively claim U.S. citizenship (if she had been eligible).

The above is my opinion based on personal experiences.

--Ray B

Hello,

My mom, a Filipino, was adopted by a US citizen when she was around 5 years old. She did not process any paperwork to get a green card though. She is now 59 years old. Is there any chance she can still gain US citizenship as her adoptive father was American? Her adoptive US citizen father has since passed away though.

Hoping to get some insights into this.

Thanks.