Asked in Immigration Law for New York

Q: Do I qualify for citizenship if we moved in with my American stepdad when I was 16, but they married when I was 19?

My stepdad is from NY state and thinks that I don’t qualify for American citizenship through him, but he wants me to ask a professional. In 1997 my Canadian mother married my stepdad and then she passed away in 1999. I know in some states, like California, your stepparent can adopt you as an adult and then you can qualify for citizenship that way. Although I am not sure if the same is true for NY state. My father is still alive and we keep in touch regularly, so we’re not estranged.

Mainly my question might be if common-law marriage might also qualify for citizenship? If it takes a year or two to be common law married, then that applied for my mom and stepdad by the time I was 18. Also, if you qualify for American citizenship, do you need a lawyer or can you just apply, considering that is quite costly anyways?

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1 Lawyer Answer
Sheri A Benchetrit
Sheri A Benchetrit
Answered
  • Immigration Law Lawyer
  • Fort Lauderdale, FL

A: Your question is more complex than you might think. First, you do not generally derive citizenship from a step parent. The step parent can sponsor you for a green card, but you would have to file for your citizenship on your own. Next, the step parent/child relationship must be formed before the child reaches the age of 18 in order for the step parent to sponsor the step child or vice versa. This means that the marriage has to happen before the child reaches the age of 18. The federal government does not recognize common law marriage so the time that you lived together beforehand would be irrelevant.

Also, the step parent/step child relationship for purposes of immigration ends when the marriage ends for purposes of immigration, but under certain circumstances can continue if there is an ongoing relationship between the stepparent and the step child.

I would strongly suggest that you hire an experienced immigration attorney to assist you if you intend to file on your own for citizenship.

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