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Portner & Shure

Testmonials

Dear Mr.Ruby, Mr. Shure, Mrs. Horseman and Mrs. Linton: I would like to express my appreciation to your professional support and guidance during the 3 overwhelming years. I was involved in a car accident. Mr. Shure came to my home and provided assistance the day after the accident. Then, your paralegals, Sandy and Dawn assisted me on each steps and kept me updated. Mr. Ruby answered my questions and phone calls. He tried and settled my case successfully. Your team professional services is the key in the success of my case. I will recommend your firm to my friend Thanks again!

-Lisa Zhang
I got into a really bad car accident and had no clue what to do. Luckily I called Portner & Shure. Thanks to them I did not have to experience the stress of talking to the insurance company's, or the hassle of gathering additional information about my case. Portner & Shure did it all. They handled all of my medical bills, and even provided a convenient chiropractor that was amazing and made me feel like myself again. They also offered a settlement that I was very pleased with.The staff were friendly and respectful. My questions were answered promptly and in great detail. I felt like I was in good hands throughout the entire process Portner & Shure is top notch. They exceeded my expectations. I recommend this law firm to anyone who refuse to settle for less.. Thanks again Portner & Shure for making this tragic experience a stress-free process and providing a satisfying result.

Jessica Tabron, Montgomery County, MD
First of all I thank God to be alive and I thank you for helping me with my case. God bless you all. It was a great pleasure. Thanks.

Angel Regina Reyes de Hernandez
Pam Brown was the paralegal that was handling my case. She was wonderful. She was always pleasant to speak with on the phone and she always kept me updated on my case. I think her professionalism is a testament to the entire team of Portner and Shure. Thank you guys for everything. Jun Jie Liu

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Children and Citizenship

By: Jonathan N. Portner
Sameer Sidh
March 12, 2009

In certain situations, children with one or more parents who are U.S. citizens may automatically qualify for citizenship themselves even if they were born outside of the country. In other situations, a child with one or more U.S. citizen parents may be eligible to apply for a certificate of naturalization. Determining whether your child meets the requirements for automatic acquisition of citizenship is dependant on a number of factors that must be considered carefully. In the case of a parent who has gained citizenship through naturalization, the date that this naturalization occurs also may affect a child’s eligibility for citizenship.

A child born outside of the U.S. automatically becomes a citizen if three conditions are met. The first condition is that at least one of the child’s parents must be a U.S. citizen, whether its by birth or naturalization. The second condition is that the child must be under the age of eighteen at the time when naturalization of the U.S. citizen parent occurs. The final condition is that the child must hold a green card pursuant to a lawful entry into the U.S. In practice, a child can often become a citizen of the U.S. immediately upon receiving a green card.
If the U.S. citizen parent in question received naturalization prior to February 26, 2001, a different set of conditions govern the eligibility of a child for citizenship. These conditions differ from the conditions listed above because both parents are required to have citizenship in order for their child to automatically qualify. Specifically, one parent is required to have been a U.S. citizen continuously from the date of birth of the child, and the other parent is required to have naturalized prior to the eighteenth birthday of their child.

Another important issue that should be addressed is the issue of step-children. Unlike in other aspects of immigration law, step-children do not qualify as children for the purpose of deriving citizenship from a U.S. citizen parent. To qualify as a child under this provision, the U.S. citizen step-parent must formally adopt their step-child. The adoption of the child must occur before the child reaches the age of sixteen, and the child must have resided with the adopting parent for a period of at least two years. Often times, a step-parent will believe that their child is eligible for citizenship under this provision, only to realize that an adoption is required to formalize the parent-child relationship.

A child may be eligible to apply for naturalization through a U.S. citizen parent even where the child does not meet the conditions for automatic acquisition of citizenship discussed above. Another set of conditions govern whether a child is eligible to apply for naturalization through their U.S. citizen parent. There are a few distinctions that separate the conditions to apply for naturalization from automatic acquisition of citizenship. First, the parent is not only required to be a citizen, but must have resided in the U.S. for a period of five years, with two of these years occurring after the age of fourteen. Second, and perhaps most importantly, it is not required that the child be a green card holder to be eligible for citizenship. Under this provision, the child can qualify for naturalization if they are here on a temporary visa and gained entry into the U.S. in a lawful manner.

If you believe that your child may be eligible for automatic acquisition of citizenship, or eligible to apply for citizenship, contact an experienced immigration attorney.

Accident Lawyers in Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC

For over fifteen years the attorneys at Portner & Shure have been representing victims injured in automobile accidents. You may request a free consultation with our personal injury accident lawyers in Maryland, Virginia & Washington D.C., to make sure you get the benefits you are entitled to.

Maryland, Virginia & Washington DC Immigration Lawyers

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