Prostitution kayos citizenship
QI work as a licensed legal escort in Nevada where prostitution is legal. Does that mean I can become a U.S. citizen? I am a green card holder but U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denied my application based on my profession. Robert Sommer, Mound House, Nev.
AEngaging in prostitution, even where it is legal, is grounds for denying your U.S. citizenship. Recently U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced that a similar rule applies for individuals who use, possess or sell marijuana.
Professional prostitution is what USCIS calls a “conditional bar” to naturalization. Working in that profession shows a lack of the good moral character required to naturalize. To naturalize, you would need to not work as a licensed legal escort for five years, or three years under the special rules for the spouse of a U.S. citizen.
QMy wife is a U.S. citizen. She filed green card petitions for my son and me and we are both now permanent residents. We immigrated in January. My son is younger than 18. Did he get automatic citizenship when he immigrated to the United States since he is the stepson of a U.S. citizen? Name Withheld, New York
ANo. If you naturalize before your son turns 18, he can “derive” U.S. citizenship through you. The law does not grant derivative citizenship to the stepchildren of U.S. citizens.
QMy grandson is 16 and living in Russia with his mother. His father, my son, is a U.S. citizen. His mother and father are separated,
but he wants to stay with his mother in Russia to continue his high school education. The mother has agreed to allow him to join his father in the United States. When is the best time for his father to petition for him? What is the best path to my grandson’s U.S. citizenship? Tatyana T., by email
AIf U.S. citizenship is your grandson’s goal, it is best if your son petitions for him now. That way, he will likely immigrate before he turns 18. Then, he can claim derivative U.S. citizenship and get a U.S. passport. Then, if he wishes, he can return to Russia to complete his education.
Wernick is an attorney and director of the City University of New York Citizenship Now! project. Send questions and comments to Allan Wernick, New York Daily News, 7th Fl., 4 New York Plaza, New York, N.Y., 10004 or email to questions@allanwernick.com. Follow him on Twitter @awernick.