Overstaying and documents
I was born in the US but migrated to the Philippines when I was 5 years old. My documents were taken by my aunts who told us that they would take care of the documents. They told us they would take us back to the US before our 18th birthday. Both my parents are Filipino. And since then I've been living in the Philippines. The problem is we've been unable to contact my aunts, and my uncle who also has contact with them doesn't want to help us get our documents back. We haven't received anything from the US embassy (they say we should have support but I'm not sure about this). All of the documents are with my aunts except for my birth certificate. What is the best way that I can handle this. I'm 23 now. I hope someone can help me. Thank you.
Best Answer
If you are born to Philippine parents, you have Philippine citizenship, so there should be no problem with your current status in the Philippines.
If you have a US birth certificate, you should be ok for the US to. Contact the US embassy and apply for a passport. It's going to take a while and might involve a bit of back and forth. Since you were born in the US and have a US birth certificate you already ARE a US citizen. They will eventually issue you a passport.
Read up on dual citizenship in the Philippines. You may have to apply for this and since you are probably late for this already you should do it as soon as possible.
Forget your Aunts and Uncles. Ignore whatever documents they have or pretend to have.
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What are the consequences of overstaying?
If you accrue unlawful presence of more than 180 continuous days but less than one year, but you leave the U.S. before any official, formal removal procedures (deportation) are instituted against you, you will be barred from reentering the United States for a period of three years.What is considered overstaying?
An overstay is a nonimmigrant who was lawfully admitted to the United States for an authorized period but stayed in the United States beyond his or her authorized admission period. Nonimmigrants admitted for "duration of status" who fail to maintain their status also may be considered overstays.Can I get a visa if I overstayed?
Yes, you can apply for a green card if you overstayed a visa. You can apply to become a green card holder from inside the United States (known as an adjustment of status) or abroad (through consular processing).Can I come back to the US if I overstayed?
Overstays & Unlawful Presence If you enter the United States with a valid visa (for example, a tourist or student visa) and overstay by less than 180 days, your visa will be considered void and you'll need to get a new visa in your home country if you want to come back to the United States.What is a Visa Overstay? Consequences and Solutions to Over staying a Visa
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