Is Ted Cruz An Alien? Did He Have A Green Card?

[DhhD]

http://www.senate.gov/employment/saa/pdf/Employment_Application.pdf

Were his whereabouts reported upon entering the US in the mid 1970s? Aliens had to register at a US Post Office back then.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251396202

[SheilaT]

1. He was born an American citizen. American citizens, even if they are born in another country

as Cruz was and as John McCain was, don't need green cards.

Please don't display such ignorance.

[drray23]

2. it is not that clear cut

Unless his parents did the right things, you do not automatically get US citizenship if born abroad even if one or both your parents are US citizens. They have to declare your birth. The embassy will then issue a so called FS240 form which is a proof of citizenship indeed.

Failure to do puts the child in a gray area where they are not

A child born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent or parents may acquire U.S. citizenship at birth if certain statutory requirements are met. The child’s parents should contact the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate to apply for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad of a Citizen of the United States of America (CRBA) to document that the child is a U.S. citizen. If the U.S. embassy or consulate determines that the child acquired U.S. citizenship at birth, a consular officer will approve the CRBA application and the Department of State will issue a CRBA, also called a Form FS-240, in the child’s name.

More details here:

http://travel.state.gov/content/passports/english/abroad/events-and-records/birth.html


Ted Cruz never produced his FS240 when asked by critics when this first came up. He renounced his canadian citizenship formally relatively recently.

What the original poster said and did not deserve your condescending reply for is a valid point. If Cruz has a valid FS240 then no debates, he is a US citizen. If not, he may have been in a gray area for many years.

[sdfernando]

3. You are correct.

I was born in Germany to US citizen parents (both of them). I had to be registered at the US Embassy as a foreign birth. I actually have a US Naturalization certificate....so I always jokingly say that my parents are both natural born US citizens but I'm an immigrant and I'm not adopted. Make people confused.

[DFW]

4. True. It's not automatic. I had to follow proper procedure.

My wife is German, and so our daughters, having been born in Germany, got their German birth certificates automatically, of course. I called the US embassy in Bonn (where it was at the time), went down there both times with all the paperwork they asked for, and both times got the official State Department-issued certificate of the "Birth of an American Citizen Abroad." I got their Social Security numbers and first passports at the same time, and MAN am I glad I did. Show up a few years later with some kid who speaks only German and say you want an American passport for him/her, and you need to go through the wringer before they believe you.

[DhhD]

5. Americans are entitled to benefits verified through the EVEA. Link provided.

http://www.southwest.tn.edu/admissions/entitlementAct.htm

Entitlements are explained in documents for services through the EVEA. The last 5 especially for those not born with a US Birth Certificate. And Cruz would have had to have had a Passport to enter the US. Since Cruz and parents had Canadian citizenship, they all would have to have Canadian Passports to enter the US.

I believe that the FS-240 replaced the 1960, I-179 in 1973.

[Thor_MN]

6. I have been to and from Canada several times, 1980's and before and only recently had a passport.

One time, coming back, probably 11PM, 20 below zero - no lights on, nobody home on either side of the bridge, so we just drove across.

Mid 70's, no passport was required to cross from Canada to the US or vice versa.

[Recursion]

7. That changed in 2009 as part of the "Smart ID" requirements

Though you can get a "passport card" that's good for going to Canada and back and has the form factor of a driver's license. (I think it's also good for Mexico and the Bahamas.)