I haven't been able to post for a couple of days so, while the sun is out today, you are getting the rainy day post.

I've been poking around in the US Govt sites lately, looking at the rules for acquiring US citizenship. What a morass of weird and seemingly senseless rules I've found. I don't understand the reasoning at all.

Here's the story. Our friend Rod was born and raised in Mexico City. His mother, now in her 80's, is an American citizen and lives in Mexico on an FM2 or immigrant visa. In other words, her only citizenship is from the USA. Her father was from Ireland and her mother from France, they immigrated to the US where she was born in Texas. While she was fairly young, they moved to Mexico. She married and had 4 children, Rod is one of the middle kids.

Much like I think a lot of US citizens would assume, I thought that Rod should be eligible for US citizenship based on his mother being a citizen. Here's where it gets complicated. His mother could have registered his birth with the US embassy in Mexico while he was a child, if she had she would have received a form from them. That form would have guaranteed citizenship to my friend. Walk into the embassy and they give you a passport is how someone described it. I doubt it is that easy but the outcome would be certain.

She didn't know that though, remember this was almost 50 years ago. So, now he would have to qualify under a complicated set of rules. He was born between 1952 and 1986 so he has to prove that his mother lived in the US for 10 years prior to his birth with 5 of those years coming after the age of 14. If he had been born between 1986 and the present, she would have had to live in the US for 5 years prior to his birth with 2 years after the age of 14.

He doesn't make the cut. I don't understand this. Any woman that can get to the US illegally and have her baby guarantees that child US citizenship but someone who is the child of a legal US citizen is not? What is the point of these rules about years lived and age? They have changed the requirements several times but never eliminated the rule so it must have some justification, I just don't see it.

Also, if his mother had known to register his birth there would be no question of years lived in the US or anything else. Same kid, but different rules?

He could probably gain Irish citizenship easier, I think the Irish allow you to claim citizenship using a grandparent.

He doesn't care that much about getting the US passport but he would like to be able to visit the US without the huge visa hassle. He has relatives in San Francisco and he would like to travel around the US. He was up there a lot as a kid but apparently he traveled on his mother's passport then.

I wish I could help him or at the very least explain it, but I have no explanation and even with my "superior English skills" and first hand knowledge of American culture, this stuff just doesn't make sense.