To the editor:
This is in response to Dave Wylie’s article “An Illegal Alien?” printed in the paper April 19, 2017. No Mr. Wylie, you are not an alien. Even though you were born in Canada due to the lack of a hospital in Madawaska, you automatically derive citizenship through your American parents.
You do not have to be “naturalized,” which broadly means you go through a process with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to obtain a Certificate of Naturalization, thus becoming a U.S. citizen, basically given to folks who were not born in the United States and do not derive citizenship through a relative.
Having been married to a man who has the exact same scenario as you … living in Madawaska, Maine, and being born in Edmundston due to the lack of a hospital in his hometown in 1950, he too derived citizenship through his U.S. parents; however, we did obtain a Certificate of Citizenship for him, as his birth certificate states that he was born in Canada.
The reason why we obtained the certificate is because when it comes time to collect Social Security and one has a Canadian birth certificate (with no Certificate of Naturalization), you will most likely run into problems and may be asked to produce a Certificate. It may be worth it for you to get a Certificate, just in case.
Erin McGillicuddy
Houlton
