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  • This seemed like the most appropriate SE site to ask this question. If you can think of anywhere better please feel free to migrate it there.

I was born outside the United States to American parents, and am therefore a US citizen (social security number and all). However, apart from short visits, I've never actually lived in the US (nor voted in US elections etc.)

I have a relatively urgent (passport related) issue with the local US embassy. A friend told me it may be beneficial if I could contact my Congressional representative, but as I've never lived in the US I don't know who that would be. The whole "letter-to-your-congressperson" dynamic is also new to me. Should I just pick one? Would they know I'm not actually their constituent?

H.Rappeport
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    You don't have a Congressman. You are not a constituent of anyone. Just like someone who lives, e.g., in Puerto Rico. – ohwilleke Sep 18 '22 at 21:21
  • "The whole "letter-to-your-congressperson" dynamic is also new to me." It doesn't seem that different to writing a letter to your local MP. – nick012000 Sep 18 '22 at 21:22
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    @ohwilleke I think a more interesting example is residents of Washington, DC, who are technically represented in the House, but by a non-voting member, and are not represented in the Senate at all. Add to that the fact that the Congress has great power over the government and operations of the municipality of DC, and they are essentially ruled at the local and federal level by a body that they have no representation in. – Todd Wilcox Sep 19 '22 at 05:43
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    @ToddWilcox but residents of DC at least have someone they can write to if they have trouble with an executive department. Oh, and so do residents of Puerto Rico, which also has nonvoting representation in the house. – phoog Sep 19 '22 at 07:51
  • At some time, someone proved your identity and citizenship and you obtained a Social Security number. The document they used was perhaps a "U.S. consular report of birth abroad" but you may have a US birth certificate. See here. If you haven't already checked this, it's a place to start. – Wastrel Sep 19 '22 at 13:46
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    Your best bet is to work with the local consulate (not embassy, by the way). Yes, a congressman or senator can intervene if there is an issue with a government organization, but if you have no residential ties to the US, it's going to be fun trying to get someone to care. Also, while working with a congressman or senator can be effective, I wouldn't associate "urgent" with their work (think weeks to get something done, not hours or days). If you do want someone to intervene, I'd go with one of the senators from wherever you or your parents last lived – Flydog57 Sep 19 '22 at 15:11
  • Have you seen this? https://maloney.house.gov/issues/overseas-americans – PatrickT Sep 19 '22 at 15:49
  • The word "congressperson" is weird. I would say "member of Congress". – Michael Hardy Sep 20 '22 at 02:48
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    Somewhat complementary question in the wider SE network: Can a US citizen who's never lived in US vote in US?? – JeopardyTempest Sep 20 '22 at 04:02
  • "anywhere better": I don't know that it's better, necessarily, but another suitable site for this question is [Expatriates.SE]. – phoog Sep 20 '22 at 07:08
  • @Wastrel how would someone born outside the US have a US birth certificate? If you're thinking of the FS-545, that's the document that preceded the CRBA. It was used until 1990. It wouldn't make a difference whether H.Rappeport has one or the other. – phoog Sep 20 '22 at 07:19
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    @Flydog57 if H.Rappeport is working with the embassy, it's with the embassy's consular section, which provides consular services. Nobody else would likely give the time of day to someone with a passport question, other than (if you're lucky) telling you where to go for consular services. The advice to approach the senators from the parents' last state of residence is probably the way to go. – phoog Sep 20 '22 at 07:21
  • As an alternative, if you have any distant family member living in the US (or that are still registered to vote in their congressional district) that you're still in touch with, you should try to go through them. You could draft all the letters, and just ask them to print them out, sign them, and send them on your behalf. In other words, if you do all the work yourself and make it as easy as possible for them, it's going to be easier to convince them. – Stephan Branczyk Sep 20 '22 at 16:16

2 Answers2

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You would check with the authorities in the state where your parents last lived. Actually, you can write to any congressperson, and they can pay attention to you or ignore you as they like. (This also applies to people who live in the US; if you think a representative other than your own will be more likely to follow your request, you can write to them instead.) The reason it's most common to write to your own representative is that they have a political motivation to consider your request (you are more likely to vote for them if they do what you ask). If you were to vote for a congressperson, that would be in the district where your parents lived (but that is governed by state law).

Someone
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user6726
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Although you don’t have a member of Congress, I would recommend that you contact the chair of the subcommittee of the House Foreign Affairs Committee that oversees your area, for example, “Africa, Health, and Global Human Rights” or “Asia, the Pacific, Central Asia and Nonproliferation.” (You might also try the ranking member of the other party, if you expect their staffers to be more sympathetic.) You might also have a relative in the United States contact their members of Congress.

You didn’t receive an absentee ballot to vote in the last federal election (or you would know which representative you voted for or against), but as you probably know, you could vote in the Democratic presidential primary, as a Democrat Abroad.

Davislor
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