fat brit, i was always under the impression that i could now not claim us citizenship in the way you are saying as my mother did not spend enough time in the US (she left there at the age of 4 and has lived ehre ever since) this is from the embassy website and applies to my date of birth and my parents situation:

Child born in wedlock to one U.S. citizen parent and one non U.S. citizen parent on or after November 14, 1986: A child born outside of the United States to one U.S. citizen parent and one non-U.S. citizen parent may be entitled to citizenship providing the U.S. citizen parent had been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for five years, at least two years of which were after s/he reached the age of fourteen. This period of physical presence must have taken place prior to the birth of the child.

however, if you are saying i could still apply, could you point me in the right direction?

to answer your questions, no my mother has not paid taxes over in the states as she lives her. i was also told that she would not need to sponsor me financially as we can provide proof that we can sponsor ourselves (we have around £400K equity, including the sale of our property) financially.

hmm, it seems i should have ahd a read ehre before sending in our forms as the info given here is contradictory of what has been given to me from the embassy and i am inclined to beleive fellow expats over governments anyday!

would be interested to know if you know anymore about the cizenship route fatbrit!

Thanks
Crystal