Under certain conditions, a child can get automatic U.S. citizenship through birth to U.S. citizen parents, regardless of where the birth occurs. A child born outside the United States to U.S. citizen parents (or, in rare situations, to only one U.S. citizen parent) may immediately become a U.S. citizen. This is called "birthright citizenship" or "citizen birth." The child will be granted U.S. citizenship when he or she turns 18 years old.
The child also will be given a U.S. passport and will be able to travel to the United States at no cost with an ID card, valid for up to 10 years. If the parent who was responsible for the child's birth loses his or her U.S. citizenship, then the child cannot maintain that status either. To remain a U.S. citizen, the child must have both parents naturalized as citizens of the United States.
There are some exceptions to this rule. For example, if the mother was 16 years old or older when she gave birth, then the child won't be considered born out of the country. Also, if the child is born to illegal immigrants, they will not be granted birthright citizenship. Finally, if the father was under the age of 18 when he married the mother, then the child won't be considered born to U.S. citizen parents and won't be granted citizenship.
This is referred to as "acquiring" US citizenship. The child cannot acquire any other nationality unless he or she registers with the U.S. Department of State under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000.
The child must meet several conditions to be eligible to obtain U.S. citizenship. One requirement is that both parents must be either: 1 U.S. citizens; or 2 legal residents of the United States who have not yet renounced their citizenship. If only one parent is a U.S. citizen, then the child will not be able to acquire U.S. citizenship unless they are living with and being raised by a U.S. citizen parent or guardian. If neither parent is a U.S. citizen, then the child will need to go through the application process to obtain a U.S. passport. The last requirement is that the child must be living in the United States as a lawful permanent resident (in addition to being a U.S. citizen at birth).
It is important to remember that even if someone is born into slavery or indentured servitude, they can still become a U.S. citizen.
After birth, a kid might potentially receive US citizenship through his or her parents. Derivative citizenship is possible after birth but before the age of 18. If you have a parent who became a citizen of the United States after your birth and meet a few additional qualifications, you may be able to become a citizen of the United States automatically through this route. There are two ways to do this: through naturalization proceedings or by obtaining a Certificate of Citizenship.
To qualify for derivative citizenship, you must be born outside of the United States, its outlying areas (such as Puerto Rico), or Canada. You must also satisfy some age requirement - usually no later than 28 days after the first day of January following your birth date.
You cannot receive derivative citizenship if one of your parents is not a U.S. citizen. However, if you were born in an area where there is no national citizenship requirement (for example, Panama) then you can apply for citizenship without having both of your parents be citizens.
Your parent(s) must have been granted citizenship status by using up their eligibility period to file an application for naturalization before you could have received it. For example, let's say that you were born on December 31st and your father filed for naturalization three years after his birth date. If your mother was not a U.S. citizen, you would not have received automatic citizenship because she did not meet the requirements.
In general, a person born outside of the United States may get citizenship at birth if all of the following conditions are satisfied at the moment of birth: The individual is the child of a U.S. citizen parent(s); the parents are not married to one another; and either the father is a U.S. citizen or the mother is a legal resident of the United States.
There is a exception to this rule for individuals born within the United States, including Puerto Rico. These "born in America" children cannot obtain citizenship at birth because their parents do not have the option of having a citizenship interview with a consular officer of the United States before they become citizens themselves. Instead, these children must wait until they turn 18 years old before they can apply for citizenship.
The only other way that an individual can acquire citizenship after birth is by applying for a Certificate of Citizenship. This form has to be filed with the State Department and it requires proof of birth outside of the United States, evidence of being under 18 years old, and payment of a fee.
An applicant who meets all of the above requirements will then be granted a Certificate of Citizenship. This document allows the bearer to travel to and from Canada and Mexico without requiring a visa. It is also useful when trying to enter the United States illegally.
In the United States, you can become a citizen by birth. Children born in the United States are entitled to US citizenship regardless of their parents' country or immigration status. However, if one parent is not a US citizen, then the child cannot receive U.S. citizenship unless there is a clear intent for the child to adopt the nationality of the other parent.
In addition, even if both parents are American citizens, the child still cannot receive U.S. citizenship unless they explicitly state an intent to adopt the nationality of their parents at the time they apply for a passport. If no such statement is made at the time of application, the child will be issued a passport that does not indicate a change in citizenship status.
Furthermore, even if one or both of the parents has/have foreign citizenship and they intend to retain that citizenship after getting married or joining the military, the child still cannot receive U.S. citizenship unless they explicitly state an intent to adopt the nationality of their parents at the time they apply for a passport. Again, if no such statement is made at the time of application, the child will be issued a passport that does not indicate a change in citizenship status.
In many situations, if you were born to parents, at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, you will immediately receive U.S. citizenship through the acquisition procedure. It makes no difference whether you were born in the United States or elsewhere. As long as at least one of your parents is a U.S. citizen, you can acquire U.S. citizenship even if you were born outside of America.
In addition, if you were born in Puerto Rico or a U.S. territory, you will also be granted citizenship if your birthplace was reported to USCIS. The only way this would not happen is if there had been a change in Puerto Rico's constitution that prevented her from granting citizenship automatically, which has never happened.
Furthermore, if you were born to non-citizen parents who were living in the United States on December 7, 1952, but who weren't eligible to vote in any federal election, then you too will be granted citizenship if you apply within five years after reaching age 18. This provision was added to the Immigration and Nationality Act during the Administrative Reform Act of 1990. Previously, it wasn't possible for such children to become citizens because they hadn't met the physical presence requirement for residence validity. This means that if someone tells you that you cannot get citizenship because you were born after 1982, then you should ask how long they have been out of the country.