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Us Citizenship by Birth Law

Prior to the Child Citizenship Act, the only way to automatically acquire citizenship at any time after birth was through the naturalization of a parent. The amendment continued the Supreme Court`s decision in Dred Scott v. Sandford (1857), which denied American citizenship to African Americans, whether born in the United States or not, and whether they were slaves or free. [2] Under the Fourteenth Amendment and the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), a person born in the United States and subject to U.S. jurisdiction automatically acquires U.S. citizenship, known as jus soli. [3] These include the territories of Puerto Rico, the Mariana Islands (Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands) and the U.S. Virgin Islands. [4] [5] The “subject to jurisdiction” clause excluded Native Americans living under tribal sovereignty and children born in the United States to foreign diplomats. The birthright was later extended to Indian citizens born in the United States by the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924. Federal law also grants citizenship to U.S.

citizens (with certain exceptions), known as ius sanguinis, to children born elsewhere in the world. [^19] Because the law only provides for the father`s consent to child support and does not provide for loss of citizenship if the agreement is not honored, USCIS does not verify whether the father actually provided financial assistance. [^20] For example, a birth certificate or confirmation document submitted and certified by the father. In U.S. jurisdictions, voluntary written recognition of a child generally triggers a legal obligation to provide for the child. However, in foreign jurisdictions, a voluntary written agreement does not always entail a legal obligation to provide for the child. The agent may contact the local USCIS attorney with any questions about the effect of the law. Edward Erler argued in 2007 that since the Wong Kim Ark case involved a person whose parents were legal in the United States, it was after the 14th anniversary of the Wong Kim Ark case. The amendment does not provide a valid basis for the practice of granting citizenship to the children of illegal immigrants born in the United States: “Even if the logic is that Wong Kim Ark became a citizen by birth with the permission of the United States when they admitted his parents to the country, such permission was not granted to those who enter illegally.” [96] Akhil Amar responded to Erler, “I am not sure that his Pandora`s box can be limited to the children of illegal aliens. It`s a thin edge of a very large and dangerous corner that I think flows straight into Wong Kim`s arch.

[97] Similarly, Angelo Ancheta criticized the “interrogation-based theory of citizenship,” asserting that “the Fourteenth Amendment was designed to ensure citizenship for `all persons` born in the United States, particularly in response to ambiguities in legal status associated with descendants of a foreign class, namely slaves.” [98] – A person born in a remote possession of the United States is a U.S. citizen if one of the parents is a U.S. citizen who has physically resided in the territory of the United States for one year or more prior to the birth of the child in distant possession of the United States. According to congressional law, people born in American Samoa are U.S. citizens, but not U.S. citizens. A 2016 DC decision upheld the U.S. government`s interpretation that American Samoa is not “in the United States” as defined by the Fourteenth Amendment, and therefore American Samoans are nationals but not citizens at birth.

[13] A 2021 decision by the 10th District Court also upheld the government`s position and overturned a lower court decision. that the American Samoan plaintiffs were U.S. citizens at birth. [14] [15] Some children born on U.S. soil who are not U.S. citizens at birth are: In Elk v. Wilkins, 112 U.S. 94 (1884),[c] the Supreme Court rejected a claim to citizenship “Ameerika Indian” (referring to the Indians of that area). The court ruled that birth in the United States is not sufficient to obtain citizenship; those who wish to claim citizenship by birth must be subject to the jurisdiction of the United States.

The majority of the Court found that Native American children have special provisions for children born in certain current and former U.S. territories or possessions, including Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, the Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands. For example, 8 U.S.C. § 1402 states: “All persons who were in Puerto Rico [between] April 11, 1899 and. January 13, 1941. residing in Puerto Rico on January 13, 1941. [and] Persons born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941. are citizens of the United States by birth.” [12] In addition, a person born outside the United States may also be a U.S. citizen at birth if at least one parent is a U.S. citizen and has lived in the United States for a period of time.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration (USCIS) website on parental citizenship provides more detailed information for people born outside the U.S. to parents with U.S. citizenship. Alternatively, if the father of U.S. citizenship does not meet the criteria of the “new” INA 309(a), the child automatically acquires the United States.