Citizenship for child born outside the US

D

dominik870710

New Member
Hi,
That's my problem: I got US citizenship in April 2008, my wife has GC since December 2008. A Few month's before, we came to Poland, and will stay to may 2010. My wife is pregnant, She'll give birth in January 2010.
My question is: if my child born in Europe, It will has automaticly US citizenship?
 
dominik870710 said:
Hi,
That's my problem: I got US citizenship in April 2008, my wife has GC since December 2008. A Few month's before, we came to Poland, and will stay to may 2010. My wife is pregnant, She'll give birth in January 2010.
My question is: if my child born in Europe, It will has automaticly US citizenship?
Click to expand...

I am not sure, but the answer might be "no".

Here is the info from the State Department website http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html:

"Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child."

It would seem that you'd need to demonstrate that you were physically present in the U.S. for at least 5 years by the time your child is born. I am not sure but I assume this requirement means at least 5 years as a U.S. citizen. If so, then you would not pass this requirement since you only got naturalized a year ago. I'd suggest that you call the State Department now and try to find out what the rules are more precisely.

Note that in order to get a consular report of a birth abroad for your child you will be required to provide proof of having satisfied the residency requirement, see
http://travel.state.gov/law/family_issues/birth/birth_593.html
 
baikal3 said:
I am not sure, but the answer might be "no".

Here is the info from the State Department website http://travel.state.gov/law/info/info_609.html:

"Birth Abroad to One Citizen and One Alien Parent in Wedlock: A child born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent acquires U.S. citizenship at birth under Section 301(g) INA provided the citizen parent was physically present in the U.S. for the time period required by the law applicable at the time of the child's birth. (For birth on or after November 14, 1986, a period of five years physical presence, two after the age of fourteen is required. For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen are required for physical presence in the U.S. to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child."

It would seem that you'd need to demonstrate that you were physically present in the U.S. for at least 5 years by the time your child is born. I am not sure but I assume this requirement means at least 5 years as a U.S. citizen. If so, then you would not pass this requirement since you only got naturalized a year ago. I'd suggest that you call the State Department now and try to find out what the rules are more precisely.

Note that in order to get a consular report of a birth abroad for your child you will be required to provide proof of having satisfied the residency requirement, see
http://travel.state.gov/law/family_issues/birth/birth_593.html
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It is five years of physical presence. Not five years of presence as citizens. Time spent in the US as aliens counts.
 
How is the child under 18 or baby admitted to the US as an immigrant? Is entry into the US with a Report of Birth Abroad considered entry as an immigrant?
 
MasterArcht said:
How is the child under 18 or baby admitted to the US as an immigrant? Is entry into the US with a Report of Birth Abroad considered entry as an immigrant?
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The provision cited in absrao's post is from the Child Citizenship Act of 2001 and it is primarily meant for children who are not born as U.S. citizens, such as children of immigrants who are naturalized later on or children who are adopted by U.S. citizens. A typical example is when both the child and the parent are green card holders and then the parent gets naturalized and becomes a U.S. citizen; if that happens before the child is 18 years old, the child becomes a U.S. citizen at the same moment the parent is naturalized.

There are other, older, parts of the U.S. nationality law, that apply to children who are born as U.S. citizens. For example, a child who is born in wedlock to two U.S. citizens is automatically a citizen at the moment of birth, even if that birth happened abroad. If only one parent is a citizen at the moment of the child's birth and the birth happens abroad, there are additional residency requirements for that U.S. citizen parent in order for the child to be born as a U.S. citizen (see above posts). In such cases it is not necessary for the child to be admitted to the U.S. as an immigrant and different provisions of the law apply.
 
thank you, baikal. so you're saying if both parents are US citizens at the time of the child's birth abroad, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad should suffice for the recognition of the child's US citizenship (assuming one of the parents spent at least some time in the US). If that is the case, would that Consular Report be sufficient as a document to enter the country for the baby?
 
MasterArcht said:
thank you, baikal. so you're saying if both parents are US citizens at the time of the child's birth abroad, a Consular Report of Birth Abroad should suffice for the recognition of the child's US citizenship (assuming one of the parents spent at least some time in the US). If that is the case, would that Consular Report be sufficient as a document to enter the country for the baby?
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For the first question, the answer is "yes", a Consular Report of Birth Abroad is basically an equivalent of a birth certificate and serves as a proof of the child's U.S. citizenship. For the second question, I am not sure. I don't know what the travel rules are for babies but I suspect that children of any age need a U.S. passport in order to enter the U.S. Presumably one should be able to apply for a passport for the baby at the same time as applying for a Consular Report of Birth Abroad. You'd have to look up more detailed info at the State Department website.
 
The child will need a passport to enter the United States. My child was born 4 months before i naturalized and he was approved for CBRA and US passport
 
One more question, in order to report the birth to the respective US embassy, do the parents need to be a Permanent Resident or have a long-term status in that country where the child was born? Do they need to show a visa or entry stamp? thank you.
 
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