Citizenship by Acquisition, What is it and Who is Eligible?

Generally speaking, and with a few exceptions, there are three ways to become a U.S. citizen. If you were born in the U.S., including certain territories like Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands, then you are automatically considered a citizen. If you were born abroad, the naturalization process would be one way to attain citizenship. However, there are also people born abroad who acquired or derived U.S. citizenship at birth through their parent(s) or grandparent(s). Acquiring citizenship means that citizenship has been automatically acquired by law without the need of applying for citizenship.

Often times a child born abroad may have acquired or derived U.S. citizenship at birth without knowing it. The law of acquired citizenship has been regularly modified as Congress has revised the law in 1934, 1941, 1952, 1986, 1994, 1996, and 2001. As a result, the law that applies and the parental requirements that must be met in order for the child to have derived or acquired citizenship, differs in each particular case depending on when the child was born. Citizenship by acquisition has historically depended upon several factors, such as the date of the child's birth, whether the parent(s) or grandparent(s) are U.S. citizens, whether they resided in the U.S. at a certain age and for a certain length of time before the child's birth, and whether the child was born in or out of wedlock.

The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) has made acquiring citizenship a bit less complicated for children who are lawful permanent residents. Under the CCA, as of February 27, 2001, a child born abroad can acquire citizenship if the following conditions are met: The child is under 18, has at least one U.S. citizen parent either by birth or naturalization, is currently residing as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S., and is in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent. Unfortunately, stepchildren and children born out of wedlock, who were not legitimated before their 16th birthday, cannot derive citizenship through their parents.

The present law states that a non lawful resident child currently living outside the U.S, who was born abroad to one U.S. citizen parent and one alien parent on or after November 14, 1986, still has the ability to obtain citizenship. However, in order for the child to acquire citizenship in such instances, the U.S. citizen parent must apply for naturalization on behalf of their child. In order to complete processing and allow the child to take the oath of allegiance, the child must at least temporarily be physically and legally present in the U.S. The child must also be under the age of 18, and if the child was adopted, the adoption must have taken place before the child reached the age of 16. Additionally, the U.S. citizen parent must have met the presence/residence requirement.

Where one parent is a U.S. citizen and the other is an alien, the presence requirement states that the U.S. citizen parent has to have been in the U.S. for a period of five years before the child was born, two of which must be after the age of 14. Citizenship may also be acquired if the child's U.S. citizen grandparent (parent of the U.S. citizen parent) meets the presence requirement. If both parents are U.S. citizens, then just one of the parents has to have resided in the U.S. or its outlying possessions before the child was born.

For citizenship by acquisition, it is important to remember that different requirements exist for the U.S. citizen parent, depending on when the child was born. Also be aware that someone who is born abroad carries a presumption that they are an alien. Sufficient evidence is needed to rebut that presumption in order to be granted citizenship. Having the guidance and assistance of skilled immigration attorneys, such as those available at Shihab & Associates Co., LPA is crucial to navigate through the complex and ever changing law of citizenship by acquisition.