US Citizenship Rules for Foreign-Born Children Explained

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has detailed the requirements for foreign-born children to automatically obtain US citizenship before turning 18, as stipulated in Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), amended by the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, which took effect on February 27, 2001. To qualify, four conditions must be met simultaneously before the child's 18th birthday: at least one parent must be a US citizen (by birth or naturalization, including adoptive parents), the child must be under 18 years old, the child must hold lawful permanent resident (LPR) status in the US, and the child must live in the US under the legal and physical custody of the US citizen parent.

The child must reside with the parent in the US for the automatic citizenship to be granted. The burden of proof lies with the individual claiming citizenship, who must demonstrate that all conditions were satisfied according to the "preponderance of the evidence" standard.