Citizenship by Being Born to U.S. Citizens

Citizenship by Being Born to U.S. Citizens

In a number of situations, if you were born to parents, at least one of whom was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth, you automatically gained U.S. citizenship through the process of acquisition. It does not matter whether you were born on American soil or foreign. As well, if you have children, those children will also acquire U.S. citizenship through you at their birth.

The laws regarding citizenship obtained through acquisition are some of the most complex of all of U.S. citizenship laws and take into account things like the citizenship of parents, as well as if the child was born in or outside of wedlock. This complexity has not lessened at all because Congress has made major changes to these laws throughout history. In order to determine which laws will apply to you or your child, you must first see which date range applies:

Born prior to May 24, 1934
Born between May 25, 1934 and January 12, 1941
Born between January 13, 1941 and December 23, 1952
Born between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, and
Born after November 14, 1986.
Here are some links that may be helpful in figuring out which laws will apply to you or your child. First, here is a chart that will apply to children born abroad to parent in wedlock. Second, here is a chart that will apply to children born abroad to parents out of wedlock.

http://shusterman.com/uscitizenshipchart1.html
http://shusterman.com/uscitizenshipchart2.html