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I was born in the Canal Zone when it was a U.S. territory. Both parents were American. By an act of Congress I am a natural born citizen. I’ve always been und

by sykh 9y ago

I was born in the Canal Zone when it was a U.S. territory. Both parents were American. By an act of Congress I am a natural born citizen. I’ve always been under the impression that it was well established that it is a power of the government to manage citizenship status for possessions/territories and whatnot. I’m surprised if there is any legal merit to the challenge. Though I do hope they win. I went to American schools in the Canal Zone. I don’t speak Spanish and I always thought of myself as American. When I came to the U.S. to live my expectations about America did not correspond to reality. As time goes on this chasm is increasing. I’ve been in the U.S. for 30 years now. Samoans may end up regretting if they win!

UncleEntity 9y ago
Yep, can run for president too as was determined when John McCain ran even though he was born in the Canal Zone. And technically the Canal Zone was always part of Panama proper with the US leasing the land on a perpetual basis while US Samoa is "owned".
- shliachtx 9y ago
  John McCain also had American parents, so he was a natural-born citizen anyhow.
  - lotsofpulp 9y ago
    I was looking up to see if that was true, and boy does it get complicated! https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-par...
    - kolpa 9y ago
      The basic case (John McCain's case) is simple: In general, a Child Born Outside the U.S. is a Citizen at Birth when the Child’s Parents Are Married to each other at the Time of Birth IF... Both parents are U.S. citizens at the time of birth, AND... At least one parent lived in the U.S. or its territories prior to the birth Canal Zone is a US territory. OP's case is interesting because the petitioner's parents are not citizens.
      - sykh 9y ago
        My parents were citizens. They were born in Minnesota and later in life moved to Panama for work.
      - googlryas 9y ago
        So, if both of my parents are US citizens, but not married, and I'm physically born in India(which doesn't have birthright citizenship) - am I a citizen of no country?
        thaumasiotes 9y ago
        Assuming your mother has ever spent one continuous year within the US, you are a US citizen from birth.
        masonic 9y ago
        Which is exactly why Obama qualified as a citizen regardless of where he was born. Since his parents were not legally married, only the mother's citizenship mattered.
    - thaumasiotes 9y ago
      If the mother is an American, it's not complicated. There are other cases, but the "both parents are American citizens" case is pretty straightforward. Those requirements boil down to this: - One parent must be a citizen. - That parent needs some connection to the US, measured by how much time they've spent living there. - If the citizen parent is male, he must prove that the child is related to him. - If the citizen parent is male, he must swear a binding legal oath to financially support the child. The rest resolves these questions: - How much residential connection to the US must citizen parents have, based on the couple's total Americanness? (more Americanness, less time) - Can we just assume that married men are the fathers of their wives' children? (yes) - What counts as being "in America"? (government service abroad counts)
      - knz 9y ago
        > If the mother is an American, it's not complicated. > Can we just assume that married men are the fathers of their wives' children? (yes) My sister in law was born and raised in America. She now lives in the EU and has a child with her wife. Despite gay marriage being legal in the US, her child is currently unable to obtain American citizenship because she was not the biological mother.
        wil421 9y ago
        I would assume the same applies to straight parents who adopted, in fact I have a family member on my wife’s side who adopted from China. You are having the same issues my brother in law is having. You need to live in the US to make the process easier. It actually been a pain to get his wife a work permit because they haven’t lived here in 10 years.
  - UncleEntity 9y ago
    > John McCain also had American parents, so he was a natural-born citizen anyhow. Not sure it's all that simple. Say, for example, he was born in Kenya to American parents. Would that make him a "natural born citizen" eligible to become president? According to the wikipedia: > The consensus of early 21st-century constitutional scholars, together with relevant case law, is that natural-born citizens include, subject to exceptions, those born in the United States. Complicated stuff -- if you're born on a US military base in a Germany vs a hospital next to the base &etc...
- sykh 9y ago
  We did have a governor appointed by the President. I believe it was considered a territory of the United States. We were part of a federal court circuit. I don’t think it was a lease. My understanding is that the Bunau-Varilla treaty gave the U.S. rights over the land in perpetuity but that this was not a lease. It was a weird entity though as all the land was owned by the Panama Canal Company or the military.

by sykh 9y ago

UncleEntity 9y ago

Yep, can run for president too as was determined when John McCain ran even though he was born in the Canal Zone. And technically the Canal Zone was always part of Panama proper with the US leasing the land on a perpetual basis while US Samoa is "owned".

shliachtx 9y ago
John McCain also had American parents, so he was a natural-born citizen anyhow.
- lotsofpulp 9y ago
  I was looking up to see if that was true, and boy does it get complicated! https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-parents https://www.uscis.gov/us-citizenship/citizenship-through-par...
  - kolpa 9y ago
    The basic case (John McCain's case) is simple: In general, a Child Born Outside the U.S. is a Citizen at Birth when the Child’s Parents Are Married to each other at the Time of Birth IF... Both parents are U.S. citizens at the time of birth, AND... At least one parent lived in the U.S. or its territories prior to the birth Canal Zone is a US territory. OP's case is interesting because the petitioner's parents are not citizens.
    - sykh 9y ago
      My parents were citizens. They were born in Minnesota and later in life moved to Panama for work.
    - googlryas 9y ago
      So, if both of my parents are US citizens, but not married, and I'm physically born in India(which doesn't have birthright citizenship) - am I a citizen of no country?
      - thaumasiotes 9y ago
        Assuming your mother has ever spent one continuous year within the US, you are a US citizen from birth.
        masonic 9y ago
        Which is exactly why Obama qualified as a citizen regardless of where he was born. Since his parents were not legally married, only the mother's citizenship mattered.
  - thaumasiotes 9y ago
    If the mother is an American, it's not complicated. There are other cases, but the "both parents are American citizens" case is pretty straightforward. Those requirements boil down to this: - One parent must be a citizen. - That parent needs some connection to the US, measured by how much time they've spent living there. - If the citizen parent is male, he must prove that the child is related to him. - If the citizen parent is male, he must swear a binding legal oath to financially support the child. The rest resolves these questions: - How much residential connection to the US must citizen parents have, based on the couple's total Americanness? (more Americanness, less time) - Can we just assume that married men are the fathers of their wives' children? (yes) - What counts as being "in America"? (government service abroad counts)
    - knz 9y ago
      > If the mother is an American, it's not complicated. > Can we just assume that married men are the fathers of their wives' children? (yes) My sister in law was born and raised in America. She now lives in the EU and has a child with her wife. Despite gay marriage being legal in the US, her child is currently unable to obtain American citizenship because she was not the biological mother.
      - wil421 9y ago
        I would assume the same applies to straight parents who adopted, in fact I have a family member on my wife’s side who adopted from China. You are having the same issues my brother in law is having. You need to live in the US to make the process easier. It actually been a pain to get his wife a work permit because they haven’t lived here in 10 years.
- UncleEntity 9y ago
  > John McCain also had American parents, so he was a natural-born citizen anyhow. Not sure it's all that simple. Say, for example, he was born in Kenya to American parents. Would that make him a "natural born citizen" eligible to become president? According to the wikipedia: > The consensus of early 21st-century constitutional scholars, together with relevant case law, is that natural-born citizens include, subject to exceptions, those born in the United States. Complicated stuff -- if you're born on a US military base in a Germany vs a hospital next to the base &etc...
sykh 9y ago
We did have a governor appointed by the President. I believe it was considered a territory of the United States. We were part of a federal court circuit. I don’t think it was a lease. My understanding is that the Bunau-Varilla treaty gave the U.S. rights over the land in perpetuity but that this was not a lease. It was a weird entity though as all the land was owned by the Panama Canal Company or the military.