5 ms·

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...

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...