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Citizenship by blood is not established in the Constitution but by the various modifications of the Immigration and Nationalization Act. In 1936, when McCain wa

Citizenship by blood is not established in the Constitution but by the various modifications of the Immigration and Nationalization Act. In 1936, when McCain was born, the 1934 modified version of the Cable Act allowed transmission of citizenship via his mother as well as his father... It wasn't until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 that todays standards of overseas citizenship conference took shape. Citizenship in the US is a bit of a mess. https://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/123.7.Collins_r35np7ug.pdf https://www.yalelawjournal.org/pdf/123.7.Collins_r35np7ug.pd...

BXLE_1-1-BitIs1 1y ago
The Immigration and Nationality Act is a moving target. Periodically it is amended, or the Supreme Court strikes down certain provisions. Having been born to a Canadian father in the US and moved to Canada when I was nine, my US citizenship lapsed when I turned 25 in Canada (I was quite happy to stay in Canada during the Vietnam war during my twenties). At the time I was unaware of the INA provisions repealed in 1978 that lapsed my US citizenship. New FATCA and IRS obligations motivated me to research my US citizenship status and I was happy to discover that it had lapsed. US Customs officers sometimes ask questions when I show up with a Canadian passport with a US birthplace. Now I pull out my copy of State Department FAM 1200 APPENDIX C to explain my status, but the legalese is a challenge for people with just high school. .
- NoMoreNicksLeft 1y ago
  Strangely, I think you might qualify to run for the presidency. Nothing in the Constitution demands that you be a current citizen, only a natural-born one... which, assuming the date was late enough, you certainly were. McCain though, I don't think he made the cut.