In late August the Trump Administration announced it would no longer treat certain children born abroad to U.S. military personnel as “residing” in the United States, thus precluding them from acquiring U.S. citizenship automatically. The political firestorm that ensued revealed that many Americans misunderstand our citizenship laws, especially as they apply to children born outside the geographic limits of the United States and its territories.

This article examines the principal ways U.S. citizenship is acquired by birth in and outside of the United States. It also explains how children under 18 may attain citizenship after birth abroad, either automatically or by application, and how the government’s new policy impacts members of the military and their families. The process of naturalization for U.S. permanent residents over the age of 18, and the ways in which U.S. citizenship may be lost, are outside the scope of this article.

Birth in the United States