Acquisition of Citizenship Through Birth to US Citizen Parents (Birth Prior to May, 24th 1934)
In many circumstances, a child is born outside the US, but if at least one parent was a US citizen at the time of the child's birth, he or she automatically "acquires" US citizenship.
When this child marries and has children, those children may also acquire US citizenship at birth.
The laws governing whether or not a child born outside US boundaries acquires US citizenship from his or her parents have changed several times.
The law that was in effect at the date of the child's birth determines whether he or she acquired US citizenship from a parent or grandparent.
If there is anyone in your direct line of ancestry whom you believe may be a US citizen, it is worth your time to read what the US laws were on the date of your birth and theirs.
Most laws controlling the passage of US citizenship from parent to child require that the parent, child, or both have a period of residence within the United States.
Sometimes the residence is required to be for a specified length of time (like 5 years) and sometimes it is not.
When the law doesn't say exactly how long the residence period must be, you can assume that even a brief time, even a month might be enough.
The key element is often not the amount of time but whether or not USCIS or the state department believes it was a residence- in other words, that the person truly made a home there- and not a visit.
If the period of stay has the character of residence, the length of time doesn't matter.
If you were born before 1934, the law provided that only your US citizen father (not mother) could pass citizenship on to you.
The rules were very simple.
In order to pass on US citizenship, the father must have resided in the US at some time before the child's birth.
The law didn't require any particular length of time or dates when the residence took place.
Technically a day or week would have been enough if it could be regarded as a residence and not just a visit.
Once a child obtained US citizenship at birth through a US father, there were no conditions to retaining it.
These rules also applied to so-called illegitimate children (children born to unmarried parents), provided that at some time the US citizen father had at some time legally (acknowledged his paternal responsibility).
US citizenship was then acquired at the time of legitimation, without regard to the child's age.
This law has been challenged several times as discriminatory, with some courts holding that citizenship could be passed by the mother to the children.
Congress finally addressed this issue in 1994 and amended the law, to state that either parent could pass his or her US citizenship to children.
If you were born before May 24, 1934 and either of your parents was a US citizen, that citizenship might have passed on to you.
Consider also, that if either of your parents was born before May 24, 1934, they may have acquired US citizenship from either of their parents, which they then passed on to you under laws in existence at a later date.
A check of your family tree might be worth your while.
When this child marries and has children, those children may also acquire US citizenship at birth.
The laws governing whether or not a child born outside US boundaries acquires US citizenship from his or her parents have changed several times.
The law that was in effect at the date of the child's birth determines whether he or she acquired US citizenship from a parent or grandparent.
If there is anyone in your direct line of ancestry whom you believe may be a US citizen, it is worth your time to read what the US laws were on the date of your birth and theirs.
Most laws controlling the passage of US citizenship from parent to child require that the parent, child, or both have a period of residence within the United States.
Sometimes the residence is required to be for a specified length of time (like 5 years) and sometimes it is not.
When the law doesn't say exactly how long the residence period must be, you can assume that even a brief time, even a month might be enough.
The key element is often not the amount of time but whether or not USCIS or the state department believes it was a residence- in other words, that the person truly made a home there- and not a visit.
If the period of stay has the character of residence, the length of time doesn't matter.
If you were born before 1934, the law provided that only your US citizen father (not mother) could pass citizenship on to you.
The rules were very simple.
In order to pass on US citizenship, the father must have resided in the US at some time before the child's birth.
The law didn't require any particular length of time or dates when the residence took place.
Technically a day or week would have been enough if it could be regarded as a residence and not just a visit.
Once a child obtained US citizenship at birth through a US father, there were no conditions to retaining it.
These rules also applied to so-called illegitimate children (children born to unmarried parents), provided that at some time the US citizen father had at some time legally (acknowledged his paternal responsibility).
US citizenship was then acquired at the time of legitimation, without regard to the child's age.
This law has been challenged several times as discriminatory, with some courts holding that citizenship could be passed by the mother to the children.
Congress finally addressed this issue in 1994 and amended the law, to state that either parent could pass his or her US citizenship to children.
If you were born before May 24, 1934 and either of your parents was a US citizen, that citizenship might have passed on to you.
Consider also, that if either of your parents was born before May 24, 1934, they may have acquired US citizenship from either of their parents, which they then passed on to you under laws in existence at a later date.
A check of your family tree might be worth your while.