From Military.com:
Here's Who's Affected by New
Citizenship Policy for Children of Troops Serving Overseas
A policy clarification from the
U.S. Customs and Immigration Service published Wednesday does not revoke
automatic citizenship for children of U.S. citizens born abroad, including
troops and federal workers, Homeland Security Department officials said
Wednesday. But it will make adoptions and paperwork more complicated for some
families of U.S. service members and as well as citizens who haven't been in
the U.S. for a while. USCIS issued a policy alert Wednesday that changes and
spells out what it considers residency in provisions related to citizenship. The
policy states that "Effective October 29, 2019, children residing abroad
with their U.S. citizen parents who are U.S. government employees or members of
the U.S. armed forces stationed abroad are not considered to be residing in the
United States for acquisition of citizenship. Similarly, leave taken in the
United States while stationed abroad is not considered residing in the United
States even if the person is staying in property he or she owns." The text
of, and early reporting on, the new regulations ignited a ferocious backlash on
the internet by those who interpreted them as a revocation of birthright
citizenship for those born to U.S. government employee or troops serving
abroad. The policy goes on to say that "U.S. citizen parents who are
residing outside the United States with children who are not [emphasis
Military.com’s] U.S. citizens should apply for U.S. citizenship on behalf of
their children under [policy] must complete the process before the child's 18th
birthday."
Here’s who the policy affects:
- Children who live with their U.S.
parents abroad but who did not acquire citizenship at birth, including infants
and children adopted overseas.
- Children born of non-U.S.
citizens who are adopted by U.S. citizens.
- Those whose parents became U.S.
citizens after the child's birth.
U.S. citizens who do not meet the
residence or physical presence rules needed to transmit birthright citizenship,
such as a person born overseas with birthright citizenship who never lived in
the United States. Children who did not acquire citizenship at birth are not
considered to be residing in the U.S. just because their parents are citizens,
the policy states. Under the new policy, these parents will have to apply for
U.S. citizenship for their child. According to the policy, a U.S. citizen born
in the United States “generally meets the residence requirement as long as he
or she can present evidence to demonstrate that his or her mother was not
merely transiting through or visiting the United States at the time of his or
her birth.” By law, most babies born to U.S. citizens overseas become U.S.
citizens at birth. The new policy "[does] not affect anyone who is born a
U.S. citizen, period," USCIS Acting Director Ken Cuccinelli said in a
statement to Military.com. "This does not impact birthright citizenship.
This policy update does not deny citizenship to the children of U.S. government
employees or members of the military born abroad," Cuccinelli said. The policy does not affect
children born of two U.S. citizen parents who have maintained a residence in
the U.S. before the child's birth, nor does it affect those who have received a
Consular Report of Birth Abroad or Certificate of Citizenship acquired at birth;
those born to a foreign national and a U.S. citizen parent who has physically
been in the U.S. or one of its territorial possessions for at least five years;
or unmarried parents if the U.S. citizen parent meets certain requirements. USCIS
did not provide any reasons for the policy update, other than to "define
'residence' as it relates to citizenship for children of certain U.S.
government employees and members of the U.S. armed forces who are employed or
stationed outside the United States, to conform with the definition of
residence in the Immigration and Nationality Act." "This policy
aligns USCIS process with the Department of State's procedure, that's it,"
Cuccinelli said. It remains unclear how many children will be affected by the
new rules, which go into effect Oct. 29, but it will have an impact on the
families of U.S. troops who are not U.S. citizens and are not married to a U.S.
citizen, as well as any children adopted by service members stationed overseas.
From 1999 to 2010, roughly 80,000 non-citizens were members of the armed
services. About 5,000 legal permanent residents join the armed services each
year.
^ Talk about confusing. If you
are born to even 1 US citizen parent that is officially stationed overseas
(with the US Military or the US Federal Government) then you should
automatically get US Citizenship regardless of how long your US Citizen parent
did or did not live in the US prior to your birth. My sister could have had a
problem with this when she was born too, but luckily both of my parents met the
US residence requirement when she was born (which was even longer than it is
today.) if they didn't then she would have had to become a naturalized US Citizen
even though my Dad was on official orders overseas by the US Military before,
during and after her birth. Talk about the US Federal Government saying “Thank You”
to the men and women who risk everything and are forced to go overseas. This is a disgrace. ^
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