AMERICAN CITIZEN A person may derive or acquire US citizenship: 1) AT
BIRTH: · Persons who are born in the United
States and subject to the jurisdiction of the United States are citizens at
birth. · Persons who are born in certain
territories of the United States are also citizens at birth. In general,
this includes persons born in: Puerto
Rico on or after April 11, 1899 Canal
Zone or the Republic of Panama on or after February 26, 1904 Virgin
Islands on or after January 17, 1917 Guam
born after April 11, 1899 Commonwealth of the
Northern Mariana Islands on or after November 4, 1986. (Persons
born in American Samoa and Swains Island are generally considered
nationals but not citizens of the United States) · A child born outside of the United
States is a US citizen at birth if one
or both parents were US citizens, at the time of child’s birth. The
child’s parents should contact the nearest US embassy or consulate to apply
for a Consular
Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) of a “Citizen of the United States of
America” to document that the child is a US citizen. If
the US embassy or consulate determines that the child acquired US citizenship
at birth, a consular officer will approve the CRBA application and the
Department of State will issue a CRBA, also called a Form FS-240, in the
child’s name. According
to US law, a CRBA is proof of US citizenship and may be used to obtain a US
passport and register for school, among other purposes. The child’s parents
may choose to apply for a US passport for the child at the same time that
they apply for a CRBA. Parents may also choose to apply only for a US
passport for the child. Like a CRBA, a full validity, unexpired US passport
is proof of US citizenship. The
term “parents” includes: the genetic
father, the genetic mother, and the non-genetic gestational mother, if she is
the legal parent at the time of birth under the law of the relevant
jurisdiction. USCIS
issues Certificates of Citizenship to children
of US Citizens who were born abroad but are US citizens at birth through
their parents, if N-600,
Application for Certificate of Citizenship is filed to obtain a Certificate
of Citizenship which serves as evidence of the child’s US citizenship. 2) THROUGH
NATURALIZATION:
Naturalization
is the process by which US citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or
national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in
the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). To apply for naturalization,
file Form N-400, Application for
Naturalization. |
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of Dr. Vepachedu