ACA American Citizens Abroad

Your children may not be as American as you think. If they are born overseas, there are special requirements they and their parents must satisfy in order for them to be recognized as US citizens.

• Specific requirements and FAQs
• What is ACA's position on this question?
• Two methods for having your minor children naturalized as US citizens: The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 and Immediate naturalization under Section 322.
• ACA comments on the signature requirements for your child's passport.
• ACA comments on children's citizenship transmission requirements.

Although the U.S. Supreme Court has never specifically addressed the meaning of "natural born citizen," there are several Supreme Court decisions that help define citizenship:

Changes in Citizenship Laws

With relatively little fanfare, President Clinton signed into law on 30 October 2000, a modification of Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act which makes it a bit easier for minor children of US citizens (both foreign-born and adopted abroad) to become citizens of the US.

Section 322 of the Immigration and Naturalization Act (INA) provides for facilitated naturalization of non-citizen minor children of (some) Americans living abroad.

The following is an American Citizens Abroad (ACA) synthesis and update, based in good part on a series of memos issued by Ms. Michael Adler, AARO, Paris