USCIS has updated its policy guidance to clarify the important nuances how children can obtain US citizenship.
The updated policy guidance contains:
If you have already been denied US citizenship for a child, but then USCIS policy changed and the new rules make the child eligible for citizenship, file a petition to reconsider your denied application.
A US citizen parent may be physically present in the US before the birth of the child or in another country, with any or no immigration status.
If both parents are US citizens, but the child was born out of wedlock, then the mother can give the child citizenship if she has lived continuously in the US for at least 1 year before the birth of the child.
To obtain citizenship at birth, USCIS requires that the US citizen parent be legally recognized as the legal parent at the time of the child’s birth.
✔️A child becomes a U.S. citizen under minor citizenship laws until he or she turns 18 years old. That is, all conditions must be met before his 18th birthday. The child is also eligible to obtain citizenship if USCIS approves the application and the child takes the oath (if required) on their 18th birthday.
USCIS accepts a valid US passport or consular report of birth abroad as proof of US citizenship. But USCIS also determines whether an applicant has properly acquired U.S. citizenship and, if necessary, may request that the State Department revoke a U.S. passport or cancel a consular report of a foreign birth before USCIS makes a decision for the U.S. citizenship application.
If the U.S. citizenship of the applicant’s parent or parents is unknown or unclear, the officer must first ascertain the U.S. citizenship status of the parents (and, if appropriate, grandparents) before making a decision on the child’s citizenship application.
If the naturalization application is being made for a stepchild who has been subjected to battering or extreme cruelty by a stepfather or stepmother, the stepchild’s relationship with the U.S. citizen stepfather (or stepmother) does not need to continue to exist at the time the naturalization application was filed.
This updated USCIS policy guidance is now in effect and applies to all children’s U.S. citizenship applications pending or filed on or after July 18, 2024.
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