2.4.3 U.S. Citizenship for Foreign-Born Children

Some foreign-born children, including adopted children, residing permanently in the United States acquire U.S. citizenship automatically if at least one custodial parent is a citizen. To be eligible, a child must meet the following requirements:

1. Have at least one U.S. citizen parent (by birth or naturalization);
2. Be under 18 years of age;
3. Be currently residing permanently in the U.S. in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent;
4. Be a lawful permanent resident; and
5. If the child is the adoptive child of the U.S. citizen parent, the child must also meet the requirements applicable to adopted children under the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)Immigration and Nationality Act (INA)- The basic body of immigration law in the United States, which was created in 1952 and has been amended many times. The INA is a free-standing law, but is also contained in the U.S. Code., Section 101(b)(1).

Proof of citizenship verification is not automatically issued to children who acquire derivative citizenshipCitizenship conveyed to children through the naturalization of parents or, under certain circumstances, to foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizen parents, provided certain conditions are met.. A parent may apply for a United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)The federal agency that oversees lawful immigration of foreign nationals who are temporarily or permanently settling in the U.S. See also INS. certificate of citizenship for the child or a passport for their child. If the parent does not present one of these documents for a child and there is no documentation issued by the USCIS proving citizenship status, the FEPFEPFinancial and Employment Planner can make a determination of derivative citizenship by verifying at least three requirements listed above. However, FEPs should encourage parents to obtain official documentation to avoid future citizen verification problems for the child.