How can a child born abroad acquire U.S. Citizenship?
If only one parent is an American citizen and your child was born before November 14, 1986, the American parent must prove that he or she resided in the United States for a total of 10 years prior to the birth of the child, at least 5 of those years after the parent turned 14 years old. If your child was born after November 14, 1986, the American parent must prove a total of 5 years of physical presence in the United States prior to the birth of the child, at least 2 of those years after the parent turned 14. PLEASE NOTE: The burden of proof lies on the American citizen parent and not on officer who may adjudicate your case. You should make every effort to bring the required documents in order to obtain citizenship for your child. If you cannot meet the physical presence requirement or cannot obtain sufficient evidence that you were in the United States, you may wish consider an alternative of conferring citizenship to your child through your U.S. citizens parents for expedited natural
