What are the requirements to transmit citizenship?
If the childs parents are both U.S. citizens, a foreign-born child would be a U.S. citizen if: • at least one of the parents resided in the United States or a U.S. possession prior to the child’s birth; and, • the child was born in wedlock. If one parent is not a U.S. citizen, the U.S. citizen parent must have lived in the United States for a specific period of time before the child was born to transmit citizenship. For children born on or after November 14, 1986, the U.S. citizen parent must have lived in the United States or an outlying possession for five years, of which two years had to be after the age of 14, prior to the birth of the child. For children born before that date, please consult our citizenship chart for the transmission requirements.
