realist wrote:
Quote:
For birth between December 24, 1952 and November 13, 1986, a period of ten years, five after the age of fourteen, is required for physical presence in the United States or one of its outlying possessions to transmit U.S. citizenship to the child.)
Which is exactly what has been stated here by many. She certainly met the ten-year requirement, but at the time of Obama's birth (assuming foreign birth in Kenya) she would not have met the 5 years after age 14 requirement to confer citizenship.
I think what Lola is saying is that US Immigration authorities have been
interpreting the statute as applying only to the offspring of parents who are actually
residents of the foreign countries, not those who are US residents traveling abroad, even if they are very young US residents.
There would not be
case law unless someone challenged that practice in court, and if that was the standard practice of the US authorities over the years... it is unlikely that anyone would have challenged it. However, it may be reflected in administrative
regulations as opposed to the statute. (You would begin by looking at the CFR rather than USCA).
That would be a legal interpretation that seems inconsistent with the explicit wording of the statute, but it may be very consistent with legislative intent. So I think that it is very likely that Lola is correct -- the children of youthful American-born mothers who happen to be born abroad while the US-resident mother is traveling would probably be deemed to be citizens. This might also be reflected in the language of forms filled out by the parents in seeking a Consular Report of Birth Abroad - for example, the 5-year rule might only come into place if the parent lists a non-US address as their current residential address.