There are essentially four ways for a child of a U.S. citizen born outside the U.S. to acquire U.S. citizenship from their father or mother. In these cases, the child’s year of birth, whether born in or out of wedlock, whether the U.S. parent had citizenship at the time of birth, how many years the U.S. parent lived in the U.S. and at what age, and whether the U.S. parent intends to immigrate to the U.S. soon with their family, among other factors, are especially important.

Specifically, for a child of a U.S. citizen to acquire U.S. citizenship, the following options exist:

• Obtaining US citizenship at birth. If the child was born during marriage on or after November 14, 1986 to a US parent who has resided in the US for five years or more prior to the child’s birth (at least two years after the US parent turned 14), then the child is automatically a US citizen by act of law, from the moment of birth. Even if the child never was officially recorded as a US citizen, the child is a US citizen and can apply for a US passport at any time in the future. The exact requirements vary in cases of children born before November 14, 1986, in cases of children born out of wedlock or to two US citizen parents.
• Obtaining citizenship through Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. In the case of a child residing abroad who has a parent or grandparent who is/was a US citizen and who was in the US in the past for five years or more, at least two of which after the parent/grandparent turned 14, the child can normally seek US citizenship through INA 322. The process needs to be completed before the child turns 18 and requires a short trip to the US, but there is no requirement that the child or his/her parents intend to immigrate to the United States now or at any point in the future.
• Obtaining US citizenship through Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. If a child immigrates to the US together with his/her US citizen parent and resides in the US in the legal and physical custody of his US parent prior to turning 18, then the child becomes a US citizen automatically, by act of law, under section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act. Notice that the child must immigrate to the US and be admitted as a lawful permanent resident for citizenship to be granted. Also note that the US parent and child must intend to reside in the US for citizenship to be granted and not merely to visit – if the parent and the child reside abroad, Section 322 is the appropriate section for obtaining citizenship and not Section 320.
• Obtaining US citizenship through the ordinary naturalization process. If the child is 18 years of age or older and has not yet obtained US citizenship, going through the regular naturalization process may be the only way to get citizenship. The child will need to reside in the US for five years as a permanent resident (green card holder) and then will be able to apply for US citizenship. To obtain a green card, the US parent must file a petition for the child – if the child is unmarried and under 21, the process for obtaining a green card is relatively fast and only lasts a few months. However, if the child is married and/or over 21, there may be a lengthy waiting time of many years before the child can lawfully immigrate to the United States and become a lawful permanent resident.