CITIZENSHIP AT BIRTH

Any person that is born in the territory of the U.S. is an American citizen.

However, a person can be a citizen at birth even when the person is born outside the U.S. if:

One of his/her parents was an American citizen (at birth or by naturalization) before he/she was born.
His/her American parent resided in the U.S. for certain years before he/she was born. Please contact us to inform you for how many years the American parent had to be residing in the U.S. Citizenship laws have changed and depending on the date of birth, different laws apply.

If one of your parents was a citizen when you were born, either at birth or by naturalization, please contact us. You could be a citizen at birth without knowing it.

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DERIVATIVE/AUTOMATIC CITIZENSHIP

Your child may be a citizen if:

You are a citizen (at birth or by naturalization)
Your child is a legal permanent resident
Your child is under 18 years of age
You have the legal and physical custody of your child

If you are over 18 years of age, but all the above conditions applied to you before your 18th birthday and you were under 18 on February 27, 2001, you may be a citizen.

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NATURALIZATION

In order to be eligible for naturalization, you need to meet the following requirements:

You must be a legal permanent resident for 5 years (3 years if married to an American Citizen)
You must be 18 years or older
You must have resided continuously in the U.S. from the date of filing the application. This means that you have not been absent from the U.S. for a continuous period of 6 months or more, unless special circumstances have occurred.
You must be a person of good moral character
You must be willing to bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law
You must demonstrate Knowledge of English Language, U.S. History and Government.

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