The Trump Administration said Wednesday that the Children of some U.S. Military Members and Government Employees Working overseas will No Longer Automatically be considered U.S. Citizens.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a Policy Rescinding previous Guidance stating that Children of U.S. Service Members and other Government Officials Abroad are considered “Residing in the United States Soil” and Automatically given Citizenship under a Section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
USCIS issued a Clarification to the Rule later, explaining that the New Rule would only affect Three Categories of People: Children of Non-U.S. Citizens Adopted by U.S. Citizen Government Employees or Service Members; Children of Non-U.S. Citizen Government Employees or Service Members who were Naturalized after the Child's Birth; and Children of U.S. Citizens who do Not meet Residency Requirements.
The Policy Guidance issued Wednesday stated that USCIS “no longer considers children of U.S. government employees and U.S. armed forces members residing outside the United States as ‘residing in the United States’ for purposes of Acquiring Citizenship under INA 320.”
The New Rule will Not apply to Children who acquire Citizenship at Birth or while Residing in the U.S., according to the Guidance. That includes Children Born Abroad to U.S. Citizens who have Resided in the U.S. at some Point in the Past Five years.
A Pentagon Spokeswoman said in a Statement that the Estimated Impact of the Change is "Small" but that the Defense Department is Working to provide further Clarity for Military Families. "DoD has been working closely with our colleagues as DHS/USCIS regarding recent policy changes and understands the estimated impact of this particular change is small. However, we are committed to ensuring affected families are provided the appropriate information, resources, and support during this transition," Pentagon Spokeswoman Lt. Col. Carla Gleason said.
The New Policy is aimed at Children seeking to acquire Citizenship through what is known as the Derivation Process, a Fast-Track to Citizenship for Children of U.S. Citizens. To Derive Citizenship, Children must Fulfill a Residency Requirement.
Under previous Regulations, Living in a Home Abroad with their U.S. Citizen Parents fulfilled that Requirement; the New Rule will Require that Residence to be on U.S. Soil.
These Children will now need to Apply for Citizenship under Section 322 of the INA, which considers them as Born and Residing Outside the U.S. That Provision Requires them to Apply for Naturalization, which must be Completed before the Child turns 18.
The New Policy will take Effect Oct. 29th, according to the USCIS Notice.
The Policy Change triggered a Backlash immediate from Democratic Lawmakers and Presidential Candidates.
“This move by the administration will make it harder for Americans serving our country overseas to have families,” wrote Rep. Val Demings (D-FL, 10th District). “This also appears to be an initial step towards ending birthright citizenship, something which the president has threatened to do—and which would be unconstitutional."
A USCIS Official said the Policy is being Updated "because it conflicts with the definition of 'residence' in the INA and also with INA 322(d), which was enacted in 2008 after this policy was instituted and refers to children who are residing abroad with members of the armed forces of the United States as 'residing outside of the United States.'"
"In addition, the current policy conflicts with the Department of State guidance. Having conflicting policies can lead to inconsistent decisions on citizenship claims by USCIS and the Department of State and can cause confusion as to the date children of U.S. service members and government employees stationed abroad become U.S. citizens," the Official added.
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