It depends.
Here's the rule regarding US Citizenship:
General Rule
The English common law rule, under which a person's citizenship was
determined by the place of his birth, was known as jus soli. The
United States generally follows this rule. Authority for this rule is
found in the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, which
states that: "All persons born or naturalized in the United States,
and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United
States and of the State wherein they reside." The Supreme Court
endorsed the universality of this rule in U.S. v. Wong Kim Ark 169
U.S. 649, 18 S. Ct. 4561142 L. Ed. 890 (1898). The constitutional rule
of jus soli has been construed generously and almost always has
endowed all persons born in the United States with United States
citizenship.
The Fourteenth Amendment does not define the "United States". However,
the Fourteenth Amendment clearly includes all fifty states and the
District of Columbia. The jus soli rule was repeated in the
Nationality Act of 1940. The statute also defined the United States as
including "the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico,
and the Virgin Islands of the United States." The statute therefore
expanded the applicability of the jus soli rule to Puerto Rico and the
Virgin Islands. The Act of 1952 included Guam within its definition of
the United States. Also, the Northern Mariana Islands, a segment of
the former UN Trusteeship, thereafter elected to become a
self-governing Commonwealth of the United States, and a Covenant of
Political Union gave American citizenship to the indigenous
inhabitants of the Marianas.
These territorial areas traditionally included "the ports, harbors,
bays and other enclosed areas of the sea along its coast and a
marginal belt of the sea extending from the coast line outward a
marine league, or three geographic miles." However, that rule was
changed by a Presidential Proclamation in 1988 which defined the
territorial sea of the United States as extending twelve nautical
miles from the baselines of the United States as determined in
accordance with international law.
A person born on a foreign vessel lying in U.S. port or sailing in the
territorial sea of the United States acquires United States
citizenship at birth. Howver, U.S. citizenship is not conferred upon a
child was born to alien parents on a vessel bound for the United
States which had not yet reached the twelve nautical mile limit.
Similarly, a child born on a plane in the United States or flying over
its territory would acquire United States citizenship at birth.
However, the citizenship of the child is not affected by the
nationality or registry of the vessel. Birth on U.S. vessel outside
the territorial jurisdiction of the United States does not confer U.S.
citizenship upon the child of alien parents.
U.S. installations located in foreign countries are not regarded as
part of the United States for the purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment
and the related statutes. A child born in the U.S. Naval Station or a
U.S. embassy or consulate in a foreign country would not acquire
United States citizenship at birth.
In almost all cases, the constitutional rule of universal citizenship
for all persons born in the United States is unaffected by the status
of their parents. U.S. citizenship may be acquired by children born in
the United States, even if their parents are illegal aliens at the
time the child was born.
The immigration statute has provided for a presumption of native birth
for children of unknown parentage found in the United States since
January 13, 1941 when the Nationality Act of 1940 was enacted. The Act
of 1952 replaced this presumption with a similar provision when it was
enacted on December 24, 1952. The Nationality Act of 1940 Act did not
specify the age at which the "child" must have been "found" or the
duration of the presumption. The Act of 1952 now presumes the
citizenship of a child whose parentage is unknown if the child is
found in the United States after December 23, 1952 while under the age
of 5 years, unless such person's birth outside the United States is
shown before he attains the age of 21. In the absence of such a
showing the child is conclusively presumed to be a citizen of the
United States.
Exceptions to the General Rule
Foreign Sovereigns, Foreign Diplomats and their Families
The general rule does not apply to foreign sovereigns, accredited
foreign diplomats or their families since under International law they
are not subject to the law of the foreign country which has received
them. Accordingly, children born in the United States to such
individuals are not entitled to United States citizenship. However,
these children may be eligible for lawful permanent residence. The INS
position is that such a birth in the United States creates only
eligibility for permanent resident status, and that such status is
abandoned if the children return to their native country. Such
children may apply for the creation of a record of lawful permanent
residence.
Foreign sovereigns are deemed to include only heads of a foreign state
on an official visit to this country; they do not include those who
are not visiting this country in their official capacity as heads of
their government. Accredited diplomatic officials are only those with
recognized diplomatic status and immunity, and include ambassadors,
envoys extraordinary ministers planipotentiary, ministers resident,
commissioners, charges d'affaires, counselors, agents, secretaries of
embassies and legations, attachés, and other employees attached to the
staff of the embassy or legation, as well as members of the Delegation
of European Communities. The term also includes persons with
comparable diplomatic status and immunity who are accredited to the
United Nations or to the Organization of American States, and other
individuals who are accorded comparable diplomatic status.
Birth in Certain United States Possessions or Former Possessions
The general rule of jus soli is not universally applied to persons
born in United States possessions or former possessions including:
Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa and Swains Island,
Canal Zone, Philippine Islands, the former Trust Territories
(including Micronesia, The Marshall Islands, Palau, and the Northern
Marianas). Birth in these possessions or former possessions does not
guarantee U.S. citizenship in all cases.
Here are some more web sites to expound on jus soli: determination of
citizenship is sometimes complicated.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_soli
http://www.poleshiftprepare.com/born_bred.htm
http://foia.state.gov/masterdocs/07fam/07m1110.pdf
Also, searching google groups brought up some interesting cases on the
genealogy sites: case of a baby born at sea on a British ship to
Russian parents. He was granted British citizenship because his birth
was registered in Britain. In the days when travel by sea was common
and lengthy, births at sea were not unusual. |
