Are you a citizen because your mother is a citizen?
There are three ways of becoming a citizen of the United States:
- By birth in the US,
- By obtaining a certificate of naturalization, or
- By acquiring automatic citizenship upon the occurrence of certain events.
Automatic acquisition of Citizenship is granted by the Immigration Services through the approval of an N-600 application. The law that governs automatic acquisition of citizenship changed in February 2001. In order to determine which law you fall under, you must first determine if you turned 18 before or after February 2001.
The old law, Section 321 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, applies to legal permanent residents that turned eighteen (18) years of age prior to February 2001.
If the legal permanent resident can prove the requirements of Section 321 of the Immigration & Nationality Act, then he/she automatically acquires United States Citizenship.
Section 321 of the Immigration and Nationality Act provides automatic United States citizenship to the following four groups of people who were residing in the United States as permanent residents prior to their 18th birthday:
- Legal residents whose biological parents were both naturalized United States Citizens prior to his/her 18th birthday.
- Legal residents who have one biological parent who is a naturalized United States Citizen and whose other biological parent died, all before his/her 18th birthday.
- Legal Residents who are residing and in custody of one of their biological parents who is a naturalized United States Citizen as a result of a divorce between his/her biological parents, all of which had to occur prior to his/her 18th birthday.
- Legal Resident who is residing and in custody of his/her naturalized United States Citizen mother where paternity for the biological father has not been established as a result of legitimating.
Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act covers automatic acquisition of citizenship after February 2001.
Section 322 is much more straightforward. Under 322, automatic acquisition of citizenship occurs, if you are a legal permanent resident residing in the United States under the age of 18 with a biological parent who is a naturalized United States Citizen.
Automatic acquisition of United States citizenship occurs immediately upon the happening of all of the events as described above. As long as you can prove one of the above sections of law applies to you, than you are automatically a United States Citizen. There is no test to take, and no background fingerprint checks to be done. It is especially important to lawful permanent residents who committed crimes that would otherwise make them deportable, absent a showing of automatic acquisition of United States Citizenship.