# US Citizenship Requirements For Child Born In The Philippines



## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> the U.S. citizen parent must demonstrate that they were physically present in the United States before the child’s birth


Meaning the child of a US Citizen parent who's never visited the US is ineligible for US citizenship, is that the intention of that rule? 

Interesting, I'm curious about the reasoning behind that.


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## M.C.A. (Feb 24, 2013)

Shadowman said:


> Meaning the child of a US Citizen parent who's never visited the US is ineligible for US citizenship, is that the intention of that rule?
> 
> Interesting, I'm curious about the reasoning behind that.


That appears to be one more burdensome document to add to the list of other documents but I would think that a US Drivers License would work for that or some other state or government issued ID besides the "US issued Passport" would work... gosh.... talk about the ridiculous redundancies or maybe I'm missing something.


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

M.C.A. said:


> I would think that a US Drivers License would work for that or some other state or government issued ID besides the "US issued Passport" would work... gosh.... talk about the ridiculous redundancies or maybe I'm missing something.


Apparently there's a lot more the embassy didn't include:



> "In order to transmit U.S. citizenship to a child, the U.S. citizen parent(s) must have been a U.S. citizen at the time of the child’s birth and *must have accrued sufficient physical presence in the U.S. to transmit citizenship. The physical presence requirements depend on the child’s date of birth and the marital status of the parents at the time of the child’s birth. * For your child to benefit from US citizenship at the time of birth, US nationality law requires that certain conditions must be met. The conditions have been modified by legislation over time."



For most here, meaning US fathers looking to transmit citizenship to their children in the Philippines, you'd have to prove you were in the US for 5 years, 2 years after age 14. So any diploma would work, etc

The interesting part for expats is that your children who are now US Citizens, must also travel to the US and live there for five years, 2 after age 14, in order for _their _children to become US Citizens. 

And in order to travel to and live together in the US as a family, you'd obviously have to be married to the mother and transmit US citizenship to her first. 

tl;dr Easy to get US citizenship for your kids, not so easy to get US citizenship for your grandkids lol


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## bidrod (Mar 31, 2015)

https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...ption-FAQs/child-citizenship-act-of-2000.html

Chuck


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

bidrod said:


> https://travel.state.gov/content/tr...ption-FAQs/child-citizenship-act-of-2000.html
> 
> Chuck


"If the child's U.S. citizen parent cannot meet the physical presence requirement, one of the child's U.S. citizen grandparents must meet it."

Well that changes everything.


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## pinecrest (Dec 19, 2020)

Correct, to an extent; however, if the US citizen child marries another US citizen spouse, then the resulting grandchild (born anywhere) is automatically a US citizen without either parent needing to provide proof of physical presence in the USA prior to the child's birth.



Shadowman said:


> Apparently there's a lot more the embassy didn't include:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## Lunkan (Aug 28, 2020)

Shadowman said:


> Meaning the child of a US Citizen parent who's never visited the US is ineligible for US citizenship, is that the intention of that rule?
> 
> Interesting, I'm curious about the reasoning behind that.


 What would it be other than a stupid unfair "reason" ? 

Compare: With only one of the parents being Swedish, I can register my child born in Phils and never left Phils. I haven't checked the details how to register it in Sweden, but I guess it's enough I show birth certificate with my name on it or marriage certificate from before the birth.
If I die before the children become 19yo, they get part of my retirement pay, if they are registered in Sweden as my children. E g if they are two the total will be a bit over half of my retirement pay.

(But I aim at building a business in Phils and teach wife and kids how to handle it, so they - and grandkids  - can live of it after I'm dead undepending of how old they are when I die, That's a big part of reason I start new business in Phils, instead of just retiring. An other part of reason is most say it will fail, I will lose my money, because I like "impossible" challenges


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

Lunkan said:


> What would it be other than a stupid unfair "reason" ?


Apparently if your US descendants never live in the US, they'll eventually lose US citizenship, it would be unreasonable if they didn't add that 'grandfather' option, extending it one generation.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

Holy Moly,talk about a nosebleed.....domudugu ang
ilongko


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

Lunkan said:


> What would it be other than a stupid unfair "reason" ?
> 
> Compare: With only one of the parents being Swedish, I can register my child born in Phils and never left Phils. I haven't checked the details how to register it in Sweden, but I guess it's enough I show birth certificate with my name on it or marriage certificate from before the birth.
> If I die before the children become 19yo, they get part of my retirement pay, if they are registered in Sweden as my children. E g if they are two the total will be a bit over half of my retirement pay.
> ...


Its really good u like it


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

M.C.A. said:


> That appears to be one more burdensome document to add to the list of other documents but I would think that a US Drivers License would work for that or some other state or government issued ID besides the "US issued Passport" would work... gosh.... talk about the ridiculous redundancies or maybe I'm missing something.


There has always been similar clauses regarding this.....its use to be a child born in pinas had to spend at least 2 yrs in usa before 21 or lose citizenship......or similar. Relayed by my filam friend 89 yrs old who has citizenship..my son has been fulfilling


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

lefties43332 said:


> its use to be a child born in pinas had to spend at least 2 yrs in usa before 21 or lose citizenship......


Unless the parent (or grandparent) did, thankfully, because that would be _really _inconvenient and annoying for an expat.


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## lefties43332 (Oct 21, 2012)

my friend was sent by his retired marine dad to usa at 17,,afraid since he was half white the girls would corner him into making babies. Ever since he has been usa citizen living in philippines
happened all the time after ww2


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

Lunkan said:


> What would it be other than a stupid unfair "reason" ?
> 
> Compare: With only one of the parents being Swedish, I can register my child born in Phils and never left Phils. I haven't checked the details how to register it in Sweden, but I guess it's enough I show birth certificate with my name on it or marriage certificate from before the birth.
> If I die before the children become 19yo, they get part of my retirement pay, if they are registered in Sweden as my children. E g if they are two the total will be a bit over half of my retirement pay.
> ...


This topic is a jumble of misinformation. And you conclude from it, "stupid unfair reason".

Except possibly for the 5 year residency rule, the U.S. is the same as what you said in "Compare" above. My two daughters were born here in the Philippines. I applied for CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) and once approved, they were U.S. citizens and received their U.S. passports too. That is permanent and they never have to spend any time in the U.S. They can't lose their citizenship.

If they want to pass their U.S. citizenship to their children, they would also have to meet the 5 year residency requirement.

For most expats, the 5 year residency is a very minor requirement. How many expats do you know who did not live 5 years in their country of citizenship? I don't know any, and I would guess that 99+ % of U.S. citizens have spent at least 5 years in the U.S. and most grew up in the U.S. Also, I think the U.S. has some special allowances from members of the military.

Unfortunately, the U.S. has a lot of people trying to abuse the system, so some of the rules are put in to combat that.



bidrod said:


> FAQ: Child Citizenship Act of 2000
> 
> Chuck


That does not have much to do with this topic. Note: *The Act applies to children who did not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth. *

If you follow the normal rules that responsible parents follow, you get the child a CRBA soon after birth, like I did.


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

DonAndAbby said:


> My two daughters were born here in the Philippines. I applied for CRBA (Consular Report of Birth Abroad) and once approved, they were U.S. citizens and received their U.S. passports too. That is permanent and they never have to spend any time in the U.S. They can't lose their citizenship.
> 
> *If they want to pass their U.S. citizenship to their children, they would also have to meet the 5 year residency requirement.*


Thankfully wrong on that last part: "If the child's U.S. citizen parent cannot meet the physical presence requirement, one of the child's U.S. citizen grandparents must meet it."


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## DonAndAbby (Jan 7, 2013)

Shadowman said:


> Thankfully wrong on that last part: "If the child's U.S. citizen parent cannot meet the physical presence requirement, one of the child's U.S. citizen grandparents must meet it."


Yes, but I was not sure if that applies to my children's children, so I did not mention it. Hopefully it does but I have not read that specifically. E.g., scenario 1, if I did not have 5 year residency, my kids could have got their CRBA based on my parents residency. Scenario 2, I have the 5 years residency, my kids never get 5 years residency but are citizens. Can their kids use my residency? Not sure but probably.

Moot point for us as we are moving to the U.S. in 2022.

For accurate information on U.S. immigration, there is a fantastic forum. Not sure if I am allowed to post the name.


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## Shadowman (Apr 20, 2020)

DonAndAbby said:


> I have the 5 years residency, my kids never get 5 years residency but are citizens. Can their kids use my residency?


Yes: 



> If you and your child reside outside the United States, your child may apply for a certificate of citizenship through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) under Section 322 of INA 322 and take an oath of naturalization to complete the child's citizenship acquisition. To acquire U.S. citizenship under INA 322, you must demonstrate to USCIS your child meets certain requirements before age 18 which include:
> 
> Have at least one U.S. citizen parent by birth or naturalization
> Have a U.S. citizen parent who has been physically present in the United States for a total of at least five years, at least two of which are after age 14. *If the child's U.S. citizen parent cannot meet the physical presence requirement, one of the child's U.S. citizen grandparents must meet it. *




What isn't clear is if that also applies if the grandparent is deceased...


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