Does a child get citizenship as soon as he is born on American soil? Indian parents should immediately clear all their doubts. Does a child get citizenship immediately upon birth on American soil? Indian parents should clear up all their doubts right away.

Does every child born in America get citizenship there, even if his parents are Indian citizens? This is a question that always lingers in the minds of millions of Indian expatriates who want to go abroad or live in America. Various types of things are often discussed on social media and internet regarding the rules related to American citizenship, due to which people get confused. Let us understand in very simple and straightforward terms what the US Constitution and the law there actually says on this subject.

Birthright Citizenship and the US Constitution

According to American law, if a child is born on American soil, he gets the legal right to acquire American citizenship as soon as he is born. This is called ‘Birthright Citizenship’. Under the 14th Amendment of the US Constitution, it has been provisioned that any child born within the jurisdiction of America, regardless of which country his parents are citizens of or their visa status, will be considered an American citizen by birth. This means that if Indian parents are in the US in any way, legal or illegal, and their child is born there, that child technically becomes entitled to US citizenship.

Does the visa status of parents have any effect on the child?

The biggest feature of this law is that it does not look at the citizenship of the parents or their legal-illegal status at the time of the child’s birth. If Indian parents have gone to America on H-1B visa, L-1 visa, student visa or even tourist visa and during that time a child is born there, then the child can easily get American passport and citizenship. However, one very important thing to be kept in mind here is that the child getting citizenship does not at all mean that his Indian parents will also get American citizenship or green card immediately. Parents are required to go through their normal immigration process as prescribed under US law.

What are the legal exceptions for diplomats and certain special cases?

As straightforward as the US birthright citizenship law may seem, it also contains some very specific exceptions that Indian immigrants should be aware of. According to international rules and US law, if an Indian citizen is posted in the US as a diplomat or embassy official of the Government of India and a child is born to him during this service period, then that child does not get US citizenship by birth. This is because diplomats are considered outside the full legal jurisdiction of the US government. Additionally, this rule also does not apply to children born on American soil occupied by foreign enemies.