In 2021, about 3.6 million babies were born in the United States. Just that act alone—being born in this country—gave those babies automatic U.S. citizenship, even if their parents were not U.S. citizens. Yet people not born in the United States can still obtain citizenship. It is, however, a more complicated process.
It’s Automatic
A child born outside the United States still is considered a citizen if at the time of birth:
✔ Both parents are U.S. citizens at least one parent lived in the United States before the child’s birth. For example, if a child was born in Argentina, but both parents were U.S. citizens when he was born and his mother lived in the United States before his birth, then the child is a U.S. citizen.
