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Pathway

U.S. Citizenship by Birth

United States Citizenship
Pathway overview

At a glance

If you were born in a U.S. state or Washington, D.C., you are generally a U.S. citizen from birth. Your parents usually do not need to be citizens or permanent residents. A narrow exception applies to children of foreign diplomatic officers with full diplomatic immunity. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have separate rules, including important historical dates.

Birthplace
Most people born in a U.S. state or D.C., or in Puerto Rico or the U.S. Virgin Islands under their specific laws
Records needed
Birth records plus parents' status at the time
Proof of citizenship
A passport application can document citizenship; a separate citizenship certificate is not always needed

Summary

Birth in a U.S. state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands may establish U.S. citizenship without a visa application. Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands have separate statutory dates; earlier cases may have become citizens after birth. Agency restrictions published in September 2026 are subject to a classwide court injunction; unusual foreign-government, commercial-birth or territorial facts need individual review.

The main rule comes from the Fourteenth Amendment and 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a). Territorial births are covered by separate federal statutes. In June 2026, the Supreme Court held in Trump v. Barbara that Executive Order 14160 could not deny citizenship to U.S.-born children because their parents had unlawful or temporary immigration status. The ordinary birthright rule remains in effect. Cases involving foreign-government employees need the closer review described below.

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Eligibility

You are generally a U.S. citizen from birth if:

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1402, a person born in Puerto Rico on or after January 13, 1941, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction is a citizen at birth. A person born there from April 11, 1899, through January 12, 1941, may instead have become a citizen on January 13, 1941, if they met the statute's residence and other conditions. This guide covers both Puerto Rico periods. The earlier rule did not necessarily grant citizenship from birth.

Under 8 U.S.C. § 1406(b), a person born in the U.S. Virgin Islands on or after February 25, 1927, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction is a citizen at birth. Someone born there from January 17, 1917, through February 24, 1927, who met the jurisdiction condition became a citizen on February 25, 1927. This guide covers both periods. Births before January 17, 1917 need a separate review of the historical facts under § 1406(a).

Federal statutes also address people born in Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, but those territories have different dates and rules and are outside this guide's scope. Birth in American Samoa or Swains Island generally gives U.S. non-citizen national status, not U.S. citizenship, unless another citizenship rule applies.

A child born in the United States to a foreign diplomatic officer accredited to the United States may fall outside the general rule. The traditional exception turns on diplomatic status and immunity. A separate DHS rule published on 9 September 2026 addresses certain foreign-government employees’ children and states a 4 September effective date, but expressly limits how it can be applied because of the September 2 temporary court order covering the affected group in CASA, Inc. v. Trump. Foreign-government employment alone is not enough to decide a child's citizenship: check the rule's definitions, timing, class membership and current court orders. See the current restrictions and litigation briefing.

Check the place and date of birth
  1. Get the certified birth record Confirm the exact state or territory and date of birth.
  2. Check the citizenship rule that applies Territory births and older cases can fall under different laws and start dates.
  3. Review any exception before requesting documents Where relevant, check diplomatic status and current government or court requirements.

This process documents citizenship based on birth. It is not an application for a visa, green card, or naturalization.

Policy watch 1 development we’re tracking
Published restrictions are limited by a court injunction
Under judicial review

Published restrictions are limited by a court injunction

Current official stage: Agency materials published; 2 September 2026 classwide preliminary injunction limits implementation

The ordinary rule still covers most births in the 50 states and District of Columbia. Agency materials now address additional categories, including foreign-government employment, but DHS says it will not implement its rule against members of the protected class while the injunction applies. An unusual case needs the current rule, class definition and court orders before a citizenship conclusion is drawn.

Timing: The court issued its preliminary injunction on 2 September. DHS published its interim final rule on 9 September with an effective date of 4 September; a 16 September correction retained that date. The government sought relief from the injunction on 8 September. No later order lifting it was identified in the sources reviewed on 21 September 2026.

Last checked
References
Read the full briefing

What This Route Allows

This route helps recognize citizenship arising from birth in a U.S. state, Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico, or the U.S. Virgin Islands. For some historical territorial births, citizenship began in 1927 or 1941 rather than at birth. U.S. citizenship allows the person to live and work in the United States without immigration permission, apply for a U.S. passport, vote when otherwise eligible, and petition for qualifying relatives under the immigration laws.

Proof normally begins with a certified state or territorial birth certificate. The State Department explains acceptable primary and secondary evidence on its passport citizenship-evidence page.

What This Route Is Not

This is not a visa, green-card, or naturalization application. A birth certificate is evidence of the birth, but unusual diplomatic, territorial, adoption, or identity facts may require additional records.

Birth in a U.S. embassy, consulate, or ordinary U.S.-registered aircraft or ship outside U.S. territory is not, by itself, birth in the United States for this rule. Citizenship may instead come through a U.S. citizen parent.

Next Steps

  1. Obtain a certified long-form birth certificate from the state or territory where the birth occurred.
  2. If you were born in Puerto Rico before January 13, 1941, gather evidence of where you lived on that date. If you were born in the U.S. Virgin Islands before January 17, 1917, seek a review of the historical residence and nationality rules. For other U.S. territories, confirm the separate statute and effective dates before relying on a birth-based claim.
  3. If a parent held diplomatic or foreign-government employment status, or the case involves a commercial birth arrangement or another unusual fact, obtain the supporting records and check the current agency rules and injunction before relying on the general rule.
  4. Use the State Department's current passport instructions to apply for proof. A person who needs a USCIS citizenship document may also review Form N-600, but should not assume that an N-600 is required for a passport.

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Other routes in United States.

Sources