§1408 Nationals but Not Citizens of the United States at Birth

Summary

Unless section 1401 says something different, the law makes certain people U.S. nationals at birth but not U.S. citizens. A person born in a U.S. outlying possession on or after the date the United States formally acquired it is a national at birth. A person born abroad to two parents who are both U.S. nationals (but not citizens) is a national if the parents had lived in the United States or an outlying possession before the birth. A child under age 5 of unknown parents found in an outlying possession is treated as a national until it is shown, before the child turns 21, that they were not born there. A person born abroad to one alien parent and one national (but not citizen) parent is a national if, before the birth, the national parent was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for at least 7 years within any continuous 10-year period, provided the parent was not outside the United States or its outlying possessions for more than one continuous year during that time and at least 5 of those years were after the parent turned 14.