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Original Date Announced
April 18, 2018USCIS updates policy to implement *Sessions v. Morales Santana* ruling to clarify that the same physical presence requirement applies to a child born out of wedlock outside of the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent regardless of the gender of the U.S. citizen parent (applying the more stringent standard applicable to fathers) and further clarifies the requirements of INA 309. [ID #618]
USCIS Policy Alert 2018-01Effective Date
April 18, 2018Current Status
Fully in EffectOriginal Trump Policy Status
Status: Final/ActualTrump Administration Action: Agency DirectiveSubject Matter: CitizenshipAgencies Affected: USCIS Bureau of Consular AffairsPre Trump-Era Policies
- October 25, 1994 Prior to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in *Sessions v. Morales-Santana*, the INA's physical presence requirements for children born out of wedlock were different for a child acquiring citizenship through a U.S. citizen mother than for those acquiring through U.S. citizen father. An unwed U.S. citizen mother could transmit citizenship to her child if the mother was physically present in the United States for 1 continuous year prior to the child's birth. An unwed U.S. citizen father, by contrast, was held to the longer physical presence requirement of 5 years (at least 2 years of which were after age 14) in the United States or one of its outlying possessions. 8 U.S.C.A. 1401