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I, a US citizen, married my wife, from EU country (not Britain), in the US. We live in the US while my wife finishes school (2-3 years) on an F1 visa and then plan to move to back to the EU. My wife will give birth to our child in the US, but I would like to not register my child as a US citizen.

US citizenship has a lot of benefits, but those come with added responsibility. I want that to be my child's choice.

Can I choose to not register my child as a US citizen? Can I register them with an 18yoa deadline for them to choose citizenship?

anon
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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Dale M Nov 27 '19 at 04:50
  • The only "registration" that would occur is getting a US birth certificate. Having a US birth certificate automagically makes one a US citizen. – MaxW Nov 27 '19 at 18:59
  • @MaxW Having a US birth certificate does not always make one a US citizen: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/the_americas/us-is-denying-passports-to-americans-along-the-border-throwing-their-citizenship-into-question/2018/08/29/1d630e84-a0da-11e8-a3dd-2a1991f075d5_story.html – Just a guy Nov 29 '19 at 20:37

3 Answers3

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Can I choose to not register my child as a US citizen?

No. Your child will be a US citizen regardless of whether you register anything, and (unless you have spent less than 5 years in the US, or less than 2 years after you turned 14) regardless of the place of birth, because (in that case) even if the child is born outside the US he or she will be a US citizen under 8 USC 1401(g).

Can I register them with an 18yoa deadline for them to choose citizenship?

No. Your child probably (depending on your wife's citizenship, and assuming birth in the US) will be a dual citizen from birth without the need or the ability to choose. On turning 18, the child will be able to renounce either citizenship, but will not be required to renounce US citizenship and will probably not be required to renounce the other citizenship either.

(I am not familiar with all EU countries' citizenship laws, so the law of that country might have a requirement to choose, but there is no such requirement in the countries whose laws I am familiar with. If the other country is the Netherlands, the child will risk losing Dutch citizenship on turning 28 unless he or she takes steps to avoid that or unless the law changes.)

As pointed out in a comment on Putvi's answer, if you successfully avoid letting the US know about your child's birth, you would be in the awkward position of needing to get a visa for the child if you ever want the child to leave and reenter the country. Otherwise, the child would be an illegal alien in the eyes of the US (this assumes you've managed to hide the child's place of birth). There is no process available to get visas in the US for (non-diplomatic) children born in the US, of course, because such children are citizens of the US.

phoog
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  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Dale M Nov 27 '19 at 04:51
  • In that Dutch citizenship example, are you referring to getting a new Dutch passport in time as taking steps to avoid losing Dutch citizenship? – JJJ Nov 27 '19 at 07:15
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    @JJJ that's one way for a dual national to avoid losing Dutch citizenship. There are others. – phoog Nov 27 '19 at 07:43
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    I would also point out for the OP's knowledge how problematic a system that would be that required parent's proaction to "register" someone as a citizen. Think about the problems that could be caused if citizenship wasn't automatic, if your parents (a) just didn't understand; (b) had malicious intent; leaving you stateless. – Azor Ahai -him- Nov 27 '19 at 15:01
  • @AzorAhai indeed, though there are situations where registration may be required (often in cases of citizenship by descent for someone born abroad) or a lack of understanding can lead to automatic and irrevocable loss of rights, though not usually statelessness (Dutch nationality law, for example). – phoog Nov 27 '19 at 15:06
  • Some countries which don't allow dual citizenship make an exception because US citizenship is such a PitA to renounce. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Nov 27 '19 at 15:48
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    @AzorAhai ...how problematic a system that would be that required parent's proaction to "register" someone as a citizen. I know how problematic such a system would be. In the UK, children born here and who have lived here for 10 years since their birth but have non-British parents/parents who didn't have a permanent right to reside at the time of the birth have a legal right to register as British. All they need to do is apply and pay the fee... the £1012 fee! Recent post: https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/nov/26/high-fee-removes-childrens-right-to-uk-citizenship-court-hears – kiradotee Nov 27 '19 at 16:56
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    @kiradotee even if they are otherwise stateless, I suppose (though I doubt many such children actually are stateless). – phoog Nov 27 '19 at 17:33
  • @AzorAhai, Off-topic side note: In the UK, if a child is born and never is registered as a citizen of another country, and spends the entirety of the first five years of their life in the UK, they can be registered as a citizen. It's a surprisingly little-utilized bit of immigration law that I've only seen exercised a few times. It was spawned out of the UK's support for the Convention of the Reduction of Statelessness. – ouflak Nov 28 '19 at 15:03
  • @phoog, I still think your answer is inaccurate as stated. There is no requirement that a child be 'registered'. Parents can choose not to file a birth certificate and there is no other documentation that is required of the parents. U.S. citizenship will be conferred automatically nonetheless. The way you have answered this is giving a false impression. – ouflak Nov 28 '19 at 15:07
  • @ouflak do I say there's a requirement that the child be registered? There's no question that the child is a US citizen as a matter of law, but if the birth is concealed from US authorities, the child could live as if he or she was not a US citizen. – phoog Nov 28 '19 at 17:20
  • @phoog, It's only the wording. I know exactly what you mean but the OP's question is, "Can I choose to not register my child as a US citizen?" The answer is 'Yes'. Not 'No'. They can conceal whatever they like from authorities. But, as you state well in your answer, that changes nothing. – ouflak Nov 28 '19 at 17:39
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    @ouflak I answer "no" because there is no choice. There is no US citizenship registry for natural-born US citizens, so it is not possible to choose whether to register. Citizenship is conferred automatically by the circumstances of birth, so it is not possible to choose whether the child will be a citizen. The only option, as impractical as it is, is subterfuge. I do not understand why you would answer "yes"; can you elaborate? – phoog Nov 28 '19 at 17:44
  • @phoog, Only because of the OP's question, "Can I choose to not register my child as a US citizen?" That's the only reason I would say 'Yes'. They can arrange for the situation where there is never a birth certificate. As you state, no other type of registration is required. So sure, they can choose that path if they like, having a child with no paperwork behind them whatsoever (hence the 'yes'). But it makes no difference. I would only say 'No' if there was an absolute legal requirement for the parents to get a birth certificate or undergo some other type of registration. Then, no choice. – ouflak Nov 28 '19 at 17:49
  • @outflak You are right: Parents can "arrange for a situation where there is never a birth certificate." But you are wrong to say parents can do so legally. To avoid getting a birth certificate, parents must break the law. In the (now hidden) discussion, I cited a statute legally requiring someone to make sure every child got a birth certificate. If nobody else files or reports the birth, the parents are required to report the birth so it can be registered. If they do not report the birth, they can be fined, imprisoned, or compelled to report it. Why do you pretend otherwise? – Just a guy Nov 29 '19 at 18:42
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You don't really register if you are born here. If you are born in the U.S. you are a citizen.

Putvi
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US citizenship is automatic. Documentation is also automatic if you birth inside the system.

Birthing outside the system in order to not create documents won't work. You won't be allowed to travel without documents. So there would be no way to transport the child elsewhere in order to coin citizenship there, except in the mother's womb. And even that would not prevent automatic US citizenship if a parent is an active US citizen.

Harper - Reinstate Monica
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  • It amuses me that even if you're a dual citizen by birth and choose to conceal that fact from the US. When you apply for a US visa using non-US passport and they see your place of birth being the US ... well, hello US citizenship ha! – kiradotee Nov 28 '19 at 13:08
  • Who says the parents want to travel? They will however at some point presumably want the child to attend school (if they don't home-school), put the child on an insurance plan (if they can afford it), or do any of the many other things that will require a birth certificate at some point. – ouflak Nov 28 '19 at 15:11
  • "You won't be allowed to travel without documents": the child could get documents from the other country of citizenship, although most countries will want to see the US birth certificate. It might be possible to get around that requirement in some countries, though. It's a supremely bad idea, of course, since it would surely create more hardship for the child than US citizenship would. – phoog Nov 28 '19 at 17:47
  • @ouflak the question says that. My answer must be in the context of the question. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Nov 28 '19 at 17:49
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    @Harper-ReinstateMonica, I see that now. Like your user name. – ouflak Nov 28 '19 at 17:50
  • @phoog how would that work mechanically? Would the family appear at the other nation's consulate, baby in hand, do they do a DNA check or something? The European and North American nations seem very concerned about child trafficking, I would expect they would insist on the normal documentation in a developed country capable of same. – Harper - Reinstate Monica Nov 28 '19 at 18:04
  • @Harper-ReinstateMonica I certainly don't know. I do recall reading about someone whose Italian(?) passport gave the family's ancestral home as the place of birth rather than the actual foreign place of birth. Perhaps one parent is from a country that does or will do that, and will accept some sort of affidavit from a midwife (or indeed a DNA test) in lieu of a birth certificate. I don't suppose it's likely that any EU country would accept that, but I don't know enough to say that no EU country would. – phoog Nov 28 '19 at 18:34