Equal Citizenship for Children Act of 2023

To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide for the automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain children born outside the United States to a parent who is or becomes a United States citizen, and for other purposes. 1. Short title This Act may be cited as the Equal Citizenship for Children Act of 2023 2. Automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain children born outside the united states Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1431 (1) in subsection (a)— (A) in the matter preceding paragraph (1), by striking all of the following conditions each of the following applicable conditions (B) by amending paragraph (2) to read as follows: (2) If the parent is a naturalized citizen, the child is under the age of eighteen years at the time of the parent’s naturalization. ; and (C) in paragraph (3)— (i) by striking The child is residing While under the age of eighteen, the child resides (ii) by striking legal and physical custody legal custody (iii) by inserting before the period at the end the following: , or a pending application to adjust status to lawful permanent resident (2) by adding at the end the following: (e) Definition For purposes of this section, the term child (f) Clarifications Any provision of law (including section 301(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (as in effect before October 10, 1978), and the provisos of section 201(g) of the Nationality Act of 1940) that provide for a person’s loss of citizenship if the person failed to come to, or reside or be physically present in, the United States shall not apply in the case of a person claiming United States citizenship based on such person’s descent from an individual described in this section. Any provision of law (including sections 301 and 309 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and the provisos of 201(g) and 205 the Nationality Act of 1940) that require the citizen parent to reside in the United States for a number of years shall be deemed satisfied by subsection (a)(3). (g) Retroactive application This section, as amended by the Equal Citizenship for Children Act of 2023 shall be applied to persons born after noon (Eastern Standard Time), January 9, 1941, as though this section, as amended, had been in effect on the date of their birth, except that the retroactive application described in this subsection shall not affect the validity of citizenship of anyone who has obtained citizenship under any other provision of law. . 3. Children born and residing outside the united states Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ( 8 U.S.C. 1433 (e) Definition For purposes of this section, the term child .

Summary: Equal Citizenship for Children Act of 2023 This bill expands the application of automatic acquisition of citizenship for certain children born outside of the United States. Specifically, the bill provides citizenship retroactively to such a child who, while under the age of 18, (1) resided in the United States as a lawful permanent resident (or had a pending application for such status), and (2) was in the legal custody of the child's citizen parent. It also eliminates the physical custody requirement for the automatic acquisition of citizenship. The bill applies to a child meeting these requirements who was born after noon on January 9, 1941, but who turned 18 prior to February 27, 2001 (the effective date of the Child Citizenship Act of 2000).