Court Opinion

ID: 9811625
Source: CourtListenerOpinion
Date Created: 2023-08-31 22:26:17.492859+00
Date Added: 2024-06-11T15:20:35.122998
License: Public Domain

DAVID WELLINGTON CHEW, Justice,
concurring.
I agree with the analysis and result. But I write separately to make two points.
First, the acquisition of American citizenship at birth abroad has always been dependent upon the satisfaction of preliminary residence or physical presence in the United States by the transmitting United States citizen parent or parents. While it was the Appellant’s burden here to establish those necessary conditions precedent, I want to highlight that U.S. citizenship, if it is acquired, is acquired at birth, and not when the Department of Homeland Security or the Department of State approve the issuance of an official document that says he is a U.S. citizen.
Secondly, I want to note that Appellant might also have acquired U.S. citizenship as a child born abroad and out of wedlock, and the condition precedent is that the U.S. citizen mother was physically present in the United States for a continuous period of one year. 8 U.S.C.A. § 1409(c).