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U.S. Citizenship is defined as:

A U.S. citizen is a person born in any of the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and Swain's Island. It also includes individuals who are naturalized.

A child born outside the United States to a person that is a United States citizen is considered to be a U.S. citizen.

Child Citizenship Act – Automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship for certain non-citizen children. A non-citizen child automatically acquires U.S. citizenship on the date, no earlier than February 27, 2001, that the following criteria is met simultaneously:

The parent of the non-citizen child is a U.S. citizen by birth or naturalization.; and

The non-citizen child is under 18 years of age and is a legal permanent resident non-citizen; and

The non-citizen child is in the custody of the U.S. citizen parent.

An adopted non-citizen child, in addition to the above conditions, must have also lived for at least two years under the legal custody of the U.S. citizen parent.

Certificates of Citizenship are not automatically issued by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) for those born under the Child Citizenship Act. Proof of citizenship is determined by the documents that establish the parent’s U.S. citizenship, the age of the child, the child’s status as a legal permanent resident non-citizen, the child’s custody if the child’s parents are separated or divorced, and for an adopted non-citizen child, the FINAL adoption papers.