Do You Qualify for U.S. Citizenship Through Birthright?

Attorney Answer

If you were born in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction, you are a U.S. citizen at birth under both the Constitution and federal statute — and the Supreme Court has now confirmed that this includes children born here to parents who were unlawfully or only temporarily present — but anything other than a straightforward birth situation still needs individual review.

The Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause provides that all persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1. Federal statute codifies the same rule: under 8 U.S.C. § 1401(a), a person born in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, is a national and citizen of the United States at birth.

For the ordinary case — someone born on U.S. soil to parents who were not, for example, accredited foreign diplomats — citizenship at birth is long settled. The question that had been contested is now answered. In Trump v. Barbara, 609 U.S. ___ (2026) (No. 25-365, decided June 30, 2026) (slip op.), the Supreme Court of the United States held that children born in this country to parents unlawfully or temporarily present are subject to the jurisdiction of the United States and are citizens at birth under the Citizenship Clause, and it affirmed a classwide preliminary injunction barring enforcement of Executive Order No. 14160, which had sought to deny them citizenship. As a decision of the Supreme Court, it binds every federal and state court. Two caveats on how far it goes: the judgment affirmed a preliminary injunction rather than entering a final judgment invalidating the executive order, and the opinion is a slip opinion still subject to formal revision before publication, so the exact wording may be adjusted. If your own birth circumstances are anything other than the straightforward case, get them reviewed individually rather than relying on general information.

What you can do

1. Gather your birth certificate and any other documentation of where you were born. 2. Determine your parents' immigration status at the time of your birth, since that is the fact the Supreme Court's 2026 decision turned on and it can still shape how you document your claim. 3. Apply for proof of citizenship, such as a U.S. passport, which is usually the most practical way to establish status. 4. If you were born outside the United States, note that a different set of rules on citizenship through parents applies, not the birthright rule described here. 5. Consult an immigration attorney to evaluate your specific circumstances against the current state of the law.