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Originally Posted by AOII Angel
Which would also make Obama a birthright citizen since his mother was an American.
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Not necessarily. There are residency conditions the mother must meet in order to pass citizenship on to her child. I'm not saying this doesn't apply to Obama (I don't know much about his mother) I'm just pointing out that there are situations where U.S. citizen mothers CANNOT pass down citizenship.
Quote:
Originally Posted by MysticCat
Given the legal precedent, it actually is more complicated than that. McCain was born the Panama Canal Zone (although some say he was born at a hospital outside the Canal Zone). There is honest difference of legal opinion about whether one is a "natural-born citizen" within the meaning of the Constitution under those circumstances, even when born of American parents.
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It's only complicated because people want to make it that way.
The PCZ was a U.S. Territory at the time of McCain's birth, I could see the controversy if he was born on foreign soil but since he wasn't...
Pursuant to 8 USCS § 1401, the following persons can acquire citizenship by jus soli:
-A person born in the U.S., and subject to its jurisdiction.
-A person born in the U.S. as a member of an Indian, Eskimo, Aleutian, or other aboriginal tribe.
-A person of unknown parentage found in the U.S. while under the age of five year. The person can remain a U.S. citizen if it is not shown before s/he attains twenty five years that the person was not born in the U.S.
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A person born in an outlying possession of the U.S. (i.e., including Puerto Rico, the Panama Canal Zone, Panama, the Virgin Islands and Guam.) of parents, one of whom is a citizen of the U.S. who has been physically present in the United States or one of its outlying possessions for a continuous period of one year at any time prior to the birth of such person.
Not trying to be difficult here, I just don't understand why he wouldn't be eligible for the office of the presidency.