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by Kon-Peki 479 days ago
Foreign diplomatic personnel stationed in the US sometimes have babies while in the US. These children get the same birth certificates as any other child born in the US, but they are not citizens. Ergo, a birth certificate is not proof of citizenship.

I’d be willing to bet that >99.999% of people with US birth certificates are citizens, but it most certainly is not 100%.
2 comments
marssaxman 478 days ago
It works the other way, too; I know a guy whose parents were US diplomatic personnel stationed in Tehran at the time of his birth. His US passport says he's from Iran, which is technically true, though he's not Iranian and he's never held Iranian citizenship.
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Kon-Peki 478 days ago
In such cases, there is usually a “consular report of a birth abroad” that the embassy sends to Washington and the parents get a copy of. Military servicemembers also frequently get this. It’s not required to be done by any means and it is not a birth certificate though it can usually be used in place of one.

But! I think it may be the only document issued about a birth that is proof of US citizenship. And, paradoxically, is not available to people born inside the US.

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sympil 478 days ago
I got my certificate of citizenship a few days after birth. I believe anyone can get this but almost no one has heard of this.
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sympil 478 days ago
The person I responded to thinks a birth certificate is sufficient to prove citizenship. My birth certificate can not be used to establish citizenship even though it was issued by the U.S. government and I’m a natural born U.S. citizen.
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