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Originally posted by Steve Miller:
Seems like an odd thing to worry about, no?

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Children born to US service members and government employees overseas will no longer be automatically considered citizens of the United States, according to policy alert issued by US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on Wednesday.

Previously, children born to US citizen parents were considered to be "residing in the United States," and therefore would be automatically given citizenship under Immigration and Nationality Act 320.

Now, children born to US service members and government employees, such as those born in US military hospitals or diplomatic facilities, will not be considered as residing in the US, changing the way that they potentially receive citizenship.

The change in policy was first reported by San Francisco Chronicle reporter Tal Kopan.

According to USCIS, previous legislation also explicitly said that spouses of service members who were living outside the US because of their spouses were considered residing in the US, but "that no similar provision was included for children of U.S. armed forces members in the acquisition of citizenship context is significant."

That is one of the reasons why USCIS has now decided that those children are not considered to be residing in the US, and therefore will not be automatically given citizenship. Instead, they will fall under INA 322, which considers them to be residing outside the US and requires them to apply for naturalization.

They will be allowed to complete all naturalization proceedings while living abroad, the new policy says.

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They will be allowed to complete all naturalization proceedings while living abroad, the new policy says

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But the policy announcement triggered widespread confusion about what it meant and who would be affected.

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such as those born in ... diplomatic facilities, will not be considered as residing in the US,