Originally Posted By RoadTrip OOPS... color me embarrassed. I copied the wrong portion. Here is what does apply to Obama, and #4 is still the hangup. Really makes no difference since Obama was born in Hawaii, but we can't fall back on the "his mother was an American" thing. <<Different rules apply for persons born abroad to one U.S. citizen before November 14, 1986. United States law on this subject changed multiple times throughout the twentieth century, and the law is applicable as it existed at the time of the individual's birth. For persons born between December 24, 1952 and November 14, 1986, a person is a U.S. citizen if all of the following are true (except if born out-of-wedlock)[7]: 1. The person's parents were married at the time of birth 2. One of the person's parents was a U.S. citizen when the person was born 3. The citizen parent lived at least ten years in the United States before the child's birth; 4. A minimum of 5 of these 10 years in the United States were after the citizen parent's 14th birthday.>>
Originally Posted By hopemax No, the "issue" is that she was only 18 when Obama was born. 18 - 14 is only 4 years; not meeting the minimum of 5.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 By that logic, no child born to a mother 18 or younger would be a citizen.
Originally Posted By Longhorn12 >By that logic, no child born to a mother 18 or younger would be a citizen< /sigh Reread it. >Different rules apply for persons born abroad to one U.S. citizen < IF he was born OUTSIDE the United States before his mother was 18 he wouldn't count because she wouldn't meet the year requirement.
Originally Posted By RoadTrip As I've said... I think the birthers are idiots. I'm just pointing out that the "his mother was an American" thing doesn't hold water in this instance.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 "IF he was born OUTSIDE the United States before his mother was 18 he wouldn't count because she wouldn't meet the year requirement." Ah, okay. Still doesn't make sense--clearly the rules are meant to apply to mothers who lived abroad for a relatively large portion of their lives, not someone who had always been in the US but happened to be 18 or younger and just gave birth overseas, but I guess if you read it really literally... There you have it. Birther gold.
Originally Posted By Longhorn12 >I guess if you read it really literally< Yup TECHNICALLY CORRECT the Bureaucratic "best kind" of correct
Originally Posted By Dabob2 So... quite apart from the birther nonsense. Does this mean that when a 17 or 18 year old life-long American citizen gets pregnant (and if she's married, which a bunch of my rural cousins were by 18), if she happens to be overseas when the kid is born... the kid is NOT an American citizen? That's what that law would mean, then.
Originally Posted By ecdc >>which a bunch of my rural cousins were by 18), if she happens to be overseas when the kid is born<< That's different. They would have names like "Joy" and "Billie Bob," nothing foreign sounding. We all know rural is "true" American.
Originally Posted By ecdc In all seriousness, that is very strange if that is the law. I don't understand how that could be.
Originally Posted By hopemax > Does this mean that when a 17 or 18 year old life-long American citizen gets pregnant (and if she's married, which a bunch of my rural cousins were by 18), if she happens to be overseas when the kid is born... the kid is NOT an American citizen? That's what that law would mean, then. < If both parents are citizens, than it's not an issue...child is a citizen. However, since Obama Sr was not a citizen, then we delve into the nuances of the law. Also, had his parents not been married then it wouldn't be an issue because Title 8 U.S.C. ยง 1409 paragraph (c) provides that children born abroad after December 24, 1952 to unmarried American mothers are U.S. citizens, as long as the mother has lived in the U.S. for a continuous period of at least one year at any time prior to the birth. And the law has changed since Obama was born. Now the requirement is what Road Trip originally posted. 2 years after age 14.
Originally Posted By Dabob2 So then any kid born to younger-than-19 year old American mother (in those years) married to a NON-citizen and born abroad is not a US citizen? Even that doesn't seem right. The law looks intended to disqualify people who have mostly lived overseas, not people who lived here all their lives, but can't have lived here 5 years after the age of 14 because they haven't lived ANYWHERE for 5 years after the age of 14! To quote a venerable source: the law is an ass. (And they meant "donkey," mods! I'm quoting Dickens here!)
