In 2017 the US Supreme Court heard the case of Sessions v. Morales-Santana. This case dealt with the issue of gender-based discrimination in the context of U.S. citizenship law. The case addressed whether the Immigration and Nationality Act’s (INA) provisions for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution.

The specific question was whether the INA’s differing requirements for a U.S. citizen parent to transmit citizenship to a child born abroad based on the parent’s gender were unconstitutional. Under the law, if a U.S. citizen father had a child abroad, the father had to meet a higher residency requirement than a U.S. citizen mother in order for the child to automatically acquire U.S. citizenship.

In Morales-Santana, the Supreme Court found that the gender-based disparity in these requirements was unconstitutional and did violate the Equal Protection Clause of the Constitution. The Court ruled that the law must provide equal treatment for both fathers and mothers in terms of the residency requirements necessary for a child born abroad to acquire U.S. citizenship. The decision required the government to apply the same residency requirements to both mothers and fathers, thus aligning with principles of gender equality under the Constitution.

In its newly released guidance and pursuant to the decision in Morales-Santana, USCIS clarifies how and when children may obtain US citizenship if they were born abroad through their US citizen parent or parents. Want to know more? Schedule a consultation with a CYA attorney!