If you hold U.S. status but weren't born a citizen in the U.S. or abroad to citizen parents, you fall into one of three categories. Most citizens belong to the larger group born with citizenship, which follows different rules.
The Attorney General has the sole authority to grant citizenship through naturalization, which is exercised through USCIS. There is no automatic route into this category. Every naturalized citizen filed an application and was approved.
To be eligible, you need five years as a lawful permanent resident, with at least half that time physically present in the United States, plus three months of residence in the state where you file.
You must also be a person of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States. Shorter routes exist for some spouses and military members, which we explain in the Form N-400 guide and processing time.
Derived citizenship happens automatically by law as soon as you meet the requirements. However, proving you have it is not automatic, and that's usually where people get confused.
Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000, a child born outside the United States automatically becomes a citizen when at least one parent is a U.S. citizen, the child is under 18, and the child is living in the United States in that parent’s legal and physical custody as a lawful permanent resident.
The same rule applies to an adopted child who meets the Act’s adoption requirements. You do not file a form for this. The child becomes a citizen. What changes is proof: a Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600) or a U.S. passport documents a status the child already holds; it does not create one.
Even if the certificate is later cancelled because it was issued in error, it affects only the paper, not the person’s actual citizenship.
If a child lives abroad, they won't qualify automatically. Instead, they can use Form N-600K. A U.S. citizen parent can apply on their behalf, or, if the parent has passed away, a citizen grandparent or legal guardian can apply in certain situations.
Every citizen is a national. But not every national is a citizen. The statute defines a national of the United States as;
This applies almost entirely to people born in American Samoa or Swains Island, the only two places the law still classifies as “outlying possessions of the United States.”
Once granted, a naturalized citizen holds the same rights as anyone born a citizen. But they cannot become the President or Vice President. Under Article II of the Constitution, those roles are strictly reserved for natural-born citizens. Naturalized citizens can still vote, run for almost any other federal office, and pass citizenship to their children.
Once you have U.S. citizenship, naturalized and derived citizens enjoy almost all the exact same rights. There’s really only one major exception: the White House.
Under the Constitution, the presidency and vice presidency are reserved for natural-born citizens. Because derived citizenship happens automatically by law rather than through a formal naturalization process, derived citizens are considered natural-born and can run for those offices. Naturalized citizens cannot.
Aside from that, the main difference comes down to paperwork and timing. Naturalized citizens get their proof (a Certificate of Naturalization) as soon as they complete the process. Derived citizens, on the other hand, automatically gain citizenship the moment they qualify, even if they go years without applying for a passport or Certificate of Citizenship to prove it.
Not while they remain a citizen. Deportation, or "removal" applies only to noncitizens. Under 8 U.S.C. 1227(a), "any alien... shall, upon the order of the Attorney General, be removed" if they fall into a deportable category. A citizen is not an alien, so the removal grounds never reach one.
What can happen instead is denaturalization. A federal court can revoke a naturalized citizen's status if a U.S. Attorney proves, in a civil suit, that the naturalization order was illegally procured. Only a federal court can revoke a naturalized citizen’s status, not an immigration officer.
A non-citizen national’s passport looks similar to a citizen’s, with one difference: it carries an endorsement stating the holder’s status as a national, not a citizen, of the United States.
The State Department issues this upon request, along with a separate Certificate of Non-Citizen Nationality for anyone who wants documentary proof without a passport application.
A national owes allegiance to the United States and can enter and work in the country freely, but does not hold the specific bundle of rights attached to citizenship.
Voting in federal elections is the clearest example. Registration in every state requires attesting to U.S. citizenship, so in practice a national who has not naturalized cannot register.
This status is pretty rare outside of American Samoa. Territories like Guam, the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and The Virgin Islands used to have this non-citizen national category too, but Congress eventually passed laws to grant them citizenship.
American Samoa is really the only place where that historical setup never changed, which is why it’s usually the main example when talking about U.S. nationals today.
Children don't need a separate application or line to wait in; their timeline moves directly alongside yours. Choosing the right visa category and moving your case forward as quickly as possible is what sets the clock for your whole family.
Whether you're a founder, engineer, researcher, or executive evaluating options like the O-1, EB-2 NIW, or EB-1A, timing is often the deciding factor. For founders, engineers, researchers, and executives weighing O-1, EB-2 NIW, or EB-1A, timing matters.
Request a case assessment, and our team will review your profile to map out the clearest path and timeline for you and your family.
A naturalized citizen applied for citizenship as an adult and was approved by USCIS. A derived citizen became a citizen automatically, almost always as a child, when a parent’s status met specific conditions.
No, every citizen is a national, but a small group holds national status without citizenship. Today, that applies almost entirely to people born in American Samoa or Swains Island.
No, the Constitution reserves the presidency and vice presidency for a natural-born citizen. A naturalized citizen can hold nearly every other federal office, but not those two.
Derived citizenship applies automatically the moment the conditions are met, but proving it is a separate step. Most parents document it with a U.S. passport or a Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600) when the child needs to show proof.
In practice, no. Voter registration in every state requires attesting to U.S. citizenship specifically, which a non-citizen national does not hold.
Sophia is an experienced writer with over six years of experience researching and producing clear, authoritative content across legal, immigration, and highly regulated industries. Her background spans legal and immigration content, B2B SaaS, and multilingual content strategy, including producing legally accurate content across markets like the UK, UAE, Canada, France, and Germany. At Beyond Border, she leads editorial strategy across O-1, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, L-1, and H-1B visa content, combining search-data-driven planning with clear, accurate writing to help global professionals navigate the U.S. immigration system.
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