US May Require Parents to Prove Citizenship or Immigration Status for Children's Passports

Parents applying for US passports for their children could soon face a new requirement: proving their own citizenship or immigration status. The State Department draft guidance offers the first detailed view of how President Donald Trump's latest effort to restrict birthright citizenship might work in practice.

The proposal follows Trump's August 6 executive order targeting what it calls "birth tourism", in which women travel to the United States to give birth so their children can obtain automatic citizenship. The order would also broaden historical exceptions, potentially excluding children whose parent works for a foreign government in the United States, commits fraud or pursues citizenship through a commercial transaction, or is classified as an "alien enemy".

Under the draft, parents or legal guardians would have to submit documents such as a valid US passport, birth certificate, I-94 form or permanent resident card. Officials would use that information to decide whether a child qualifies for citizenship under Executive Order 14418. Currently, parents generally need to prove their relationship to the child and show photo identification. They can indicate on the application that they are US citizens without submitting supporting documents.

The proposal marks another move in Trump's wider immigration crackdown. His earlier order would have denied automatic citizenship to children unless at least one parent was a US citizen or lawful permanent resident. The Supreme Court ruled that measure unlawful in a 6-3 decision, finding that it violated the Citizenship Clause of the 14th Amendment. Trump's August order is narrower, but it could still be blocked in court.

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President Trump has been unequivocal that this administration will protect the meaning and value of American citizenship, full stop, and that includes making sure our passport adjudication process fully reflects that standard.