- No Person except a natural born Citizen, or a Citizen
of the United States at the time of the Adoption of this Constitution,
shall be eligible to the Office of President.
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- -- The Constitution of the United States, Article II
Section 1
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- McCain was born at Coco Solo Air Base in the Panama Canal
Zone, August 29, 1936. The Panama Canal Zone was a U.S. TERRITORY
from 1903 to 1979, so, any person born there was automatically considered
a U.S. citizen, except if born to foreign diplomatic personnel.
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- Excerpted from http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/86755.pdf
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- 7 FAM 1116 KEY PHRASES USED IN THE 14th AMENDMENT
AND IN LAWS DERIVED FROM IT
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- 7 FAM 1116.1 "In The United States"
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- 7 FAM 1116.1-1 States and Incorporated Territories
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- (TL:CON-64; 11-30-95)
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- a. The phrase "in the United States" as used
in the 14th Amendment clearly includes States that have been admitted
to the Union. Sections 304 and 305 of the INA provide a basis for
citizenship of persons born in Alaska and Hawaii while they were territories
of the United States. These sections reflect, to a large extent,
prior statutes and judicial decisions which addressed the l4th Amendment
citizenship implications of birth in these and other U.S. territories.
Guidance on evidence on such births should be sought from CA/OCS.
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- b. Sec. 101(a)(38) INA provides that, for the purposes
of the INA, The term "United States",... when used in
the geographical sense, means the continental United States, Alaska,
Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.In
addition, under Pub. L. 94-241, the "approving Covenant to Establish
a Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands in Political Union
with the United States of America", (Sec. 506(c)), which took
effect on November 3, 1986, the Northern Mariana Islands are treated
as part of the United States for the purposes of sections 301 and
308 of the INA.
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- c. All of the aforenamed areas, except Guam and the Northern
Mariana Islands, came within the definition of "United States"
given in the Nationality Act of 1940, which was effective from January
13, 1941 through December 23, 1952.
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- d. Prior to January 13, 1941, there was no statutory
definition of "the United States" for citizenship purposes.
Thus there were varying interpretations. Guidance should be sought
from the Department (CA/OCS) when such issues arise.
-
-
- Here are the exemptions...
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- 7 FAM 1116.1-4 Not Included in the Meaning of "In
the United States"
-
-
- (TL:CON-64; 11-30-95)
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- a. A U.S.-registered or documented ship on the high seas
or in the exclusive economic zone is not considered to be part of the United
States. A child born on such a vessel does not acquire U.S. citizenship
by reason of the place of birth (Lam Mow v. Nagle, 24 F.2d 316 (9th Cir.,
1928)).
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- b. A U.S.-registered aircraft outside U.S. airspace is
not considered to be part of U.S. territory. A child born on such an aircraft
outside U.S. airspace does not acquire U.S. citizenship by reason of the
place of birth.
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- c. Despite widespread popular belief, U.S. military installations
abroad and U.S. diplomatic or consular facilities are not part of the United
States within the meaning of the 14th Amendment. A child born on the premises
of such a facility is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States
and does not acquire U.S. citizenship by reason of birth.
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- However, there is THIS...
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- Currently, Title 8 of the U.S. Code fills in those gaps.
Section 1401 defines the following as people who are "citizens of
the United States at birth:"
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- * Anyone born inside the United States * Any Indian or
Eskimo born in the United States, provided being a citizen of the U.S.
does not impair the person's status as a citizen of the tribe * Any one
born outside the United States, both of whose parents are citizens of the
U.S., as long as one parent has lived in the U.S. * Any one born outside
the United States, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S. for
at least one year and the other parent is a U.S. national * Any one born
in a U.S. possession, if one parent is a citizen and lived in the U.S.
for at least one year * Any one found in the U.S. under the age of five,
whose parentage cannot be determined, as long as proof of non-citizenship
is not provided by age 21 * Any one born outside the United States, if
one parent is an alien and as long as the other parent is a citizen of
the U.S. who lived in the U.S. for at least five years (with military and
diplomatic service included in this time) * A final, historical condition:
a person born before 5/24/1934 of an alien father and a U.S. citizen mother
who has lived in the U.S.
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- http://sweetness-light.com/archive/nyt-pretends-mccain-cant-be-president
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