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Citizenship & Naturalization BasicsLesson 1 of 10

1 · Who is a U.S. citizen? Birthright and the 14th Amendment

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There are two broad ways to be a U.S. citizen: you are born one, or you become one through naturalization. This course covers both, starting with birth.

The most common path is birthright citizenship, guaranteed by the 14th Amendment's Citizenship Clause, ratified in 1868:

"All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside." (U.S. Const. amend. XIV, § 1)

In plain terms: if you are born on U.S. soil, you are a citizen at birth (sometimes called jus soli, "right of soil"), with narrow exceptions such as children of foreign diplomats. Congress codified this same rule in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA § 301) (U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services [USCIS], n.d.-a).

The Supreme Court confirmed this reading in United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), holding that a man born in San Francisco to Chinese immigrant parents who were not themselves eligible for citizenship was still a U.S. citizen by birth (Library of Congress, n.d.-a). Most recently, in Trump v. Barbara, 609 U.S. ___ (2026) (decided June 30, 2026), the Supreme Court struck down a 2025 executive order that had sought to limit birthright citizenship, holding that the 14th Amendment's guarantee applies to children born in the United States regardless of their parents' immigration status (Supreme Court of the United States, 2026). The Court divided closely: it struck down the order 6-3, but on the underlying constitutional question the Justices split 5-4, Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority (joined by the Court's liberal Justices), Justices Thomas, Alito, and Gorsuch dissented, and Justice Kavanaugh concurred in the judgment on narrower, statutory grounds. Because the ruling is very recent and further proceedings (including a rehearing petition) were reported as of July 2026, confirm the current status before relying on any detail. That decision is a good example of this course's approach: it explains what the courts decided about how the rule works, not an argument about what immigration policy should be.

Check yourself

What does the 14th Amendment say about who is a citizen, and which 1898 Supreme Court case confirmed it applies even when a child's parents are not citizens?

Sources

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