President Schwarzenegger?

OC Register ^ | 2/26/04 | Op/Ed

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

Gads!!! Perish the thought!!! I’m now going to have nightmares about Armando Lopez Gonzales DeLapepper.

[Iberian]

Don't worry about it Mango you and I will be long gone.

But it's a though!!

[Gatún(CraigIsaMangoTreeLawyer)]

I know we will be long gone, but it is unsettling that we won't be around to keep that next generation straight.

[Paleo Conservative]

ay a married French couple, both French citizens, come to the U.S. and while they are here, a child is born to them. The child has dual citizenship; American, because he was born here, and French, as both his parents are French citizens. This is not at all unusual. Most countries permit that child to hold dual citizenship until they are 18, at which point they have to choose, as you did.

Here's the requirements in the Constitution.

Aritcle II.

Section1
......

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; neither shall any Person be eligible to that Office who shall not have attained to the Age of thirty-five Years, and been fourteen Years a Resident within the United States.

[KJacob]

How then do you explain Chester A. Author? Since his presidency there has been a mild controversy in Vermont. Many believe that he was actually born while his mother was visiting in Canada. It is further alleged that his birth certificate was altered to hide this fact. I think, but am not entirely sure, that his parents were US citizens.

[Dr. Marten]

hehe..yeah, I got that after I actually read the article. I was just making a knee-jerk remark.

[monday]

"You sure? "A child born abroad to two U.S. citizen parents in wedlock acquires U.S. citizenship at birth, provided that one of the parents resided in the U.S. prior to the child's birth. No specific period of time for such residence is required."

Actually he is correct. I was also born outside of the country to native born US citizens. I Can't become president. Ironically people born in this country to non citizens can become president. Citizenship is not the issue, geography is.

[monday]

"Most countries permit that child to hold dual citizenship until they are 18, at which point they have to choose, as you did.
But I believe that both countries view the child as "native-born" citizens of their country."

Actually most countries do not require you to choose. The US requires a choice but for most other countries, once a citizen always a citizen.

In your example the parents could acquire a French birth certificate at birth and that child would have nominal French citizenship the rest of his life, no matter where he lived or what other citizenship he had. Even if he had no French birth certificate all he would have to do to acquire a French passport later in life is provide proof that his parents were born in France and that he was their child.

The US is different. If you are born outside of the US you have until your 21 birthday to choose US citizenship. If you are living in the US, acquiring a SS # before age 21 is enough. If living outside the US you have to get a US passport before age 21.

[monday]

"Since his presidency there has been a mild controversy in Vermont. Many believe that he was actually born while his mother was visiting in Canada."

I am pretty sure you are right. I was also born outside the country to native born US citizens. "Native born" means born within the borders of the US.

I am a US citizen due only to my parents citizenship. I am not "native born", and would be a Mexican citizen were it not for my parents taking the trouble of registering my birth with the US gov't and then getting a US passport when I was 16.

I think most of these guys don't know what they are talking about.

[sangoo]

There is really no problem here for Arnold. Just get a judge to agree that he was naturally born. He wasn't a test tube baby or anything, was he? Nowadays we really don't need to be concerned about roadblocks that the Constitution might have placed in our way, in an earlier time. Judges now have insight far beyond what the founding fathers could have ever imagined. They just need to redefine the terms, etc. and move onward to a brave new world.