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I’m still locking for a direct source but so far I have provided the gold standard of sources by the USSC ruling.

However here is another secondary source for those who are not married to an error:

Interpretation 309.1 Acquisition of United States nationality by illegitimate children .

(a) Paternity not established.

(b) Paternity established.

(a) Paternity not established . (1) Prior to January 13, 1941 . Prior to January 13, 1941, a child within this group acquired citizenship at birth in Puerto Rico, Guam, American Samoa, Swain’s Island, the Philippine Islands, the Canal Zone (before August 4, 1937), Puerto Rico or the Virgin Islands (before January 13, 1941), Hawaii (before August 4, 1937), and any foreign country, only if born after May 23, 1934, 1/ to a United States citizen mother who previously had resided in the continental Unites States, Alaska (after March 29, 1867), Hawaii (even before August 12, 1898), Puerto Rico (after April 10, 1899), or the Virgin Islands (after January 16, 1917). 2/ Moreover, in these circumstances, the child acquires a vested citizenship status at birth which is unaffected by any subsequent legitimation. 2a/

(2) Nationality Act of 1940 . Since January 13, 1941, a child within this group, born before or after such date, but prior to December 4, 2952, in American Samoa, Swains Island , the Philippine Islands, Guam, the Canal Zone (before April 30, 1900), Alaska (before March 30, 1867), or any foreign country, acquired similar status at birth, if the citizen mother previously had resided in the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, Guam, American Samoa, Swain’s Island, or the Philippine Islands (before July 4, 1946). 3/

Status, once acquired in the above manner, was not terminated by subsequent establishment of paternity; 3a/ nor was acquisition precluded because on January 13, 1941, the effective date of the 1940 Act, the child was beyond minority. 3b/ However, if the paternity of a child born out of wedlock to a citizen mother and an alien father was established prior to the 1941 date and during the child’s minority by legitimation or an adjudication of a competent court, the child did not acquire citizenship at birth under the second paragraph of section 205; such a child could acquire citizenship only under section 1 of the 1934 statute. 4/ ( Revised )

(3) Immigration and Nationality Act . Basically, the provisions of the current statute 5/ are the same as the prospective provisions which prevailed after January 12, 1941, 6/ save that the mother, prior to the child’s birth, is required to have one year’s continuous physical presence in the United States, now defined to include Guam, or its outlying possessions, named as American Samoa and Swain’s Island. However, where for the purpose of retaining citizenship under current section 301 (b), as amended, a United States citizen mother is considered to have been constructively physically present in the united States continuously for more than one year, 6a/ such constructive physical presence will also satisfy the continuous physical presence requirement of current section 309(c) for the transmission of citizenship to her illegitimate children. 7/ Whether and absence will be regarded as having broken the required continuity of a mother’s physical presence in the United States or an outlying possession, thereby precluding her unlegitimated child from acquiring citizenship at birth under current section 309(c), shall be determined in accordance with INTERP 316.1 (c)(3).

(4) Noncitizen nationality . Prior to January 13, 1941, and illegitimate child of unestablished paternity became a United States noncitizen national at birth in American Samoa or Swain’s Island after the annexation dates, if at the time of the child’s birth, his mother had such status. 8/

Since the above 1941 date, the rules that determine when an illegitimate child of unestablished paternity will acquire United States citizenship at birth through a United States citizen mother as they have existed since January 13 1941, will also determine when such child, born to a United States noncitizen national mother, will acquire her status at birth. 9/

(b) Paternity established . (1) Nationality Act of 1940 and earlier statutes . Citizenship at birth jus sanguinis prior to January 13, 1941, descended through a citizen father to an illegitimate child whose paternity was established by legitimation under the law of the father’s domicile. 10/ Legitimation conferred full citizenship status upon the child at birth 11/ although accomplished long after the child attained majority 12/ and even after January 13, 1941, because those born prior thereto were not affected retrospectively by the age limitations on legitimation provided in the 1940 Act. 13/

Citizenship was acquired at birth after January 12, 1941, but before December 24, 1952, if paternity of the child was establish during minority by legitimation or court adjudication, 14/ and despite initial Service opinion to the contrary, 15/ this rule also applied to the child who could only acquire citizenship under section 201(i), Nationality Act of 940, as amended. 16/ As under the earlier law, absent any express statutory provision governing the matter, 17/ legitimation for purposes of acquiring citizenship at birth under the Nationality Act of 1940, as amended , could be accomplished in accordance with the law of the putative father’s domicile. 18/ ( Revised )

In all the above instances, the normal statutory prerequisites for acquisition by a legitimate child must also be met. 19/ But for a discussion of legitimation of persons born in Panama, see INTERP 303.1.

A person born of wedlock in the Republic of Panama also may acquire citizenship through a citizen father under somewhat different provisions if section 203(b) of the Nationality Act of 1940, and its successor, current section 303(b). 20/

(2) Immigration and Nationality Act . (i) General rules . Since December 24, 1952, if the paternity of the illegitimate child born on or after December 24, 1952, is established by legitimation during minority, citizenship vests at birth jus sanguinis, 21/ upon compliance with the provisions of the current statute relating to the acquisition of such status by the legitimate child, 22/ provided such legitimation takes place while the child is unmarried. 23/ The provisions of the current statute, 23a/ providing that legitimation occur during minority, operate independently of the definition of legitimated child in section 101(c) of the current Act, and are satisfied by mere legitimation during minority notwithstanding that it occurred after age 16 years, or that the legitimation parent did no then have legal custody of the child. 24/ Moreover, contrary to initial Service opinion, 24a/ the provision in section 101(c) permitting legitimation to take place under the law of the child’s residence or domicile is likewise not applicable, and legitimation for the purposes of section 309 can accomplished only in accordance with the law of the father’s domicile. 25/ ( Revised )

Additionally, under current section 309, section 301(g) * in its originally enacted form is retroactively applicable to a person born out of wedlock between January 12, 1941, and December 24, 1952, of a citizen father and an alien mother if paternity is established at any time by legitimation during minority. ( Revised )

Section 301(g) was amended by the Act of November 6, 1966, 26/ to extend the constructive physical presence benefits thereunder to employees of the United States Government and international organizations, but limited its applicability solely to persons born after December 23, 1952. Accordingly, while person claiming citizenship under section 301(g) by reason of either section 309(a) of 309(b) may count the citizen parent’s military service as physical presence, as the section originally permitted, only those persons within section 309(a)—but not those within sectio n 309(b) born before December 24, 1952—may base such claim upon the amended constructive physical presence benefits of the Act of November 6, 1966. ( Revised )

(ii) Legitimation by acknowledgment under section 230, California Civil Code . This section provides that a child born out of wedlock shall be deemed legitimate form the time of birth, if the father publicly acknowledges the child as his own, receives the child into his family (with the consent of the wife if the father is married), and otherwise treats the child as if he or she were his legitimate child. The Board of Immigration Appeals, in construing this section, held that if the father does not have his residence or domicile in California when the action specified in the secti on takes place legitimation thereunder is not completed, and therefore does not occur until the father begins to reside in that state; that while legitimation creates the status of legitimacy retroactive to the date of the child’s birth, legitimation must be regarded as having taken place, and not at the time of such birth, but rather when the action resulting in legitimation was in fact completed in this instance, the date on which the father took up residence in California; and that, therefore, where resi dence was not extablished in California until the child was 30 years of age, the child was a “child” for purposes of the definition in section 101(b) (1) (c) of the current Act, which require that legitimation take place before the 18th birthday. 27/ The Service also takes the position that the definition of “child” in section 101(c)(1) of the current Act, which requires legitimation while the child is under 16 years of age should be similarly construed

(3) Acknowledgment of child, absent blood relationship . The purported legitimation of a child by a citizen’s acknowledgment of the child and marriage to the mother does not result in the bestowal of citizenship upon the child if the natural relation of parent and child does not exist between the acknowledging citizen and the child. 28/

(4) Noncitizen nationality . The rules in (1), (2), and (3) above also confer noncitizen nationality upon the illegitimate child of established paternity born to United States noncitizen national parents, 29/ to the same extent that the legitimate child acquires similar status, provided the statutory requirements for acquisition by a legitimate child are also satisfied. 30/

(5) Legitimation requirements under Panamanian law . See INTERP 303.1(b)(3)