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Do YOU have a “certificate of citizenship?”

I was born in a U.S. State and do not have a certificate to prove I am a citizen of the U.S. I used a certified copy of my birth certificate issued by the state I was born in to obtain a driver's license, enroll in school and obtain a U.S. passport.

A birth certificate is verification of a live birth in a particular place at a particular time. It is not proof of citizenship. Many foreign nationals who work as diplomats obtain birth certificates for their children born in the U.S. The children of diplomats are not U.S. citizens, but they are entitled to obtain a birth certificate to prove a live birth event took place.

Certificates of Citizenship and Certificates of Naturalization are issued as a consequence of the Immigration and Naturalization Act of 1952; as amended. I am a natural born U.S. citizen and not subject to the INA. Children born aboard must meet the terms and conditions set forth in the INA to be recognized as U.S. Citizens. The INA changes from time to time. We must see Ted's Certificate of Citizenship to determine if he has met all of the terms and conditions of the INA. For all we know, Ted's mom told the State Department on her U.S. Passport application she did not intend to return to the U.S., she was married to a foreign national, and she told a Canadian official she renounced her U.S. citizenship to become Canadian to avoid paying U.S. and Canadian income taxes. If so, Ted's U.S. citizenship claim would be in jeopardy.

Ted can prove he met all requirements of the INA by showing us his Certificate of Citizenship.