Now, there might be one difference and that is the particular country you guys move to. Some countries allow for dual citizenship, so in those cases the kids (and the parents if they wanted) could be citizens of both places. However, Indonesia, at the time Barack was adopted, did NOT recognize dual citizenship, so through the adoption process his US citizenship was dropped. He became and Indonesian citizen. He had to be an Indonesian citizen in order to attend school in Indonesia.
I don't believe US laws should or are primarily determined by the actions of foreign governments. Especially as regards to minors. The King of Thailand was born in a hospital in Cambridge, MA. (His partents were studying at Harvard at the time.) He is still a US Citizen.
What if the government of Cuba declared every Cuban American born in the USA since 1960 to be a Cuban citizen? Would those Americans loose citizenship.
I believe the standard is you have to renounce your citizenship, and I don't believe your parents can do that for you. (ie: the USA will not recognize even parental renunciation of citizenship on a minors behalf). One has to personally renounce citizenship by word or deed.
Here is the relevant section of the US Code:
Section 349(a)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) (8 U.S.C. 1481(a)(5)) is the section of law that governs the ability of a United States citizen to renounce his or her U.S. citizenship. That section of law provides for the loss of nationality by voluntarily performing the following act with the intent to relinquish his or her U.S. nationality:
"(5) making a formal renunciation of nationality before a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States in a foreign state , in such form as may be prescribed by the Secretary of State" (emphasis added).
Here is the section on minors. Note, it is a very high bar:
F. RENUNCIATION FOR MINOR CHILDREN Parents cannot renounce U.S. citizenship on behalf of their minor children. Before an oath of renunciation will be administered under Section 349(a)(5) of the INA, a person under the age of eighteen must convince a U.S. diplomatic or consular officer that he/she fully understands the nature and consequences of the oath of renunciation, is not subject to duress or undue influence, and is voluntarily seeking to renounce his/her U.S. citizenship.
“I don’t believe US laws should or are primarily determined by the actions of foreign governments. Especially as regards to minors. The King of Thailand was born in a hospital in Cambridge, MA. (His partents were studying at Harvard at the time.) He is still a US Citizen.”
Interesting factoid. Your points are correct.