Malli wrote:as far as I know, its common practice. I believe it's also the same in Canada and England.
Canada, like the United States, has "
jus soli" or citizenship by birthright.
British citizenship can not be gained by "jus soli" or being born in the United Kingdom, the law that applies is "
lex soli", meaning that one parent of a child born in the UK must be a British citizen at the time of the child's birth or be "settled" in the United Kingdom.
The majority of Europe has moved away from birthright citizenship (
jus soli, right of the soil) in favor of citizenship determined by the parent's citizenship (
jus sanguinis, right of blood) or more commonly a combination of
lex soli and
lex sanguinis, law of soil and law of blood, respectively.
I am strongly against
jus soli (birthright citizenship) and feel that United States needs to repeal the 14th Amendment and amend the Constitution so that US Citizenship is gained via birth to a parent that is a US Citizen at the time of the child's birth (
lex soli) or by descent if one parent is a US citizen otherwise than by descent (if the parent is a US citizen via adoption, naturalization etc.) (
lex sanguinis)
I also feel that the US needs to change it's laws so that only those who are US citizens, legal aliens/legal immigrants or in the country via other legal means are eligible for social services and education. When I lived in Italy or Japan, my parents had to pay for me to go to school there if I didn't got to the DODDS (Department of Defense Dependent Schools) school because I was not a citizen.
When the US is no longer the land hands out Citizenship, welfare dollars, free medical services and free education to people irregardless of citizenship, illegal immigration will come to a screeching halt.
For what it's worth, I am a US Citizen via
lex sanguinis. I was born in another country to parents that are US Citizens. My father was active duty in the Navy.
You can see a list of the countries that grant citizenship by birth in the jus soli link below.
Jus soli:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_soliJus sanguinis:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jus_sanguinisBritish Nationality:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_nationality_law#Registration_as_a_British_citizen
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She taking all the stars down from her sky to hang them up someplace new, where there's better weather and the sky's a different blue. ~ Autumn Fields