[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 55 (Thursday, May 1, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3902-S3903]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]

      By Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN:
  S. 677. A bill to amend the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1994, 
to provide the descendants of the children of female U.S. citizens born 
abroad before May 24, 1934, with the same rights to U.S. citizenship at 
birth as the descendants of children born of male citizens abroad; to 
the Committee on the Judiciary.


         THE EQUITY IN TRANSMISSION OF CITIZENSHIP ACT of 1997

  Ms. MOSELEY-BRAUN. Mr. President, I am introducing a bill today that 
will amend legislation written by my former colleague, the 
distinguished Senator from Illinois, Paul Simon, and enacted into law. 
Three years ago, Senator Simon was the leader in enacting the 
Immigration and Nationality and Technical Corrections Act of 1994. My 
bill seeks to add a further correction to the Immigration and 
Nationality Act, so that the spirit and intent of Senator Simon's work 
is enacted into law.

[[Page S3903]]

  Prior to 1934, a child born overseas to a U.S. father and a foreign 
mother was recognized by the United States as a U.S. citizen. However, 
a child born overseas to a U.S. mother and a foreign father was 
considered to be a foreign national, not a U.S. citizen. Effectively, 
therefore, before 1994, U.S. fathers could pass on their citizenship to 
children born overseas, but U.S. mothers could not. Senator Simon 
sought to remedy this gender inequality by automatically granting U.S. 
citizenship to those individuals born overseas to U.S. mothers before 
1934. Under his legislation, the Immigration and Nationality and 
Technical Corrections Act of 1994, the children of American mothers and 
foreign fathers became U.S. citizens.
  His legislation also contained language to address the third 
generation--the children of these children. It is likely that the 
grandchildren of the U.S. mothers and foreign fathers would have been 
U.S. citizens had their children been U.S. citizens. Therefore, the 
1994 law also granted U.S. citizenship to these grandchildren.
  This provision granting citizenship to the grandchildren, however, 
contradicted another section of the Immigration and Nationality Act 
[INA]. INA states that in order to transmit U.S. citizenship from a 
parent to a child born overseas, the parent must have lived in the 
United States for 10 years. A U.S. citizen who has a child overseas 
needs to have lived in the United States over a 10-year period to pass 
on U.S. citizenship to his or her children. This transmission 
requirement is gender neutral, and applies to all U.S. citizens who 
have children overseas.
  Senator Simon's law did not specifically waive this transmission 
requirement for the third generation, although the language of the bill 
clearly stated that it intended to grant citizenship to the 
grandchildren of the American mothers. The lawyers at INS have 
concluded that the transmission requirement must be met in order to 
pass citizenship onto the grandchildren of the American mothers and 
foreign fathers. In other words, INS is requiring the third generation 
to show that the second generation lived in the United States for 10 
years in order to pass citizenship to the third generation.
  This is impossible given that the second generation was never allowed 
to live in the United States because they were not citizens until 1994. 
Thus the provision of the 1994 law granting citizenship to these 
grandchildren was never implemented.
  The purpose of my bill is to waive the transmission requirement for 
the grandchildren of the American mothers and foreign fathers. The 
third generation will not have to show that the second generation lived 
in the United States for 10 years. They will be granted citizenship 
even though their parents did not live in the United States for 10 
years. This bill will help a small number of people who should have 
been U.S. citizens by birth. It will ensure that the spirit of Senator 
Simon's legislation is enacted into law. I urge my colleagues to 
support this legislation.
  Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the text of this bill be 
printed in the Record.
  There being no objection, the bill was ordered to be printed in the 
Record, as follows:

                                 S. 677

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

       This Act may be cited as the ``Equity in Transmission of 
     Citizenship Act of 1997''.

     SEC. 2. FINDINGS.

       Congress finds that--
       (1) since the children born abroad to United States citizen 
     mothers before May 24, 1934, only became entitled to claim 
     United States citizenship, acquired at birth, as of October 
     25, 1994, with the enactment of Public Law 103-416, they were 
     not legally admissible into the United States as citizens 
     prior to that date; and
       (2) therefore, they could not meet the residency 
     requirements to transmit United States citizenship onto their 
     children as the children of male United States citizens 
     could.

     SEC. 3. EQUAL TREATMENT OF CHILDREN BORN ABROAD OF FEMALE 
                   UNITED STATES CITIZENS IN CONFERRING 
                   CITIZENSHIP TO CHILDREN BORN ABROAD.

       (a) In General.--Section 101 of Public Law 103-416 is 
     amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
       ``(d) Waiver of Transmission Requirements.--The parental 
     physical presence requirement contained in section 301(g) of 
     the Immigration and Nationality Act shall not apply to any 
     person born before the date of enactment of this Act who 
     claims United States citizenship based on such person's 
     descent from an individual described in section 301(h) of the 
     Immigration and Nationality Act.''.
       (b) Effective Date.--The amendment made by subsection (a) 
     shall be deemed to have become effective as of October 25, 
     1994.
                                 ______