The Department of Homeland Security issued an interim final rule on 4 September 2026 that changes the citizenship of children born in the United States to people who work for a foreign government. Until now, only children of accredited diplomats were treated as outside US jurisdiction and therefore not citizens at birth. The new rule extends that treatment to a much wider group: embassy and consulate staff who are nationals of the sending country, anyone employed by a foreign government in an official capacity, and staff of international organisations holding international-organisation immunity. In exchange, DHS is opening the old diplomatic registration route to those children, who can voluntarily register as lawful permanent residents. The rule took effect on 4 September and applies only to children born on or after that date.
Background
The practice being rewritten is old. Since at least the 1940s the former Immigration and Naturalization Service treated children born in the United States to foreign diplomatic officers as non-citizens who could nevertheless register for permanent residence, a line traced through Matter of Huang, 11 I&N Dec. 190 (BIA 1965). In 1982 the INS turned that into formal regulations at 8 CFR 101.3, 101.4 and 264.2, published at 47 FR 940, defining the excluded group narrowly by reference to the State Department Diplomatic List. The trigger for the change is Executive Order 14418, Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, signed on 6 August 2026 and published at 91 FR 51991, which named categories of US-born children the administration says fall outside birthright citizenship and directed the Secretary of Homeland Security to prevent the issuance of documents recognising their citizenship.
What exactly changed
DHS is amending 8 CFR 101.3 so that a child of a foreign government employee is not subject to the jurisdiction of the United States for birthright citizenship purposes unless at least one parent is a US citizen. It then defines "foreign government employee" for the first time in the immigration regulations, matching the executive order: foreign diplomatic officers accredited to the United States; people employed by a foreign embassy or consulate who are nationals of that country; people employed by a foreign government in an official capacity; and people employed by an international organisation that possesses international-organisation immunity. Who is left out matters as much as who is in. The amended 8 CFR 101.3(a)(2) excludes personal employees and attendants hired by individual officials rather than by a government, such as personal assistants, chauffeurs and housecleaners; employees of state-owned enterprises in a status other than A or G; third-country nationals working for a foreign government, including at an embassy or consulate; employees of international organisations beyond those designated by executive order under the International Organizations Immunities Act; contractors of foreign missions, international organisations or governments in a status other than A or G; and foreign government employees in the United States in a personal rather than official capacity. Children born to those excluded groups keep birthright citizenship.
Before and after
- Before: only children of foreign diplomatic officers were treated as not acquiring citizenship at birth, and only they could register as lawful permanent residents.
- After: children born to any "foreign government employee" as newly defined are treated as not acquiring citizenship at birth when neither parent is a US citizen, and the registration route is extended to them.
- Timing: the rule applies only to children born on or after 4 September 2026. Children born before that date are treated under the regulations in force at the time of their birth.
- Not covered: personal staff of officials, third-country nationals at embassies, and most contractors and state-owned-enterprise employees outside A or G status.
Who it affects
The clearest case is an official posted to the United States on an A or G visa whose child is born in Washington or New York. A press attaché who is a national of the sending country, a mission accountant employed by the foreign ministry, and a programme officer at an immune international organisation now all fall inside the definition, where previously only the listed diplomatic ranks did. Their US-born child from 4 September onward is not a citizen, and the family has a decision to make about registering the child as a permanent resident instead. A cleaner employed personally by that same official, or a third-country national hired locally by the embassy, sits outside the definition, and their US-born child is unaffected. DHS says it cannot put a number on this. It cites the State Department Office of Foreign Missions figure of more than 124,000 foreign mission members and dependents in the United States, but declines to use it, because the data does not show who has a US citizen spouse or who leaves before a birth.
What this means in practice
Registration as a permanent resident stays voluntary and is done on Form I-485, which DHS is revising to replace "Individuals Born in the United States Under Diplomatic Status" with a heading covering individuals born to a foreign government employee. Under the existing regulation, a child whose registration is granted is a lawful permanent resident as of the date of birth. Separately, a child who is not a citizen falls under the alien registration duty in section 262 of the Immigration and Nationality Act unless they hold the immunities of a foreign diplomatic officer. Families who skip permanent residence can meet that duty with Form G-325R, filed by a parent for a child under 14, with re-registration and fingerprints within 30 days of the child turning 14. It has no filing fee, but DHS estimates the total cost of registering and giving biometrics at $340.15 per person. If you are posted to the United States and expecting a child, confirm with your mission which of the four categories your employment falls into, because that decides the outcome. Our United States country guide (/country-guides/united-states) covers the wider status picture.
When it takes effect
Effective 4 September 2026, the date of filing for public inspection, and it applies to children born on or after that date. Publication in the Federal Register is scheduled for 9 September 2026 as document 2026-18345 (CIS No. 2882-26, DHS docket USCIS-2026-0496, RIN 1615-AD24). Comments close 30 days after public inspection.
Before you plan around it
DHS issued this without prior notice and comment, relying on the foreign affairs and good cause exceptions in the Administrative Procedure Act, so the legal ground is contested. DHS also states that, given the injunction in Casa Inc. v. Trump, No. 8:25-cv-00201 (D. Md. Sep. 2, 2026), it will not implement the rule against any member of the certified class or in any way that conflicts with the preliminary injunction unless the government obtains relief. The practical reach of the rule therefore depends on litigation that is still running, and the position could change on short notice.
Key Takeaway
From 4 September 2026, a US-born child of a foreign government employee is not a citizen unless one parent is, and can register as a permanent resident on Form I-485 instead.