Acquisition by Birth in the U.S. Virgin Islands Before December 24, 1952
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 308.8-1 Status of Inhabitants After Transfer to U.S. Sovereignty
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
a. The Virgin Islands of the United States, formerly the Danish West Indies, were purchased from Denmark on August 4, 1916. The convention making effective such purchase was ratified and came into force on January 17, 1917.
b. Even though the convention referred to "citizenship in the United States" rather than U.S. nationality, it was administratively held that, consistent with the rulings of the Supreme Court in the "Insular Cases" on the status of inhabitants of territories acquired by treaty, Danish citizens residing in the U.S. Virgin Islands on January 17, 1917, who did not elect to preserve their Danish citizenship became non-citizen U.S. nationals (3 Hackworth, Digest of International Law 147; 38 Op Atty. Gen. 525 (1936); 3 I. & N. 870 (1950); 6 I. & N. 226 (1954)).
c. Temporary absence from the Virgin Islands at the time of cession did not preclude acquisition of U.S. nationality if the person was otherwise qualified. For instance:
(1) The Department construed "residence" to mean a permanent dwelling place to which the person, when absent, intended to return;
(2) In determining whether someone could be considered an inhabitant of the islands within the meaning of the treaty, the Department required the person to provide proof of being a bona fide resident of the islands before annexation and of having had a definite intention to return; and
(3) The Department considered such factors as the temporary nature of the absence (schooling, business trip, and so forth); evidence of a permanent connection to the islands (such as ownership of property, payment of taxes, and/or the presence of family in the islands), and the lack of fixed abode elsewhere.
d. The nationality of the non-Danish residents of the Virgin Islands was not affected by the convention.
e. The acts of February 25, 1927 (44 Stat. 1234) and June 28, 1932 (47 Stat. 336) granted U.S. citizenship to Virgin Island natives born prior to annexation if they met certain criteria, now codified in section 306, INA (quoted in 8 FAM 302.3-1).
8 FAM 308.8-2 Status Acquired by Birth in the Islands After Annexation but Before February 25, 1927
(CT:CITZ-35; 05-15-2020)
a. After annexation and before February 25, 1927 persons born to two U.S. nationals in the Virgin Islands acquired non-citizen U.S. nationality.
b. A child born there to two aliens did not acquire U.S. nationality at birth.
c. The status of persons born there, subject to U.S. jurisdiction, on or after January 17, 1917, was altered by the act of February 25, 1927.