8 FAM 308.2
Acquisition by Birth in American Samoa and Swains Island
(CT:CITZ-37; 06-08-2020)
(Office of Origin: CA/PPT/S/A)
8 FAM 308.2-1 Current Law
(CT:CITZ-37; 06-08-2020)
a. As defined in section 101(a)(29) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), the term "outlying possession" of the United States refers to American Samoa and Swains Island.
b. American Samoa and Swains Island are not incorporated territories, and the citizenship acquisition provisions of the Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution do not apply to persons born there.
c. INA 308(1) and INA 308(3) confer non-citizen U.S. nationality on people born (or determined to be foundlings) in American Samoa and Swains Island.
d. INA 308(1) is retroactive, effectively granting non-citizen U.S. nationality to anyone born in American Samoa or Swains Island after annexation (February 16, 1900 for American Samoa and March 4, 1925 for Swains Island) and before December 24, 1952, who did not acquire non-citizen U.S. nationality at the time of birth.
8 FAM 308.2-2 Nationality Status of Inhabitants After Annexation
(CT:CITZ-37; 06-08-2020)
a. American Samoa was ceded to the United States by a treaty entered into by the United States, Germany, and Great Britain dated December 2, 1899, and ratified February 16, 1900. The treaty did not address the issue of the nationality of the people living on those islands.
b. On February 16, 1900, the date of annexation:
(1) People living in American Samoa who formerly owed allegiance to Germany or Great Britain became non-citizen U.S. nationals, unless they exercised their right to retain their former nationality by removal from American Samoa or otherwise; and
(2) The native inhabitants of American Samoa who belonged to a race indigenous to those islands also became non-citizen U.S. nationals.
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NOTE: The same ethnic groups lived on other nearby islands, including Samoa, but only those born on the islands that became American Samoa could benefit from the terms of the treaty. |
c. Inhabitants of Swains Island indigenous (native) to that island who were not already U.S. citizens or nationals became non-citizen U.S. nationals if residing in Swains Island on March 4, 1925.