US State Department proposes passport rule requiring parents' citizenship proof

September 2, 2026 at 07:20 AM2 min

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The U.S. State Department proposed requiring parents applying for passports for their children to provide proof of their own citizenship or immigration status. The proposal implements President Donald Trump's August 6 executive order targeting birth tourism. It marks the first detailed plan for enforcing the order, which may still face court challenges.

Key Facts

The State Department proposal would require all parents or legal guardians to provide proof of U.S. citizenship, such as a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate, or proof of immigration status when applying for a child's passport.
The proposal implements President Trump's August 6 executive order aimed at curbing birth tourism and expanding historical exceptions to birthright citizenship.
The new directive would deny citizenship to children if one parent works for a foreign government in the U.S., engages in fraud or a commercial transaction to obtain citizenship, or is classified as an 'enemy alien'.
Currently, parents of U.S.-born children only need to prove parentage and show photo identification, and are asked but not required to provide additional documentation of their citizenship status.

Proposed Passport Rule

The State Department's draft guidance states the department will require parental information and proof of citizenship or immigration status to determine whether an applicant falls under Executive Order 14418. If adopted, the proposal would require all parents or legal guardians to provide proof of their citizenship, such as a valid U.S. passport or birth certificate, or proof of their immigration status when applying for a child's passport. This information would be used by the government to determine whether the child is eligible for citizenship under the new executive order.

Executive Order Background

President Trump's initial executive order provided automatic U.S. citizenship at birth only to children with at least one parent who was a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident with a green card. The Supreme Court ruled that order violated the citizenship clause of the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. On August 6, Trump signed a new, narrower order targeting birth tourism, in which women travel to the U.S. to give birth and obtain automatic citizenship for their child. The new order may still be blocked by the courts.