The requirement for United States children to apply for passports may be subject to significant changes。
Even when a child is born in the United States, parents may in future be required to submit proof of their United States citizenship or immigration status, and the Government will further determine whether the child is eligible for citizenship at birth。
Reuters ' s exclusive report of 1 September stated that the United States Department of State was developing a new directive requiring parents to provide proof of their citizenship or immigration status when applying for a United States passport for their children. This is the latest initiative of the Trump Government to restrict the right to citizenship at birth, which is still in draft form and has not yet been formally implemented。
According to the drafts seen by Reuters, all parents or legal guardians who apply for passports for their children may need to provide the corresponding documents。
United States citizensSubmitableCertificate of citizenship valid for United States passport, birth certificate; non-United States citizenIt may be necessaryPROVISION OF I-94 ENTRY AND EXIT RECORDS, GREEN CARDS OR OTHER DOCUMENTATION OF IMMIGRATION STATUSI don't know. On the basis of information submitted by parents, the State Council will determine whether the child is an exception to the right of birth under the latest administrative order of Trump。
This is clearly different from the current passport application procedure。
Under the current provisions, a child born in the United States is required to apply for a passport, usually with a United States birth certificate for the child, a parent or guardian's identity document and proof of paternity. While parents are asked whether they are United States citizens, parents are generally not required to submit additional citizenship or immigration certificates。
Once the new rules are formally laid down, the identity of parents may also become part of the child passport review。
This adjustment stems from two executive orders signed by Trump on 6 August。One extends the exception to citizenship by birth, while the other specifically targets so-called “reproductive tourism”Foreign women entered the United States on travel or other temporary visas, mainly for the purpose of producing in the United States, allowing children to automatically acquire United States citizenship。
Under the Executive Order of 6 August, the Government may refuse to recognize the child ' s United States citizenship if neither of his or her parents is a United States citizen and one of them is a foreign government official or involves the acquisition of birth citizenship through fraudulent or commercial transactions。
According to the executive orderThe scope of “commercial transactions” is rather broadThis includes the possibility for parents to send their mothers to the United States for childbirth through a fee arrangement, as well as some cases involving United States surrogacy arrangements。
This is the second attempt by the Trump Government to restrict the right of birth by executive order。
Upon taking office in 2025, Trump signed an executive order providing that a child could be automatically granted citizenship in the United States only if at least one parent was a United States citizen or a Green Card holder. The Executive Order was prosecuted by several states and immigration organizations and never formally implemented。
On 30 June 2026, the United States Supreme Court ruled by 6 to 3 that the executive order violated the 14th Amendment to the Constitution. The Supreme Court confirmed that a person born in the United States and subject to United States jurisdiction was, in principle, a United States citizen at the time of his or her birth, and that parents did not have legal status or had only temporary visas, which was not sufficient to deprive the child of citizenship。
After the Supreme Court vetoed the broader executive order, the Trump government issued a relatively narrow new orderAttempts have been made to start with specific categories such as “reproductive tourism”, identity fraud, foreign government agents and “enemy aliens”。
However, the final implementation of the new executive order remains a major variable。
The lawyer who initiated the class action on behalf of the baby concerned had requested two federal judges to block the entry into force of the latest administrative order. The Federal District Judge of Maryland State, Deborah Boardman, had previously expressed doubts about the legality of the administrative order and had allowed the plaintiff to amend the petition so that the court could further consider whether the new policy should be discontinued。
For its part, the Ministry of Justice considers that at present federal agencies such as the State Council have not issued formal implementing rules and that it is too early to request a court to issue an injunction。
As a result, the requirements for United States children to apply for passports have not changed at this stage, and parents do not need to immediately submit additional material for this draft. Only when the new guidelines are officially published and implemented by the State Council can the application process be changed; the new rules may also be challenged by law before they enter into force。
However, the signal from the draft is clear: the Trump Government, despite its defeat in the Supreme Court, is prepared to continue to tighten the recognition of citizenship at birth through a passport review and more rigorous parental review。