U.S. Code » Title 8 » Chapter CHAPTER 12— IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY › Subchapter SUBCHAPTER III— NATIONALITY AND NATURALIZATION › Part Part I— Nationality at Birth and Collective Naturalization

8 U.S.C. § 1408

Nationals but not citizens of the United States at birth

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Unless otherwise provided in section 1401 of this title, the following shall be nationals, but not citizens, of the United States at birth:(1) A person born in an outlying possession of the United States on or after the date of formal acquisition of such possession;(2) A person born outside the United States and its outlying possessions of parents both of whom are nationals, but not citizens, of the United States, and have had a residence in the United States, or one of its outlying possessions prior to the birth of such person;(3) A person of unknown parentage found in an outlying possession of the United States while under the age of five years, until shown, prior to his attaining the age of twenty-one years, not to have been born in such outlying possession; and(4) A person born outside the United States and its outlying possessions of parents one of whom is an alien, and the other a national, but not a citizen, of the United States who, prior to the birth of such person, was physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for a period or periods totaling not less than seven years in any continuous period of ten years—(A) during which the national parent was not outside the United States or its outlying possessions for a continuous period of more than one year, and(B) at least five years of which were after attaining the age of fourteen years.The proviso of section 1401(g) of this title shall apply to the national parent under this paragraph in the same manner as it applies to the citizen parent under that section.(June 27, 1952, ch. 477, title III, ch. 1, § 308, 66 Stat. 238; Pub. L. 99–396, § 15(a), Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 842; Pub. L. 100–525, § 3(2), Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2614.)Editorial NotesAmendments

1988—Par. (4). Pub. L. 100–525 amended Pub. L. 99–396. See 1986 Amendment note below.

1986—Par. (4). Pub. L. 99–396, as amended by Pub. L. 100–525, added par. (4).

Statutory Notes and Related SubsidiariesEffective Date of 1988 Amendment

Pub. L. 100–525, § 3, Oct. 24, 1988, 102 Stat. 2614, provided that the amendment made by section 3 is effective as if included in the enactment of Pub. L. 99–396.

Effective Date of 1986 Amendment

Pub. L. 99–396, § 15(b), Aug. 27, 1986, 100 Stat. 843, provided that: “The amendment made by subsection (a) [amending this section] shall apply to persons born before, on, or after the date of the enactment of this Act [Aug. 27, 1986]. In the case of a person born before the date of the enactment of this Act—“(1) the status of a national of the United States shall not be considered to be conferred upon the person until the date the person establishes to the satisfaction of the Secretary of State that the person meets the requirements of section 308(4) of the Immigration and Nationality Act [par. (4) of this section], and“(2) the person shall not be eligible to vote in any general election in American Samoa earlier than January 1, 1987.”

Notes of Decisions
Cited in 43 cases (9 in the last 5 years), 1994–2025 · leading case: Fernandez v. Keisler, 502 F.3d 337 (4th Cir. 2007).
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Fernandez v. Keisler, 502 F.3d 337 (4th Cir. 2007). · cites it 6× “102 (BIA 1974), in which the BIA held that the " acquisition of nationality for a noncitizen national is not governed by [§ 1101(a)(22)]" but instead by 8 U.S.C.A. § 1408 , the provision describing categories of noncitizen nationals.”
Nasrin Mohammadi v. Islamic Repub. of Iran, 782 F.3d 9 (D.C. Cir. 2015). · cites it 3× “The sole such statutory provision that presently confers United States nationality upon non-citizens is 8 U.S.C. § 1408 . See Lin, 561 F.3d at 508 ; Marquez-Almanzar, 418 F.”
Jose Napoleon Marquez-Almanzar v. Immigr. & Naturalization Serv., 418 F.3d 210 (2d Cir. 2005). · cites it 3× “For example, 8 U.S.C. § 1408 , the only statute in Chapter 12 expressly conferring “non-citizen national” status on anyone, describes four categories of persons who are “nationals, but not citizens, of the United States at birth.”
Ilai Koonwaiyou v. Antony Blinken, 69 F.4th 1004 (9th Cir. 2023). · cites it 10× “” 8 U.S.C. § 1408 . Prior to 1986, such status extended only to (1) those born in American Samoa, (2) those born outside the United States or American Samoa with two non-citizen national parents, and (3) those found in American Samoa under the age of five whose parents are…”
Juan Sandoval Lopez v. Mike Pompeo, Sec'y, et, 923 F.3d 444 (5th Cir. 2019). · cites it 2× “See generally 8 U.S.C. § 1408 (defining who shall be nationals but not citizens of the United States).”
United States v. Odeh, 552 F.3d 93 (2d Cir. 2008). “citizen, see 8 U.S.C. § 1408 (listing categories of people who “shall be nationals, but not citizens, of the United States at birth”), while all citizens are nationals of the United States.”
David Sebastian-Soler v. U.S. Attorney Gen., 409 F.3d 1280 (11th Cir. 2005). · cites it 2× “Because Petitioner is not a naturalized citizen, the only provision under which he could possibly be deemed a national is 8 U.S.C. § 1408 : “Nationals but not citizens of the Unites States at birth.”
Lin v. United States, 561 F.3d 502 (D.C. Cir. 2009). · cites it 2× “§§ 1401-58 , and those provisions indicate that the only ‘non-citizen nationals’ currently recognized by our law are persons deemed to be so under 8 U.S.C. § 1408 .”); see also Abou-Haidar v.”
McNeil v. United States, 78 Fed. Cl. 211 (Fed. Cl. 2007). · cites it 2× “8 U.S.C. § 1408 . For the purposes of this statute, the United States is defined as “the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Virgin Islands of the United States.”
United States v. Sierra-Ledesma, 645 F.3d 1213 (10th Cir. 2011). · cites it 2× “See 8 U.S.C. §§ 1408 , 1101(a)(29); see also T.”
Ajlani v. Chertoff, 545 F.3d 229 (2d Cir. 2008). “2005) (quoting 8 U.S.C. § 1408 ). As we explained in Marquez-Almanzar v.”
Jose Luis Perdomo-Padilla v. John Ashcroft, Attorney Gen., 333 F.3d 964 (9th Cir. 2003). “We find further support for our interpretation of “national of the United States” in 8 U.S.C. § 1408 , which lists four categories of persons who are classified as nationals, but not citizens, of the United States.”
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