Cross-posted from the Flophouse. Just can’t get over some of the strange results of U.S. citizenship law. The more I think about it neither jus soli or jus sanguinis are good fits in a globalized world. So I had some fun writing this post and pointing out two rather famous Accidental Americans: Boris Johnson and Anne Sinclair. If you have a chance go read Boris Johnson’s 2006 post – as one of the Flophouse readers said, “I didn’t know Mr Johnson’s prose could be so entertaining to read.”
The United States of America allows for two methods for acquiring U.S. citizenship at birth: jus sanguinis (through an American citizen parent) and jus soli (through being born on U.S. soil). For the latter the U.S. has one of the most open-ended and generous terms around – the mere fact of being born on U.S. soil makes someone a U.S. citizen under almost all circumstances. (The only exceptions appear to be children of diplomats.)
