Seoul Court Denies Dual Citizenship in Case of “Birth Tourism” in the U.S.
Some how I doubt the writers of the 14th Admendment envisioned foreigners from other countries rushing to the U.S. to have a kid in order to avoid military service in their home country. People without legal status in the U.S. should not have their kid given citizenship because this is just another example of how it is abused:
A Seoul court has supported the rejection of an application for dual US-South Korean citizenship because their parent’s residence in the US was for the purpose of their child gaining US citizenship.
The Seoul Administrative Court said Monday that it had ruled in favor of the Seoul Southern Immigration Office, which rejected the plaintiff’s February 2024 application to retain the citizenships of both countries.
South Korea’s Nationality Act states that a child of a citizen obtains citizenship at birth, and the Fourteenth Amendment of the US Constitution grants citizenship to anyone born inside its territories. This means that someone born in the US to parents who are Korean citizens — as in case of the plaintiff — is granted dual citizenships at birth.
Dual citizens at birth are usually allowed to retain the nationality of South Korea and another country by pledging to the government not to exercise the rights of foreign citizenship before the age of 22, or within two years of completing their mandatary military service in the case of men. This is to prevent dual citizens from dodging duties mandated for South Koreans, such military service.
But the immigration office refused to allow dual citizenship to the plaintiff, saying that the plaintiff’s mother is thought to have lived in the US only for the explicit purpose of obtaining US citizenship for her child — sometimes referred to as “birth tourism.” The Nationality Act states that in cases where the parent is “deemed to have resided in a foreign country for the purpose of having the person acquire the nationality of the foreign country,” the child can retain his or her South Korean citizenship only after renouncing the other nationality.
The plaintiff’s mother went to the US in 2003 just before giving birth to the plaintiff, staying in the country for a month and a half.
You can read more at the link.
Those parents probably kicking themselves now, giving their child a US citizenship that sucks, right after DOGE torched all the social benefits. It’s now a citizenship that offers no old age pension, no consumer protection, no medical healthcare other than having to pay exorbitant medical fees, etc etc. They should have just let their son serve a few months in the military, and it would have all been all over in short time. The funny thing is, if Trump has his way, the US will bring back the military draft for US young male citizens, which will cancel the benefits that these parents thought they were getting.
“It’s now a citizenship that offers no old age pension, no consumer protection, no medical healthcare other than having to pay exorbitant medical fees, etc etc.”
Nothing changed with old age pension. As DOGE cuts fraud, waste, and abuse, the existing system becomes stronger and more sustainable.
It is unclear what you mean by “no consumer protection”. The only thing that has changed is the FCC is collecting evidence of social media censorship, main stream media fake news, and the unconstitutional manipulation and blocking of free speech when this was managed by the American government. That is true consumer protection.
Americans have always paid exorbitant medical fees. That didn’t start during Trump’s one month in office. Based on the actions of DOGE so far, it is likely the fraud, waste, and abuse in the medical system that sees masive wealth transfers from government to the medical bureaucracy will be exposed.
If you really believe what you are saying, I understand your frustration.
Life is harder when you are stupid.
Interesting that the Korean government isn’t allowing citizenship. When my son entered the country last year, they wouldn’t give him a SOFA visa because they said he was a Korean citizen, though we thought we had properly renunciated before.