Simply put, a derived citizen is someone whose parents are naturalized citizens and who seeks to become naturalized themselves. The two share similar eligibility requirements, but derived citizenship comes with a few extra procedures for interested parties to go through.

Derivative citizenship in the context of U.S. immigration refers to the process by which certain individuals automatically acquire U.S. citizenship as a result of a parent’s citizenship or immigration status. This typically applies to children (under the age of 18) of naturalized U.S. citizens.

Derivative citizenship is U.S. citizenship given to lawful permanent resident children (with green cards) whose parents become naturalized U.S. citizens; or in recent years, to foreign-born children adopted by U.S. citizen parents, if certain conditions are met.

A derived citizen gains citizenship through the naturalization of their parents or, in some cases, through adoption by U.S. citizen parents. This means that the individual becomes a citizen not through their own application process but as a direct consequence of their parent’s naturalization.

A derived citizen is an individual who automatically acquires U.S. citizenship through a process known as derivation. This typically occurs when a foreign-born child under the age of 18 becomes a U.S. citizen because one or both of their parents meet specific citizenship or immigration criteria. 2.