I still remember the moment I was sitting here, writing about some celebrity and their American citizenship, and I had a crazy realization that I was an anchor baby. “Anchor baby” is a pejorative lobbed around right-wing media to describe an immigrant in America welcoming an American citizen baby. America has birthright citizenship – if you’re born here, you’re an American citizen, regardless of the immigration status or nationality of your parents. My dad only became a naturalized citizen years after I was born, therefore I was his anchor baby. It definitely sounds like Lilibet Diana Mountbatten-Windsor is going to be Prince Harry’s anchor baby too. The Daily Mail doesn’t even understand the American immigration citizenship issue, but let’s start with their reporting and go from there:
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s new baby girl is likely to possess dual citizenship – just like big brother Archie.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their new addition on Friday, June 4 at 11.40am, with Lilibet ‘Lili’ Diana Mountbatten-Windsor weighing 7lbs 11oz. Following the couple stepping down as senior royals, they announced the news in their own statement, shared on the Archwell Foundation website and not through the official channels of the Royal family, in a departure from the announcement of her brother Archie in 2018, in a post written in American English.
Given Meghan, 39, is an American, having been born in California, her children are automatically entitled to citizenship in the US. The same goes for Harry, who was born in the UK and is thereby a British citizen. Under British law, citizenship can be passed down one generation, so Harry’s children are eligible to inherit that status.
Unlike his sister, Harry and Meghan’s son Archie, two, was born in the UK – at the Portland Hospital in London – but both children possess dual British and American citizenship.
When the couple married in 2018, it was announced that Meghan intended to become a British citizen, however it can take several years. It’s believed that the Sussexes chose to step down as senior royals and move across the pond before the process was complete; it’s unclear whether they are continuing to see it through now that they’ve settled in Montecito.
It appears that Meghan remains an American citizen; she voted in the presidential election last year – making her the first member of the British Royal Family to do so.
When Harry moved to the US last year, sources told the Times that he didn’t intend on applying for a green card or dual citizenship ‘in the foreseeable future’. If Harry applied for US citizenship, it would require him to renounce his titles and expose him to US taxation on his earnings worldwide, according to the Immigration and Nationalization Act. It’s not known whether he has a diplomatic or other special visa; it’s highly unlikely he has a tourist visa because that would forbid him from working.
Yeah, they got a lot of this wrong. Of course Meghan “remains” an American citizen. She never gave up her American citizenship and she never completed her British citizenship. Lili is also an American citizen automatically because she was born in California, it’s not a matter of being “entitled” to American citizenship. Lili is an American. Full stop. Lili likely already has her Social Security number, or she will soon. Harry would have to apply for Lili’s British citizenship, it would not be automatically granted at birth, although I’m sure it will be easier for them considering Harry is still a member of the royal family. While it’s never been confirmed, I would assume that Meghan worked out Archie’s American citizenship soon after he was born – not only does America have birthright citizenship, but if an American citizen gives birth abroad (as Meghan did), the child is still an American, you just have to fill out the paperwork.
The point of this DM story was just to agitate the masses about how “American” the Sussex fam is and always will be. If Meghan, Archie and Lili are American citizens, protected by American laws, then they can’t be controlled by the British media or the Windsors. And I sincerely hope that Harry has already started the naturalization process. It will be easier for him because he is married to a hot American and he has two American-citizen anchor babies.
Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.
Those children having citizenship in the US means they will be protected by the US against the UK tabloids. It means they have rights as American citizens that no foreign media can’t touch.
And the fact that they are in the state of California also means that there are quite strict paparazzi laws. So that’s definitely a bonus. No drones taking pictures of baby girls nursery
I actually can’t believe they’re not leaning into this as these kids could be the first of the royal family to run for president in the US.
Archie can’t run as he was born in the UK – or am I mistaken? Don’t you have to be born in the US?
No, he can run. You have to be a natural born citizen (meaning a citizen at birth), which he is. Someone like Harry could never run, even if he becomes a US citizen, bc that is not “natural born.” This is why Ted Cruz is eligible – his mother is American, even though he was born in Canada.
Angie : John McCain was born in Panama, iirc, but he could still run for POTUS because his parents were American.
Re: Meghan and her British citizenship, that’s fallen by the wayside to be sure, because she’d have to live in the UK for the majority of the year for five years. But honestly, post Brexit, a British passport isn’t worth having, hence everyone trying to shake their family tree to see where they can claim EU citizenship from.
George Romney, Mitch’s father was a presidential candidate in the 60’s and he was born in Chihuahua, Mexico, in the mormon colonies. His family had moved to Mexico in the late XIX century.
sorry, Mitt, no Mitch.
@Becks1 – I think you may be mistaken. I do not believe that Archie can run for POTUS as he was not born on US soil. However, I may be wrong.
@duchess of hazard – No. John McCain was born in the “US Canal Zone” of Panama which at the time of his birth was considered US soil. This is the same as with Barry Goldwater who was born in the US Territory of Arizona before Arizona became a state.
Per Wikipedia:
“Questions were occasionally asked about Romney’s eligibility to run for President owing to his birth in Mexico, given the ambiguity in the United States Constitution over the phrase “natural-born citizen”. Romney would depart the race before the matter could be more definitively resolved, although the preponderance of opinion then and since has been that he was eligible, no court has ever ruled on this manner.”
This is the same problem Ted Cruz had and has. If Ted Cruz ever gets the Presidential nomination, it is my guess that a lawsuit will end up in front of and decided by the SCOTUS.
Natural born citizen means born to an American parent. Or born on US soil when no parent is American. Even Ted Cruz would qualify because his mother was American. The requirement does not only mean born on US soil. It means that at birth the baby is naturally American, which applies to Ted Cruz as well as Archie and Lili.
@Bay – no, you don’t have to be born on US soil. Natural born just means to a parent who is a US citizen (because that makes you a US citizen from birth, hence you are a “natural born citizen.”) this is to differentiate from those who apply for and become citizens later in life. Basically it means you don’t have to “do” anything to become a citizen, you just are from birth. (even filling out paperwork for Archie wouldn’t be the same thing.)
ETA now this may be tested before SCOTUS in future years, but right now as things stand Cruz, Romney and yes, Archie, are eligible to run.
(I think the tricky thing for Archie is how being in line to the British throne and having a title plays into it, but that’s above my pay grade.)
I often envy other citizenships (though not UK so much since Brexit) but for the very wealthy who will never lack for health coverage, being a U S citizen is the way to go. Not just for tax purposes although that too but the relative social freedom and to live in places like Santa Barbara.
Would it make you feel better if I told you we are deep into June gloom in SB? 🙂 Anyways, it gets sunny by mid afternoon so it’s all good and the more fog, the less fire danger. I thought maybe we saw Doria last Tuesday night at a restaurant in Montecito. If it was her, she was on her own and being left alone. Beautiful women.
I hope it was Doria! I love the idea that she treats herself to evenings out in Montecito and no one bugs her. Makes perfect sense she’d be there right now. (And I love taking myself on solo dates, so I feel an affinity with anyone else who does that).
I think the DM readers are already furious that 2 of their precious royals are American citizens. Their heads would literally explode Scanners style of Harry became one.
The Daily Fail commentariat (90% of it or there about) is just off their rockers on anything having to do with the Sussexes. The comment have become so ridiculous and on top of that do not even make sense.
The Daily Fail commentariat is still pushing the falsehood that Meghan is mentally and physically abusing her children and that it got so bad that a neighbor reported her to California Child Protection Services. Not only is the Daily Fail unhinged, but what the Daily Fail encourages and allows is dangerous.
You could have stopped at “is off their rockers” 😂
The notion that any neighbor of theirs would live close enough to witness the alleged abuse is almost as insane as the idea that there would be abuse in the first place. These kinds of neighborhoods in California are like adjacent compounds more than midwestern suburban communities.
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As I stated originally, The Daily Fail is completely unhinged and their commentariat is even more unhinged.
How could that neighbor even see anything? They would need to by flying a drone well into their property to see anything. Literally at the edge of the property with long range binoculars and a drone. That’s some made up BS by people who have never been to the US.
The Daily Fail should be stopped. There is so much evidence of its incitement to hatred. There are certain campaigns established to investigate its shenanigans, one of which I have supported. I await its findings, the downfall of the Fail is long overdue.
@teecee. You can only relate to what you know and on the Salty Isle, the average joe does live on top of each other. They cannot comprehend that in the States it is quite possible for the average person to have quite some space between them and their neighbors. They don’t even need to have HM’s level of wealth to have a nice-sized garden.
Harry’s a U.S. resident married to a U.S. citizen and father to two U.S. citizens. Surely it’s only a matter of time for him?
Not necessarily. Mostly because of the tax laws. US citizens pay taxes on income earned worldwide (after the first $108,000 or so, if you live abroad). If he becomes a US citizen, all of his income becomes taxable in the US, regardless of where it is earned or where he lives. He might apply, eventually, if and when it becomes clear that they do not intend to relocate outside the US and he wants to vote in the US. If they are considering moving back to Canada or to a country in Africa, even for a few years, his US tax burden as a citizen becomes a really expensive proposition.
I have friends who have lived & worked in the US for 20+ years, have Green Cards, and have children who were born here, but who will never apply for citizenship. They intend to retire to their home countries and do not want to pay income taxes to the US once they have returned to Iceland, Germany, Portugal, etc.
Liz – Thank you for that explanation. I don’t know much about tax law, but when I lived overseas as a US citizen I wasn’t required to pay US taxes at all. I had the option to pay state taxes to retain my state residency (for the purposes of in-state college tuition and other small benefits) but didn’t have to pay any federal taxes. I see your point about a citizen in the U.S. having to pay taxes for income earned overseas, but a naturalized citizen who returns overseas wouldn’t (to my knowledge) have to pay U.S. taxes once they’ve left.
Also, it’s not clear whether Harry is a resident or not. Residency = a green card, something he allegedly doesn’t have yet (but I would be surprised if he didn’t get eventually). As far as anyone knows, he only has a visa, likely through his marriage to Meghan.
And on the taxes paid while overseas, that was actually the reason why Boris Johnson renounced his US citizenship (which costs at least $2,000). He said the taxes were a pain. Not everyone ends up paying anything, but you are typically supposed to at least file. The IRS may not take any of your money, but they follow you wherever you go. That may not deter him (it’s something Meghan was likely subjected to while in the UK) but it is an issue for some people.
Of course they’re mad because they don’t have access to them and America isn’t going to bully and harass them like the UK. Moving to America was the best decision they could’ve made. Only besides a few obvious haters in the American press, the rest won’t be stupid enough to lose and chase away the bag. The Oprah interview showed America’s press that those two are gold. They’re not fumbling not.
I also think we Americans are also a bit protective of our own (Meghan) and Di’s son. Rightly so. Plus, there is a whole population here that could careless (my husband for one – which boggles my mind – but I digress).
Today I read in one article: “Lili Diana can now run for American president while still being in line to the throne.”
My heart ❤️🥺
OH WOW, that is very very true.
Actually the Foreign Emoluments Clause would probably (?) restrict that. It was intended to prevent the establishment of an aristocracy in America. If I understand correctly, as the daughter of a royal duke and a granddaughter in the male line of the prince of Wales, she has a courtesy title even if she doesn’t use it (as does Archie, technically, “the style of children of dukes of these Our Realms”) and in future, as the granddaughter in the male line of the monarch, she will be a princess. Of course this is assuming Charles/William don’t change that up just to demean Harry and his family.
I don’t doubt you, but we saw with the last president just how much teeth the foreign emoluments clause has and/or how much members of Congress (the QOP, specifically) want to enforce that. Which is to say, none at all.
My head just exploded. This needs to happen in 35 years.
She’d probably have to denounce herself in the line of succession if she were to run for President.
gotta give it to the daily mail – they sure can make a story out of a non-story!
xenophobia aside, you can just tell how dry the well is for the tabloids when it comes to the sussexes since they left that island. they got the news of the birth same time as everyone else! lol. with no leaks from the palace, they really have to make shit up every week now (visas, citizenship, old bones in montecito, vineyards, etc). they soo badly want to keep hounding h&m ’cause their royals aren’t interesting. ‘zero engagement’ with shitty tabloids is smart for h&m.
The Fail is a dangerous conduit and needs to be stopped.
LOL, they sound so salty. Yes, they’re Americans – Meghan, Archie, and Lili. And maybe Harry, who knows, but I would assume he at least has a green card at this point, right?
He’s eligible for a marriage green card, but the tax situation is complicated. With a green card he would be taxed on all of his income from wherever it comes. If he’s on a work visa, like an O1 “extraordinary ability” visa, then he’d be taxed only on the US income. In any case, any US employer would have had to file for a work visa before they could hire him.
Their children will always also be considered American since their mother is American born. that’s their birthright thanks to Meghan. I think some salty people have forgotten that fact.
The kids were always going to be American even if they were born in Antarctica because Meghan is an American.
Also I have 0 knowledge on the American citizenship process but I don’t think he would have to renounce any titles? He can’t use them *legally* in the US but he can use them informally (which is what he’s going now).
And he would remain titled in the UK.
I think it’s that he can’t be closely in line for the throne if he’s a dual citizen. A lot of countries won’t allow you in any kind of governance role if you are a dual citizen because it could lead to split loyalties. Not sure if he would have to give up his title as a Duke but certainly he would have to give up his place in line to the throne.
“The Mail is Really Mad” should just be copy/pasted as the title for future posts on their ridiculousness. It will save time. 😉
Harry would not have to give up his titles if he became an American citizen and Archie, as an American, will still inherit the dukedom of Sussex. There are many American citizens who hold European titles. Grace Kelly retained her US citizenship when she became Princess of Monaco.
That’s different. No one could (a) take Grace’s US citizenship away and she (b) went and became a princess. The Naturalization Act in the US says they can’t BECOME a naturalized citizen (which is what Harry would do) and KEEP titles. Lots of info on Google on this.
He can apply for dual nationality which is allowed by both US and UK laws. He would retain all the rights of a UK citizen,including his titles and his place in the line of succession.
https://us.iasservices.org.uk/visas/settle-uk/british-citizenship/british-dual-nationality/
Dual citizenship seems like best option for Harry.
He can retain his UK citizenship but he has to indicate that he’s willing to renounce his titles at the Naturalization ceremony. He also will have to sign the Renunciation of Foreign Titles section of the N400 at his interview (Part 17). So yes in order to become a US citizen technically he would have to renounce his titles. I don’t know how stringent they are about it, I’ve never represented a client with foreign titles so can’t speak from any first-hand experience.
A Harry journey to US citizenship and the ceremony might make for a good Netflix doc.
The Daily Mail knows that Meghan moving back to the US made her application for UK citizenship null and void. They just want to rile up the public in their belief that Meghan rejected them and Harry abandoned them.
They are angry that some of the sticks used to beat the Sussexes have been taken away from them.
I dunno how it works for Harry since he’s a royal prince. Can he become an American citizen without losing his royal titles? If he has a US bank account and is earning money here, he has to pay US taxes, regardless of his citizenship. Also, that means even if Lili and Archie decide to move to the UK as adults, they will have to pay US taxes for the rest of their lives unless they renounce their US citizenship. Not a huge deal really since they aren’t accidental Americans (you can read up on that, it’s an interesting phenomenon).
I think anchor baby applies more if you are born to a noncitizen mother, not a father usually, and it typically refers to people who entered the US illegally. My dad is French and didn’t become a US citizen until he had been in the country for 16 years (I was 10 by that time). But my mom is a citizen and through his marriage to her my dad was a legal US resident on the fiance visa, it was all done the legal way (also the 1980s was just an easier time in general I think when it came to applying for those kinds of visas). Anchor baby does not apply to me.
No. Naturalization requires giving up titles.
Anchor baby is when neither parent is a citizen but foreign parents take advantage of the US “born on American soil, get a passport” law. It’s more common than the average American knows among wealthy Asian and Europeans for the mother to be “vacationing” in California (or something) when their baby comes.
The Russians apparently have a booming business doing just that in, no surprise, Florida. But the press always focuses on the scary brown people. Plus people overstaying their visas is just as big if not a bigger threat. That’s what the 9/11 hijackers did. Come in easy peasy and basically vanish.
I think the 9/11 hijackers were in the USA on expired student visas but I could be wrong.
The press also ignores the fact that an “anchor baby” has to turn 21 before he or she can sponsor her parent to become a USC. So it’s not an automatic thing at all but that’s not a convenient talking point for rightwing media.
Very true. Even rich Mexicans do it! We live near the border and have a vacation rental and have had several Mexican guests have babies while there. In the hospital, of course!
Yes. He can apply for dual citizenship. This is different to naturalisation.
https://us.iasservices.org.uk/visas/settle-uk/british-citizenship/british-dual-nationality/
Naturalization is the process of becoming a US citizen under US immigration law. That is how we would become a US citizen. He would apply to become an LPR and, if done through marriage, hold LPR status for 3 years at which point he would have the ability to naturalize. Then he would complete the N-400 Application for Naturalization on which he would have to renounce his titles. He can retain his UK citizenship but the N-400 requires a signature renouncing titles in front of a USCIS officer.
My child works in Europe and has not paid US taxes in a decade. Yes, the US requires an annual tax filing. Should substantial funds be repatriated, they will be taxed. Corporations are different. US citizens are not penalized for living and working abroad. It helps spread American influence.
The first $108,000 earned by a US citizen living abroad is exempt from taxation outright and there is a deduction for taxes paid to the nation where your child is living. Given that income tax rates in Europe are generally higher than US income tax rates, it’s not surprising that they owe nothing to the IRS. But the US is one of only a handful of countries that tax citizens living abroad at all.
The fact that they’re salty enough they’re pointing out the Archewell post is written in American English is cracking me up. I couldn’t figure out which words would have been spelled differently if it were British English. Maybe some UK readers can enlighten me if there actually is anything in the statement to make it ‘American?’
That is an odd thing for them to point out. I’m American-maybe the spelling of honor-not being honour.
Lila, that made me chuckle as well. The only thing I can see is “honors” instead of “honours.” Apparently, one missing letter can bring haters to their knees. 😂
Bwahahaha! Thank you both for the insight. We gauche Americans and our missing letters!
Anti American sentiment unfortunately is still very strong in the UK.
I took that as a slam on Meghan. How dare she meddle behind the scenes, announcing the birth of her own baby!! You’d never guess Britain has had a female monarch all these years. The fear of women is hilarious.
I wonder what the male/female ratio is on DM, not to mention the palace.
Well, at least we can assume that Lili’s birth certificate will actually list Meghan’s name! No, I’m never getting over that somebody removed her from Archie’s.
Seriously. Just erased her identity from it. It was so deliberate.
Just came to say that their engagement photo says it all: it’s real love. They will will never be able to convince him to leave her. They cherish each other. She saved his life.
Kaiser, thank you for posting it today. It made me happy to see. The saltines will never win.
If you are born outside the US to US citizens (as I was), you do not have to fill out paperwork to make your child a citizen. You can fill out a registration of foreign birth but you have citizenship even if that doesn’t happen.
To get a passport in the country where I was born, all they needed was my birth certificate. To get a US passport, I had to have my birth certificate and birth certificates for both of my parents (which was such a pain in the ass that my dad ordered several copies in 1990 and I still have some).
If Meghan wanted to become a citizen of the UK (and had the backing of the Royal Family), she would already be one. I’m sure they make exceptions from time to time, probably without publicity for obvious reasons. I base this on a couple of NZ cases and I doubt they’re more above board than our lot were. Of course I seriously doubt The Firm would have backed an expedited process. Just as I doubt MM was really that fussed about becoming a subject/citizen. It may have been handy for EU travel but that’s not applicable anymore anyway.
Oh, my child was born outside the US. Iirc, he got his citizenship automatically but it was a bit tricky. Automatic citizenship when born abroad happens if at least one American parent lived in the US until they were age 14 or spent a certain amount of their adult life there. You can’t just be American, leave and never come back, and have loads of American children abroad.
It’s funny to see how much the UK papers got wrong. God, what an ignorant little island…they really don’t care to learn about how anyone else does things besides themselves.
Maybe things have changed over the years –
My mother was born in 1944 in the US and lived there until she was 4 when she moved to Canada. She never took out her American citizenship, never had a SSN, never had a passport, although she was eligible to do so.
Second, even if you have a greencard, if you are on it for a certain number of years, the IRS treats you like you are American – taxed on worldwide income. I’m a greencard holder.