Military Brats born abroad can't be President?

In order to become President, you have to be born in the USA. Unfortunately, this excludes military brats born abroad, even if they were abroad in military service to the USA.

I was born in Germany, on an American Army base, because my dad was in the Army and was stationed there. If I ever wanted to be President, I wouldn't be able to because I wasn't born in the USA.

I don't want to be President, so it's not a big deal to me. But, I bet there's some patriot brats who would like the job, but are being denied the opportunity for the same reasons. It seems to me that they should have that chance.

Your thoughts?

I believe you may have misread that line in the United States Constitution. The wording actually states you must be a natural born citizen on the United States. It does not say you must be born IN the United States. Even if you were not born on the military base in Germany you would still meet the criteria of beeing a natural born citizen.

I agree with you and have always thought that this wasnt right. Who knows maybe someday this will be changed.

An army base is considered American soil as far as I know. You would be eligible.

You CAN be president. If you were born of American parents you are an American citizen, even if born abroad.

John McCain, I believe, was born in the Panama Canal Zone, yet he is not disqualified.

PS Yup - his parents were citizens, so it does not matter where he was born:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_McCain

The Zone was US territory at the time, but again his parents were citizens, so that's the deciding factor. He could have been born in the USSR and still run for president.

Remember me when you get to the White House! :)

They should have that chance. If that's the case, they should have the political clout in Congress to push it through before hand.

In order to be President, you have to be a natural-born U.S. citizen; this means that you were born on U.S. soil, OR your parents are U.S. citizens.

I don't know where you got this information, but it's wrong.

I'm not so sure about this.

All it says in the Constitution is that you must be a native born citizen of the US. Military service constitutes American citizenship, and I believe DoD dependents are as well.

This would be a question for a Constitutional lawyer if you were really interested in the job. Who the hell would want it in the first place?

You are wrong. One has to be born a citizen to be pres, and all those born in the u.s. are citizens, but there are other provisions for citizenship for those born abroad. The premise of your first sentence is incorrect. Therefore, the rest of what you wrote is irrelevant.

My son is in the same boat. He was born in Korea.
Personally I feel that anyone who can meet the criteria for the Report of an American Citizen Born Abroad issued by the Embassy should be able to run.
George Romney who tried to run in the 1970s was the son of an Ambassador and disqualified because he was born in Mexico.

Hey, my dad was born on a military base in Germany! Yes, you are correct, you have to be born in the US, even though both my dad's parents were legal citizens their whole lives. When you are born a US citizen outside the country, you don't get a birth certificate.

It does seem kind of dumb, but imagine if two US citizens left the country for 20 years, had a kid, and 30 years later he came back to the US. Certainly his citizenship would come into question.

why don't you join the military?

Unless you were born between 1941 and 1952, your mother was not a US citizen and you did not meet the requirements of living CONUS within the time frames in the 2nd link you are eligible.

You would be eligible. Your parents were Americans stationed on an American base. That makes you and anyone else natural Americans

Wrong answer. If you are born overseas you are still an American. Link to where it says you can't.

Military bases are NOT considered US soil.

Americans born abroad to two US parents can become president as long as one of the parents actually lived 5 or more years in the United States, 2 of which after the age of 18.

Negative, you have to be a naturalized (non-immigrant) citizen. In other words, if you are born of one or more citizens, you are a citizen, no matter what other countries you might be a citizen of, and you are then eligible for the presidency.

Being born over seas doesnt mean you cant be preseident if you were born on a base.

This is NOT TRUE, you are an AMERICAN CITIZEN, so therefore, you can become President of the USA, if nominated an win the
election!!

American Parents on a American Military base which is considered American soil. Run for President if you change your mind.

i dont know if any of these people who are answering have given birth to a baby on an overseas base since 9/11 but the rules have changed, my son was born in feb 07 in japan..on base to 2 american parents. he was born a japanese citizen and in fact was not a US citizen until May so he has not been a citizen since birth, i think the date on his consulars report is apr 23, 2007. which puts him in the same boat as schwarzenegger or anyone else who is now a US citizen but wasnt born one and wants to run for president.

Actually, since you were born on an Army base, you are still eligible. It is the same as being born on our soil.

Ok, as a former poli sci major I say this is just wacked & also false. The Constitution clearly states that too. I mean your parents are American. But you can run for president if you were born to American parents in a different country, also an American Amry base is considered to be apart of the United States too. I just wish that people would know what the heck they were talking about before they speak.

You're reading the requirement wrong. You have to be a natural born U.S. Citizen, meaning that at your time of birth you are a U.S. Citizen, not an immigrant citizen. Big difference. Since your parents were U.S. Citizens you were born a U.S. Citizen, therefore you are a Natural born U.S. Citizen. You didn't immigrate and apply for citizenship, for you it was automatic. You would be eligible to run for presidency.