Cidadão não-cidadão da Samoa Americana

A person born in American Samoa or Swains Island acquires U.S. nationality, but not U.S. citizenship, at birth under INA sec. 308 = 8 USC sec. 1408(1). The status is 'non-citizen national of the United States' (8 USC sec. 1101(a)(21)-(22)): the person owes permanent allegiance to the U.S., is entitled to a U.S. passport (endorsed to show non-citizen-national status, e.g., the legend that the bearer is a national and not a citizen), may enter, reside, and work anywhere in the U.S. without immigration restriction, and is not deportable as an alien. But the person is NOT a citizen: cannot vote in federal elections, cannot serve on federal juries, and is barred from offices and benefits reserved to citizens. This is the only U.S. population that holds legal recognition and permanent allegiance yet lacks citizenship at birth. Citizenship is available only by later naturalization (sec. 325 = 8 USC sec. 1436) after relocating to a State, or by any other generally applicable route once otherwise qualified.

Good moral character is NOT an element of acquiring non-citizen-national status at birth — like all birth-based status, sec. 1408(1) nationality vests regardless of later conduct. Good moral character DOES become relevant at the optional sec. 1436 naturalization step: because sec. 1436 is a naturalization provision, it incorporates the general naturalization requirements, including good moral character (INA sec. 316 = 8 USC sec. 1427; 8 CFR sec. 316.10), attachment to the Constitution, English and civics (sec. 312 = 8 USC sec. 1423), and the oath (sec. 337 = 8 USC sec. 1448). Thus a born American Samoan keeps non-citizen-national status irrespective of character, but must satisfy good-moral-character and the other naturalization conditions to convert to citizenship via sec. 1436. The status itself is not revocable for bad character; only the voluntary-relinquishment framework (sec. 349) can divest nationality.

Proof of non-citizen-national status is documentary and birth-based: a birth certificate issued by the American Samoa vital-records authority establishing birth in American Samoa or Swains Island, and a U.S. passport endorsed to reflect non-citizen-national status. The Department of State also issues Certificates of Non-Citizen Nationality (citing INA secs. 101(a)(21)-(22), 308, 325) to document the status. For the sec. 1436 naturalization bridge, the applicant must additionally prove residence in a U.S. State (American Samoa residence does not qualify, given the sec. 1101(a)(36) exclusion) plus the ordinary naturalization evidence (good moral character, English/civics, etc.). For a born-abroad American Samoan claiming derivative status under sec. 1408(2)-(4), evidence of the parent's status and the applicable physical-presence facts is required. A claimant asserting citizenship (e.g., on a Fitisemanu-type theory) bears the burden under the preponderance standard and may litigate via 8 USC sec. 1503, but the current circuit law forecloses 14th-Amendment citizenship.

Acquiring non-citizen-national status requires no procedure — it vests at birth in American Samoa/Swains Island under sec. 1408(1). To DOCUMENT it: obtain the American Samoa birth certificate and apply for a U.S. passport (endorsed as non-citizen national) or a Certificate of Non-Citizen Nationality from the Department of State. To become a CITIZEN, the person must: (1) relocate to and establish residence in a U.S. State (American Samoa does not count, per sec. 1101(a)(36)); (2) file Form N-400 for naturalization under INA sec. 325 = 8 USC sec. 1436, which tailors the residence requirement to non-citizen nationals; (3) satisfy the ordinary naturalization conditions (good moral character, attachment, English + civics under sec. 312, and the oath under sec. 337). Because the person is already a U.S. national owing permanent allegiance, the sec. 1436 route is the principal and most direct bridge, but it still requires the State-residence predicate and the full naturalization adjudication.

Non-citizen-national status is instantaneous at birth and requires no processing. Documenting it (passport endorsement or Certificate of Non-Citizen Nationality) follows ordinary Department of State timelines posted at travel.state.gov (typically several weeks for a routine passport). The sec. 1436 naturalization bridge follows the general naturalization timeline — a USCIS N-400 adjudication — for which the LIVE authority is the USCIS processing-times tool at egov.uscis.gov/processing-times, to be consulted at filing rather than relying on a static figure; as of 2026-06-01 (verify current) the typical published N-400 range runs several months to beyond a year, varying by field office. The statutory decision framework imposes no waiting period on the status itself. The Evidence Table pins no route-specific numeric processing figure for US-BTH-03; do not assert a precise field-office number from training data. Note that the State-residence requirement itself introduces practical lead time, since the American Samoan must physically relocate and establish residence in a State before the sec. 1436 clock and filing can proceed.

Non-citizen-national status is free — it vests by statute at birth with no fee. Documentary costs are the American Samoa birth-certificate fee, the Department of State passport fee, and the fee (if any) for a Certificate of Non-Citizen Nationality. The sec. 1436 naturalization bridge carries the ordinary naturalization filing cost (Form N-400) — the Evidence Table pins the general N-400 fee matrix at $760 paper / $710 online / $380 reduced (effective 1 Apr 2024, per 89 FR 6194), with fee-exempt treatment for qualifying military applicants. Any fee applied to a specific filing must be confirmed against the current USCIS G-1055 schedule at the time of filing. There is no investment requirement and no charge for the non-citizen-national status itself; the only material federal fee in the route arises at the optional sec. 1436 naturalization step.

O estatuto operativo é INA sec. 308 = 8 USC seg. 1408 (promulgado em 27 de junho de 1952, capítulo 477, título III, capítulo 1, seção 308, 66 Stat. 238; alterado pela Pub. L. 99-396 seção 15 (a), 27 de agosto de 1986, 100 Stat. 842 e Pub. L. 100-525 seg. 3(2), 24 de outubro de 1988, 102 Stat. 2614 — sendo a Lei de 1988 um esclarecimento técnico da alteração de 1986). A Seção 1408(1) torna uma pessoa nascida em uma possessão remota dos Estados Unidos na data/após a data de aquisição formal dessa posse um cidadão não cidadão ao nascer. 'Possessões remotas dos Estados Unidos' é a definição legal FECHADA em 8 USC seg. 1101(a)(29) = INA seg. 101(a)(29), compreendendo Samoa Americana e Ilha Swains. As definições 'nacional'/'nacional dos Estados Unidos' estão em 8 USC seg. 1101(a)(21)-(22). A Ilha Swains tornou-se parte da Samoa Americana pela Resolução Conjunta de 4 de março de 1925 (48 USC sec. 1662; 43 Stat. 1357), e a ratificação pelo Congresso dos Atos de Cessão da Samoa Americana ocorreu em 20 de fevereiro de 1929 (48 USC sec. 1661; 45 Stat. 1253) - a 'data de aquisição formal' âncora para sec. 1408(1). A ponte de naturalização é INA sec. 325 = 8 USC seg. 1436 (66 Stat. 248, alterado em 1990).

The constitutional challenge to sec. 1408 status has been litigated and rejected. Tuaua v. United States, 788 F.3d 300 (D.C. Cir. 2015), held the Citizenship Clause does not extend birthright citizenship to American Samoa; cert was denied. Fitisemanu v. United States, 1 F.4th 862 (10th Cir. 2021) (VC-02), reversed a contrary district-court ruling and reached the same conclusion; rehearing en banc was denied (20 F.4th 1325, 27 Dec 2021); and the Supreme Court denied certiorari on 17 Oct 2022 (No. 21-1394; 143 S. Ct. 362) (VC-03). As of 2026-06-01 the merits have NOT been decided by the Supreme Court — cert was simply denied, so the circuit holdings stand and sec. 1408(1) remains intact. The Insular-Cases framework underpinning these decisions is itself under modern criticism (Financial Oversight Bd. v. Aurelius, 590 U.S. 448 (2020), 'will not extend' them; Gorsuch concurrence and Sotomayor dissent in United States v. Vaello Madero, 596 U.S. 159 (2022)), but it has not been overruled. An individual claiming citizenship may pursue a declaratory-judgment action under INA sec. 360 = 8 USC sec. 1503.

The defining feature of this route is what it does NOT confer: citizenship. American Samoa/Swains Island birth gives non-citizen nationality only (sec. 1408(1)), so the bearer is exempt from alien-immigration restrictions (free entry, residence, work) but is excluded from the franchise and citizen-only offices/benefits. Critically, American Samoa is EXCLUDED from the 'State' definition (8 USC sec. 1101(a)(36)), which is why the sec. 1436 naturalization route requires relocating to a State and cannot be satisfied by residence in American Samoa itself. There is no automatic conversion to citizenship by length of residence in American Samoa; the status persists at birth and across life unless the person naturalizes. The CNMI-style sec. 302 opt-down (US-BTH-02) is inapplicable here — American Samoa never adopted an Organic Act conferring citizenship, and local political preference (American Samoa has declined federal citizenship legislation, a point noted by the Fitisemanu majority) has preserved the status quo. A child born to an American Samoan parent ABROAD may acquire status under the jus sanguinis provisions of sec. 1408(2)-(4) rather than sec. 1408(1).