DHS has issued the first regulation implementing Executive Order 14418, and it changes how the government treats certain children born on U.S. soil. The interim final rule, “Registration of Lawful Permanent Residence for Children Born to Foreign Government Employees in the United States,” took effect September 4, 2026 and was published in the Federal Register on September 9. Comments are due October 5, 2026 under DHS Docket No. USCIS-2026-0496.
The long-standing rule has been narrow. Since the 1940s, and formally since regulations issued in 1982 at 8 CFR 101.3, children born in the United States to accredited foreign diplomatic officers have been treated as not acquiring citizenship under the Fourteenth Amendment — the ambassador exception the Supreme Court described in United States v. Wong Kim Ark. Those children may instead voluntarily register as lawful permanent residents by filing Form I-485 and showing they have not abandoned U.S. residence. If granted, LPR status is backdated to the date of birth.
What the new rule does is widen the class. Executive Order 14418, signed August 6, 2026 and published at 91 FR 51991, identifies children born in the U.S. who have no U.S. citizen parent and whose parent is a “foreign government employee” — defined to include ambassadors; people employed by a foreign embassy or consulate who are nationals of that country; people employed by a foreign government in an official capacity; and people employed by an international organization possessing international-organization immunity. That reaches well beyond accredited diplomats, potentially covering consular staff and employees of organizations such as international financial institutions. The E.O. directs DHS not to issue documents recognizing U.S. citizenship for these individuals, and not to accept state or local documents purporting to do so. The IFR gives that group the same voluntary LPR-registration path at new 8 CFR 101.3(b), along with conforming changes to Form I-485 and Form G-325R.
Two limits matter. First, the rule applies only to children born on or after September 4, 2026; children born before that date are treated under the regulations in effect at their birth. Second, DHS states that because of the preliminary injunction in Casa Inc. v. Trump, No. 8:25-cv-00201 (D. Md.), entered September 2, 2026, it will not implement the rule as to any member of the certified class or in any way that conflicts with the injunction unless the government obtains relief from it.
DHS issued the rule without advance notice and comment, invoking the Administrative Procedure Act’s foreign affairs exception at 5 U.S.C. 553(a) and the good cause exception, on the reasoning that the rule regulates foreign diplomats and touches the conduct of foreign affairs. The agency also concedes it cannot quantify who is affected, saying available data does not show how many foreign government employees have a U.S. citizen spouse or depart before or after a child’s birth, so the affected population is described only qualitatively.
For families in these categories, the practical consequence is that a child who would previously have received a U.S. birth certificate treated as proof of citizenship may now face immigration registration and documentation requirements instead — subject to how the Casa litigation resolves.
Need help with your immigration petition? Visit QuickFiling.us for AI-guided NIW and EB-1A petition preparation.
Source: USCIS Newsroom / Federal Register (orchestrator-resolved; not surfaced by phone sources)