Biological or adopted children who regularly reside outside of the United States may qualify for naturalization under section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), as amended by the Child Citizenship Act (CCA). In general, to be eligible for citizenship under section 322 of the INA, a child must meet the following requirements:

* At least one parent is a U.S. citizen or, if deceased, the parent was a U.S. citizen at the time of death.
* The U.S. citizen parent or his or her U.S. citizen parent has (or at the time of death had) been physically present in the United States or its outlying possessions for at least 5 years, at least two of which were after attaining the age of 14.
* The child is under the age of 18 years.
* The child is residing outside of the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent (or, if the citizen parent is deceased, an individual who does not object to the application).
* The child is temporarily present in the United States after having entered lawfully and is maintaining lawful status in the United States.
* An adopted child may be eligible for naturalization under section 322 of the INA if the child satisfies the requirements applicable to adopted children under sections 101(b)(1)(E), (F) or (G) of the INA.

To obtain citizenship under section 322 of the INA, the application must be filed, approved, and the child must take the oath of allegiance, if required to do so, before the child reaches age 18.