How German is the guy? I thought he grew up here and went to a school in CA?
Originally Posted by: KRK
Unlike the United States, which confers citizenship primarily through
jus soli ("right of soil" -- that is, by being born on American soil) -- Germany, like most European countries, confers citizenship through
jus sanguinis ("right of blood" -- that is, through genetic lineage). Brown and his siblings are German citizens by virtue of the fact that their mother is German, even though they grew up in the United States.
The United States takes the principle of
jus soli to remarkable lengths. A baby born on an airplane in American airspace automatically receives American citizenship, even if the plane never touches down anywhere inside the borders of the United States! I don't know of any other nation that is so generous in doling out citizenship to children of foreigners.
Strictly speaking, of course, the United States uses a hybrid system of both
jus soli and
jus sanguinis, since children of American citizens also automatically receive American citizenship, regardless of where in the world they are born. Very recently, Germany has moved toward a hybrid system as well, impelled mainly by the enormous influx of immigrants over the past couple of decades. It's gotten awkward having such a significant population of children and grandchildren of immigrants who are effectively stuck in no man's land, having not received citizenship of the country in which they were born and grown up.