General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Ted Cruz is not eligible to be president. [View all]Jim Lane
(11,175 posts)Without going back and looking this up again, I think the law in effect at the time both Obama and Cruz were born (a law since changed) is that a child born abroad is a U.S. citizen at birth if:
(1) both parents are citizens; OR
(2) one parent is a citizen and that parent meets certain residency requirements, which I think was ten years of residence in the United States including at least five years of residence after his or her fourteenth birthday.
Obama's mother, being only 18, didn't meet the second test, so Obama's citizenship rests on the Fourteenth Amendment and his birth in Hawaii. Cruz's mother, however, was older, and no one has ever suggested that she didn't meet the requirements.
I'm agreeing with you that Cruz is eligible. I'm just pointing out that your specific example is not apropos.