parents get teh passport when they become citizens. if they are permanent residents, thats fine as well. Not all F1s become H1s and not all H1s become Permanent Residents.
btw F1 are not considered legal RESIDENTS, they are considered NON-RESIDENTS. just like tourists, people on business visas etc.
the 14th ammendment that is the basic basis of children of non-residents and even illegals getting citizenship, was actually added after the civil war to ensure that the descendents of slaves get citizenship.
regardless, atleast we agree that illegals kids should not have automatic citizenship.
Well my point is simple. If someone is in the country LEGALLY, then any kids they have that are born in the USA should continue to get automatic citizenship. Don't care what visa they have, or green card. If they have gone through the process to be in the country legally, their kids deserve the protection of 14th amendment. I understand the argument about heavily pregnant women traveling to get their babies born in the US, but I don't think its a compelling argument to stop giving citizenship to the babies. I don't see any evidence to suggest this policy (of giving visas to legal residents/visitors) is causing any kind of problem in the country. If there is something I am missing, please feel free to enlighten me.
On the other hand, if someone is in the country ILLEGALLY, then I fully agree that their kids should not be given automatic citizenship. This should discourage people from illegally crossing over, and will also avoid split families when illegals are deported.