8 U.S.C. § 1403
Section 1403 · Persons born in the Canal Zone or Republic of Panama on or after February 26, 1904
This is § 303 of the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (McCarran-Walter)
Amended 1 time on record
Applied in 12 court decisions — leading case United States v. Thompson-Riviere (2009)
Most recently applied in 347 F. App'x 734 - Wood v. Attorney General of the United States (October 2009)
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year.Markers show enactment, consequential amendments, and circuit splits over this section — watch for a citation surge after a change or a disagreement. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
(a) Any person born in the Canal Zone on or after February 26, 1904, and whether before or after the effective date of this chapter, whose father or mother or both at the time of the birth of such person was or is a citizen of the United States, is declared to be a citizen of the United States.
(b) Any person born in the Republic of Panama on or after February 26, 1904, and whether before or after the effective date of this chapter, whose father or mother or both at the time of the birth of such person was or is a citizen of the United States employed by the Government of the United States or by the Panama Railroad Company, or its successor in title, is declared to be a citizen of the United States.
Editorial notes U.S. Code · Office of the Law Revision Counsel
References in Text
For definition of Canal Zone, referred to in text, see section 3602(b) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.
The effective date of this chapter, referred to in text, is the 180th day immediately following June 27, 1952. See section 407 of act June 27, 1952, set out as an Effective Date note under section 1101 of this title.
Change of Name
Panama Railroad Company redesignated Panama Canal Company by act Sept. 26, 1950, ch. 1049, §2(a)(2), 64 Stat. 1038. References to Panama Canal Company in laws of the United States are deemed to refer to Panama Canal Commission pursuant to section 3602(b)(5) of Title 22, Foreign Relations and Intercourse.
Cross References
United States defined, see section 1101 of this title.