The United States has introduced a new green card pathway for certain children born on American soil to foreign government employees, expanding eligibility beyond the children of accredited foreign diplomats.

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced the arrangement through an interim final rule published in the Federal Register on September 9, 2026.

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Under the provision, eligible children born in the US on or after the specified date may voluntarily apply for lawful permanent residence if neither parent is an American citizen and at least one parent was a qualifying foreign government employee when the child was born.

The regulation covers four categories of foreign government employees: diplomatic officers accredited to the United States, employees of foreign embassies and consulates who are nationals of the countries they represent, individuals working for foreign governments in an official capacity, and employees of international organisations that enjoy immunity in the US.

The new arrangement expands an existing provision that previously allowed children of foreign diplomatic officers to register for permanent residence.

However, eligibility does not automatically confer US citizenship or a green card.

Applicants must submit the required documents and obtain approval from the relevant immigration authorities.

Eligible applicants can seek permanent residence by filing Form I-485, officially known as the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, with USCIS.

The process is voluntary.

However, children who do not obtain permanent residence through the provision may still be required to comply with applicable US alien registration requirements.

The regulation also introduces changes to Form G-325R, Biographic Information (Registration), to accommodate the expanded categories of eligible children.

The provision does not cover everyone employed by a foreign government or diplomatic mission.

Personal employees hired by individual foreign officials, including domestic workers, chauffeurs and personal assistants, are not automatically eligible.

Certain employees of state-owned enterprises, third-country nationals working at foreign diplomatic missions and contractors who do not meet the stipulated requirements are also excluded.

Children born before September 4, 2026, will continue to be assessed under the immigration regulations that applied at the time of their birth.

The policy follows Executive Order 14418, titled Continuing to Protect the Meaning and Value of American Citizenship, issued by President Donald Trump on August 6, 2026.

The executive order directed DHS to establish procedures addressing the immigration status of certain US-born children whose parents are foreign government employees and neither of whom is an American citizen.

However, implementation of the wider policy remains subject to a court injunction in Casa Inc. v. Trump.

According to the Federal Register notice, DHS will not enforce the rule against members of the certified class covered by the injunction unless the government obtains relief from the court.

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The new provision creates a specific route to permanent residence for qualifying children, while the broader debate over birthright citizenship and legal challenges to the administration’s immigration policy remain unresolved.