<P> The U.S. Constitution uses but does not define the phrase `` natural born Citizen '' , and various opinions have been offered over time regarding its precise meaning . The consensus of early 21st - century constitutional scholars , together with relevant case law , is that natural - born citizens include , subject to exceptions , those born in the United States . Many scholars have also concluded that those who meet the legal requirements for U.S. citizenship `` at the moment of birth '' , regardless of place of birth , are also natural - born citizens . Every president to date was either a citizen at the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 or was born in the United States ; of these there have been seven that had at least one parent who was not born on U.S. soil . </P>
<P> The U.S. Constitution uses but does not define the phrase `` natural born Citizen '' , and various opinions have been offered over time regarding its precise meaning . The consensus of early 21st - century constitutional scholars , together with relevant case law , is that natural - born citizens include , subject to exceptions , those born in the United States . Many scholars have also concluded that those who meet the legal requirements for U.S. citizenship `` at the moment of birth '' , regardless of place of birth , are also natural - born citizens . Every president to date was either a citizen at the adoption of the Constitution in 1789 or was born in the United States ; of these there have been seven that had at least one parent who was not born on U.S. soil . </P>
where do you have to be born to be president
where do you have to be born to be president
the United States
the United States