abroad and those in this country seeking to avoid deportation. overnight u.s. citizenship and immigration services announced new citizenship rules governing citizenship and children of u.s. service members or government employees born abroad. the heart of the issue is a residency requirement. if a child is not born to american parents but say adopted to get naturalized or gain citizenship they must establish residence in the united states. this is tricky because until now living with a government employee or service member parent who works overseas on behalf of the government was considered enough to establish residency. not anymore. rather than automatically fulfilling the residency status, parents now need to apply for citizenship and prove that the child meets those requirements. here are some examples. a service member or government employee who adopts a noncitizen child while working overseas or service members or government employee parents who are not yet citizens and have a child and are naturalized later.