Children born in the United States to certain foreign government employees could now have a new path to lawful permanent residence under a rule issued by the Department of Homeland Security.
DHS issued an interim final rule on September 4 that expands existing regulations allowing certain children born in the U.S. to foreign diplomatic officers to register as lawful permanent residents. The new rule broadens that provision to cover eligible children when neither parent is a U.S. citizen and at least one parent is a foreign government employee at the time of the child’s birth.
The move comes in line with President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14418 and changes how DHS defines the category of foreign government employees whose children may qualify.
Under the new rule, DHS is replacing the term “foreign diplomatic officer” with the broader term “foreign government employee.” The definition includes foreign diplomatic officers accredited to the United States, certain foreign embassy and consulate employees who are nationals of the country they represent, people employed by a foreign government in an official capacity and individuals employed by an international organization that has international-organization immunity.
But the rule does not apply to everyone who works for or is connected to a foreign government. DHS has specifically excluded personal employees or attendants of foreign officials, certain employees of state-owned enterprises, third-country nationals working for foreign governments, certain contractors and foreign government employees who are in the United States for personal rather than official purposes.
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The change could be particularly significant for children born in the U.S. whose parents hold official positions for foreign governments but who do not fall under the narrower definition of diplomatic officers used in the previous regulations.
DHS is also changing the immigration paperwork to reflect the new rules. Form I-485, the Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status, will no longer refer to “Individuals Born in the United States Under Diplomatic Status.” Instead, the form and its instructions will use the broader description, “Individuals Born to a Foreign Government Employee in the United States.”
The department is also updating Form G-325R, Biographic Information (Registration), for children born in the United States who do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth and do not choose to register for permanent residence under the amended regulations. DHS said those children could be subject to alien registration requirements under the Immigration and Nationality Act.
The interim final rule took effect September 4, 2026, and applies to children born on or after that date.
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However, there is an important limitation to the implementation of the new rule. DHS said a federal court injunction currently in place in Casa Inc. v. Trump, No. 8:25-cv-00201, in the U.S. District Court for the District of Maryland, affects how the department can enforce the rule.
Because of the injunction, DHS said it “will not take actions to implement the rule specifically to any member of the certified class, or otherwise conflict with the preliminary injunction, unless and until the government obtains relief from the injunction.”
The department added that if the government receives timely relief from the court, “DHS will implement the rule accordingly.”
For now, the rule represents a significant expansion of the regulatory language surrounding permanent residence for certain U.S.-born children of foreign government employees. But how broadly it can be implemented will depend on the outcome of the ongoing court proceedings and any changes to the current injunction.