Can a naturalized citizen run for president?
No. The Constitution requires the president to be a 'natural-born citizen.' Naturalized citizens - those who became citizens through the legal naturalization process - are not eligible.
Article II, Section 1 of the Constitution states that 'No Person except a natural born Citizen... shall be eligible to the Office of President.' A naturalized citizen - someone who was born outside the U.S. and later became a citizen through the legal process - does not meet this requirement.
The phrase 'natural-born citizen' was not defined in the Constitution and has never been definitively interpreted by the Supreme Court in a binding ruling on presidential eligibility. The prevailing legal view holds that it means anyone who was a U.S. citizen at birth - whether born on U.S. soil or born abroad to at least one U.S. citizen parent - qualifies.
Under that interpretation, a person born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent is considered natural-born and is eligible for the presidency. Only people who were born as citizens of a foreign country and later naturalized are excluded.
This clause has been criticized and proposals to amend the Constitution to remove or modify it have been introduced in Congress multiple times, but none have advanced to ratification.
Related questions
Is someone born on a U.S. military base abroad eligible?
Has a naturalized citizen ever run for president?
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Related explainers
To be eligible, a person must be a natural-born U.S. citizen, at least 35 years old, and have lived in the U.S. for at least 14 years.
You must be at least 35 years old. There is no maximum age. The Constitution requires the president to be 35 or older when taking office.
The 22nd Amendment limits the president to two elected terms. Ratified in 1951, it bars any person from being elected president more than twice.
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