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Usha Vance is a US citizen. Order on birthright citizenship won't change that | Fact check

Joedy McCreary   Paste BN
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The claim: JD Vance’s wife ‘will have her citizenship revoked’ under Trump immigration plan

A Jan. 20 Threads post (direct link, archive link) claims President Donald Trump’s plan to end birthright citizenship would cause a significant problem for Second Lady Usha Vance.

“BREAKING - Vice President JD Vance's wife will have her citizenship revoked if Trump signs his executive order banning birthright citizenship,” text of the post states. “Neither of her parents were US citizens at the time of her birth.”

The Threads post received more than 10,000 likes in a day. A similar version of the claim circulated widely on X.

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Our rating: False

Usha Vance is a U.S. citizen, and Trump’s executive order has no effect on that. The order's text clearly states that it applies only to people born more than 30 days after it was issued.

Trump birthright citizenship plan not retroactive

For more than 150 years, the 14th Amendment has granted U.S. citizenship to anyone born in the country. Trump began his second presidential term with an executive order that declares the amendment has been misinterpreted and argues U.S. citizenship extends only to those both born in and "subject to the jurisdiction" of the U.S. In other words, according to Trump, children born in the U.S. would not be American citizens if their parents are not in the country legally.

His order triggered multiple legal challenges. If it is allowed to stand, however, it would have no effect on the citizenship status of his vice president’s wife.

Fact check: Presidential inauguration fact check: Analyzing claims from and about Trump

Usha Vance was born 39 years ago in San Diego to Hindu Indian parents who came to the U.S. in the 1970s. While their citizenship status is unclear – Paste BN reached out to Lakshmi and Krish Chilukuri but did not immediately receive responses – the language of Trump’s order makes clear it also is irrelevant to the status of their daughter.

That's because, as it is written, the order is not retroactive. The citizenship requirements it references apply only to those born more than 30 days after its Jan. 20 issuance date – or, after Feb. 19. If the courts uphold Trump’s order, a child born after that date would not automatically be a citizen if at the time of birth:

  • The child’s mother is unlawfully present in the U.S. and the father was not a U.S. citizen or lawful permanent resident, or
  • The presence of the child’s mother in the U.S. was lawful but temporary, and the child’s father was not a citizen or lawful permanent resident.

Paste BN debunked a similar false claim that Trump’s youngest son, Barron, would not be an American citizen under the birthright citizenship plan.

Paste BN reached out to the Threads user who shared the claim but did not immediately receive a response.

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