Having lived in foreign countries for over 20-years of my life, I have become very familiar with the laws governing US citizenship regarding those born overseas.
May I give you a couple of examples:
A child is born to an Army Captain and his wife(both US citizens) in Germany while they are assigned to duty in Germany. The child is born an American!
A child is born to an engineer and his wife (both US citizens) in Japan while he is employed by Toyota in Japan. The child is born a Japanese!
The difference is that the Army Captain is there representing the US (the same applies to foreign diplomats, etc.).
The engineer is in Japan of his own volition and bears the responsibility of where his child is born and the resultant citizenship.
The above is the reason Sen. McCain holds a valid US citizenship even though born in Panama – his father was stationed there in the Navy at the time.
