Citizenship of baby born on flight questioned

Updated: Wednesday, 21 Sep 2011, 10:14 AM CDT
Published : Tuesday, 20 Sep 2011, 9:45 PM CDT

BOSTON (FOX 25 / MyFoxBoston.com) - A woman from the Philippines was on her way to Boston to have a baby when she gave birth -- a few weeks earlier than expected -- mid-flight. Now that baby's citizenship is in question.

Aida Alamillo was on Philippine Airlines Fight 104 when she began to feel nauseous. A short time later, she gave birth to a 6-pound boy mid-air. Alamillo, her son, and her brother were on their way to Massachusetts at the time.

Leoni Bauermeister is Aida's sister and lives in Beverly. She says Aida was planning on immigrating to Massachusetts with her three children and was hoping to have her fourth child here so it would automatically and immediately become a United States citizen.

It is believed that the baby was born over international waters, but that is not clear.

Jennifer Vaughn from the Center for Immigration Studies tells FOX 25 that if a child is born over the ocean it is generally considered a citizen of the country the parent has legal citizenship in.

If the baby was born in US airspace, it is automatically a United States citizen.

Alamillo is at a hospital in San Francisco and could be leaving by Thursday to head to Massachusetts.

She did have a Visa to travel to the United States and told the San Francisco Examiner she hopes the rest of the family will be able to join her and Kevin in the United States soon.

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