Daniel's two passports

We've had a number of questions asking why/how Daniel will have two passports. I'll explain:

Since Niels is still a Dutch citizen and Daniel was born in the United States, two types of nationality laws apply:

• Jus Soli or Territorial jurisdiction: the principle in which a child born in a country's territorial jurisdiction acquires that country's nationality (applies for the USA)
• Jus sanguinis or Parental jurisdiction: either the father or mother must normally be a citizen of the country in question in order for the child to be a citizen (applies for the Netherlands)

Since he was born in the States the American nationality laws grant Daniel US nationality and through that law Daniel got his US passport. At the same time he was born to a Dutch father, so the Dutch nationality laws also apply and they awarded Daniel his Dutch nationality and right to apply for a Dutch passport.

One interesting fact: Did you notice I didn't talk about Jen's status? Eventhough Jen is a US citizen, the US applies Jus Soli in determining nationality, therefore it technically doesn't come into play in granting Daniel his US nationality. On the other hand, it does make it easier since there is a lot less paperwork to file with Jen having the US nationality.

Hope that clears up some of the questions...