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Senators Born Outside the United States


The president is constitutionally required to be natural born, but foreign-born Senators need only nine years of U.S. citizenship to qualify for office. Constitutional qualifications to be a Senator are specified in Article I, section 3.   

Senator (State) Senate ServiceBirth Place
Armstrong, David Hartley (MO)   1877-1879Canada
Baird, David (NJ) 1918-1919Ireland
Baker, Edward (OR) 1860-1861England
Beck, James B. (KY) 1877-1890Scotland
Benjamin, Judah P. (LA) 1853-1861St. Croix
Boschwitz, Rudy (MN) 1978-1991Germany
Butler, Pierce (SC) 1789-1796; 1802-1804Ireland
Campbell, George W. (TN) 1811-1814; 1815-1818Scotland
Casserly, Eugene (CA) 1869-1873Ireland
Conness, John (CA) 1863-1869Ireland
Couzens, James (MI) 1922-1936Canada
Davis, James J. (PA) 1930-1945Wales
Dudley, Charles E. (NY) 1829-1833England
Fair, James G. (NV) 1881-1887Ireland
Fromentin, Eligius (LA) 1813-1819France
Gallatin, Albert (PA) not seatedSwitzerland
Gallinger, Jacob H. (NH) 1891-1918Canada
Gooding, Frank R. (ID) 1921-1928England
Harper, William (SC) 1826Antigua
Hayakawa, Sam (CA) 1977-1983Canada
Hirono, Mazie (HI) 2013-presentJapan
Hughes, William (NJ) 1913-1918Ireland
Jackson, James (GA) 1793-1795; 1801-1806England
Johnson, Magnus (MN) 1923-1925Sweden
Jones, Charles W. (FL) 1875-1887Ireland
Jones, John P. (NV) 1873-1903England
Kearns, Thomas (UT) 1901-1905Canada
Larrazolo, Octaviano (NM) 1928-1929Mexico
Laurance, John (NY) 1796-1800England
Lorimer, William (IL) 1909-1912England
Lowrie, Walter (PA) 1819-1825Scotland
Mallory, Stephen R. (FL) 1851-1861Trinidad
Mantle, Lee (MT) 1895-1899England
Martinez, Mel (FL) 2005-2009Cuba
McMillan, James (MI) 1889-1902Canada
Millard, Joseph H. (NE) 1901-1907Canada
Morris, Robert (PA) 1789-1795England
Moses, John (ND) 1945Norway
Murray, James E. (MT) 1934-1961Canada
Nelson, Knute (MN) 1895-1923Norway
Nicholson, Samuel D. (CO) 1921-1923Canada
Pasco, Samuel (FL) 1887-1899England
Paterson, William (NJ) 1789-1790Ireland
Patterson, Thomas M. (CO) 1901-1907Ireland
Porter, Alexander (LA) 1833-1837Ireland
Robertson, Edward Vivian (WY) 1943-1949Wales
Schurz, Carl (MO) 1869-1875Germany
Sewell, William J. (NJ) 1881-1887; 1895-1901Ireland
Shields, James (IL) 1849-1855Ireland
                      (MN)1858-1859 
                      (MO)1879 
Simon, Joseph (OR) 1898-1903Germany
Soulé, Pierre (LA) 1847; 1849-1853France
Stephenson, Isaac (WI) 1907-1915Canada
Sullivan, Patrick J. (WY) 1929-1930Ireland
Sutherland, George (UT) 1905-1917England
Taggart, Thomas (IN) 1916Ireland
Tiffin, Edward (OH) 1807-1809England
Wagner, Robert F. (NY) 1927-1949Germany
Walsh, Patrick (GA) 1894-1895Ireland
Yulee, David L. (FL) 1845-1851; 1855-1861St. Thomas


Born to American parents abroad

Bennet, Michael F. (CO) 2009-presentIndia
Cathcart, Charles W. (IN) 1852-1853Madeira
Cruz, Rafael E.(Ted) (TX) 2013-presentCanada
Duckworth, Tammy (IL) 2017-presentThailand
Herbert, Felix (RI) 1929-1935Canada
McCain, John (AZ) 1987-2018Panama Canal Zone
Nesmith, James W. (OR) 1861-1867Canada
Oliver, George T. (PA) 1909-1917Ireland
Van Hollen, Chris (MD) 2017-presentPakistan
Weicker, Lowell (CT) 1971-1989France
Wetmore, George P. (RI) 1895-1907; 1908-1913England


Born in territories not yet incorporated into the U.S.

Bingham, Hiram (CT) 1924-1933Kingdom of Hawaii
Bouligny, Charles (LA) 1824-1829Spanish Louisiana
Destréhan, Jean N. (LA) 1812French Louisiana