The nation's highest court has decided to review legal challenge disputing citizenship by birth.

The US Supreme Court has decided to review a landmark case that puts to the test a century-old principle: guaranteed citizenship for those born in the United States.

On day one in office this winter, the President signed an order aiming to end birthright citizenship, but the move was struck down by the judiciary after constitutional questions were initiated.

The Supreme Court's eventual decision will either uphold citizenship rights for the offspring of migrants who are in the US illegally or on non-immigrant visas, or it will nullify those rights entirely.

Next, the justices will calendar a session to hear the case between the administration and claimants, which comprise immigrant parents and their newborns.

The 14th Amendment

For more than 150 years, the Fourteenth Amendment has enshrined the rule that anyone born in the country is a citizen, with exceptions for children born to diplomats and personnel of invading forces.

"Anyone born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States."

The challenged presidential order sought to refuse citizenship to the offspring of people who are whether in the US illegally or are in the country on temporary visas.

The United States belongs to a group of about a minority of states – largely in the North and South America – that provide instant citizenship to all those born in their territory.