Do You Have to Be a U.S.citizen to register copyright?

Dear Rich: Can a non-U.S. citizen or alien register a copyright at copyright.gov? What if one co-writer is a U.S. citizen, but the other co-writers are not?

Non-U.S. citizens can register works at the U.S. Copyright Office, and it shouldn't matter what percentage of co-authors are U.S. citizens. According to the Copyright Office, anyone, regardless of citizenship status can register their work provided it is: (1) unpublished, or (2) first published in the U.S., or (3) first published in a country with which we have a copyright treaty, or (4) the work was created by a citizen or domiciliary of a country with which we have a copyright treaty. See Circular 38a, International Copyright Relations of the United States, for the treaty status of specific countries.