US Citizenship

All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws. - XIV Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Citizenship is one of the most coveted gifts that the U.S. government can bestow, and the most important immigration benefit that USCIS can grant. Most people become U.S. citizens in one of two ways:

• By birth, either within the territory of the United States or to U.S. citizen parents, or
• By Naturalization.

In addition, in 2000, Congress passed the Child Citizenship Act (CCA), which allows any child under the age of 18 who is adopted by a U.S. citizen and immigrates to the United States to acquire immediate citizenship.

This channel of USCIS.gov will give you information on the various paths to citizenship.


 

• 1Citizenship Questions
• 2F-1 visa
• 3H-1B visa
• 4K-1 visa
• 5K-3 visa
• 6Labor certification
• 7Tourist Visa
• 8US Citizenship
  • 8.1Naturalization
  • 8.2Eligibility for Naturalization
  • 8.3Citizenship Test
  • 8.4Citizenship of Children
  • 8.5Acquisition of Citizenship
  • 8.6Eligibility for Public Office
  • 8.7Dual Citizenship
  • 8.8Loss of Citizenship
  • 8.9Discussion Forum
• 9Travelling to the USA with HIV

[top]Naturalization

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is conferred upon a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The general requirements for administrative naturalization include:

• a period of continuous residence and physical presence in the United States;
• residence in a particular USCIS District prior to filing;
• an ability to read, write, and speak English;
• a knowledge and understanding of U.S. history and government;
• good moral character;
• attachment to the principles of the U.S. Constitution; and,
• favorable disposition toward the United States.

All naturalization applicants must demonstrate good moral character, attachment, and favorable disposition. The other naturalization requirements may be modified or waived for certain applicants, such as spouses of U.S. citizens. Applicants should review the materials listed under "Related Links" and carefully read the N-400 application instructions before applying.

Note: Recent changes in immigration law and USCIS procedures now make it easier for U.S. military personnel to naturalize.

Naturalization Interviews to Be Conducted on Saturdays, Sundays and After Business Hours on Weekdays

In Fiscal Year 2007, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) received a significant increase in naturalization applications. To address this increase, USCIS is expanding work hours and adding staff to complete these filings within processing time goals.

As part of this effort, many naturalization applicants will receive an appointment notice for an interview that will be scheduled after normal business hours on a weekday, or on Saturday or Sunday, at a USCIS office where their application is being processed. This interview is very important, and applicants should make every effort to appear for the scheduled interview since the current USCIS policy for rescheduling of interviews still applies.

Note: Some naturalization interviews may take place at an asylum office within the jurisdiction of the local USCIS office processing the application.

[top]Eligibility for Naturalization

A person who was not born a US citizen may acquire US citizenship through a process known as naturalization.

To become a naturalized United States citizen, one must be at least eighteen years of age at the time of filing, a legal permanent resident of the United States, and have had a status of a legal permanent resident in the United States for five years less 90 days before they apply (this requirement is reduced to three years less 90 days if they (a) acquired legal permanent resident status (b) have been married to and living with a citizen for the past three years and (c) the spouse has been a US citizen for at least three years prior to the applicant applying for naturalization.) They must have been physically present for at least 30 months of 60 months prior to the date of filing their application. Also during those 60 months if the legal permanent resident was outside of the U.S. for a continuous period of 6 months or more they are disqualified from naturalizing (certain exceptions apply for those continuous periods of six months to 1 year). They must be a "person of good moral character", and must pass a test on United States history and government. Most applicants must also have a working knowledge of the English language. There are exceptions, introduced in 1990, for long-resident older applicants and those with mental or physical disabilities. This requirement for an ability to read, write, and speak English is not regarded as being to difficult, since the test requires that applicants read and write in English.

[top]Citizenship Test

Applicants for citizenship are asked ten questions, and must answer at least six correctly. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has published a list of 96 sample questions (with answers), from which the questions asked are normally drawn.

The full list of questions can be found in the "A Guide to Naturalization" which is available for free from the USCIS.

NOTE: New Test Questions Coming Oct. 1, 2008

On Oct. 1, 2008 The USCIS will switch a new set of test questions. All applicants who file for naturalization on or after October 1, 2008 will be required to take the redesigned test. For those applicants who file prior to October 1, 2008 but are not interviewed until after October , 2008 (but before October 1, 2009), there will be an option of taking the new test or the current one.

For more information see:

Sample INS Citizenship Questions

[top]Citizenship of Children

The 14th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution guarantees citizenship at birth to almost all individuals born in the United States or in U.S. jurisdictions, according to the principle of jus soli. Certain individuals born in the United States, such as children of foreign heads of state or children of foreign diplomats, do not obtain U.S. citizenship under jus soli.

Certain individuals born outside of the United States are born citizens because of their parents, according to the principle of jus sanguinis (which holds that the country of citizenship of a child is the same as that of his / her parents). The U.S. Congress is responsible for enacting laws that determine how citizenship is conveyed by a U.S. citizen parent or parents according to the principle of jus sanguinis. These laws are contained in the Immigration and Nationality Act.

In addition, Each year, many people adopt children from outside the U.S. The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) grants those children the ability to automatically become U.S. citizens when they immigrate to the United States.

Expeditious naturalization of children

Effective 1 April 1995, a child born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent, if not already a citizen by birth because the parent does not meet the residency requirement, may qualify for expeditious naturalization based on the physical presence of the child's grandparent in the U.S. In general the grandparent should have spent 5 years in the U.S., 2 years of which after the age of 14.

The process of naturalization, including the oath of allegiance, must be completed before the child's 18th birthday. It is not necessary for the child to be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident.

Child Citizenship Act of 2000

Effective 27 February 2001, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 provided that a non-U.S. citizen child (aged under 18) with a U.S. citizen parent, and in the custody of that parent, automatically acquired U.S. citizenship:

• on that date, if admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident
• immediately upon subsequent admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident, if still aged under 18.

[top]Acquisition of Citizenship

There are various ways in which a person can acquire United States citizenship, either at birth or later on in life.

Birth within the United States

The Supreme Court has never explicitly ruled on whether children born in the United States to illegal immigrant parents are entitled to birthright citizenship via the 14th Amendment, although it has generally been assumed that they are. This has become controversial, as some non-residents enter the US as illegal aliens with the intent to give birth to children, often called anchor babies whose U.S. citizenship is unclear. A birth certificate is considered evidence of citizenship. This differs from most western nations; countries of the European Union which awarded citizenship to children born there (such as Ireland) closed this possibility.

In the case of United States v. Wong Kim Ark, 169 U.S. 649 (1898), the Supreme Court ruled that a person who

• is born in the United States
• of parents who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of a foreign power
• whose parents have a permanent domicile and residence in the United States
• whose parents are there carrying on business and are not employed in any diplomatic or official capacity of the foreign power to which they are subject

becomes, at the time of his birth, a citizen of the United States, by virtue of the first clause of the 14th amendment of the Constitution.

The distinction between "legal" and "illegal" immigrants was not clear at the time of the decision of Wong Kim Ark.

Through birth abroad to two United States citizens

In most cases, one is a U.S. citizen if both of the following are true:

1. Both parents were U.S. citizens at the time of the child's birth
2. At least one parent lived in the United States prior to the child's birth.

A person's record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of his or her citizenship. He or she may also apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship to have his or her citizenship recognized.

Through birth abroad to one United States citizen

In most cases, a person is a U.S. citizen if all of the following are true:

1. One of his or her parents was a U.S. citizen at the time of the person in question's birth;
2. The citizen parent lived at least 5 years in the United States before his or her child's birth; and
3. At least 2 of these 5 years in the United States were after the citizen parent's 14th birthday (see note below).

A person's record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of his or her citizenship. Such a person may also apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship to have his or her citizenship recognized.

Note: If born before November 14, 1986, a person is a citizen if his or her U.S. citizen parent lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and 5 of those years in the U.S. were after the citizen parent's 14th birthday. The newer law does not apply retroactively.

Different rules apply for those born before December 24, 1952.

[top]Eligibility for Public Office

A person who becomes a U.S. citizen through naturalization is not considered a natural-born citizen. Consequently, naturalized U.S. citizens are not eligible to become President of the United States or Vice President of the United States. For example, as of 2007, the U.S. Secretary of Labor (Elaine Chao) and the U.S. Secretary of Commerce (Carlos Gutierrez) cannot succeed to the presidency because they became U.S. citizens through naturalization. Ordinarily, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor are tenth and eleventh in the presidential line of succession, as established by the United States Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act. The highest-ranking naturalized people to be excluded from the Presidential Line of Succession were Henry Kissinger and Madeleine Albright, both of whom would have been fourth (as Secretary of State) had they been natural-born citizens.

Whether this restriction applies to children born to non-US citizens but adopted as minors by US citizens is a matter of some debate, since the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 is ambiguous as to whether acquisition of citizenship by that route is to be regarded as naturalized or natural-born. Those who argue that the restriction does not apply point out that the child automatically becomes a citizen even though violating every single requirement of eligibility for naturalization, and thus the case falls closer to the situation of birth abroad to US citizens than to naturalization. This interpretation is in concert with the wording of the Naturalization Act of 1790, that "the children of citizens of the United States that may be born beyond the sea, or out of the limits of the United States, shall be considered as natural born citizens", which does not draw a distinction between biological children and adopted children, even though the process of adoption was certainly well known at the time.

In fact, the phrase "natural born Citizen" is not defined anywhere in the Constitution itself and its interpretation has never been the subject of a U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Thus, some argue that even those born abroad to US citizens are not eligible to ascend to the Presidency, since an act of the United States Congress such as the Naturalization Act may not overrule the Constitution. Thus far, presidential candidates George W. Romney (born in Mexico), and Barry Goldwater and John McCain (born in U.S. territories), were never seriously challenged on the basis of their "natural-born" citizenship, but no candidate falling under this classification has ever actually become President, and therefore the question must be regarded as not having been finally decided.

[top]Dual Citizenship

Based on the U.S. Department of State regulation on dual citizenship (7 FAM 1162), the Supreme Court of the United States has stated that dual citizenship is a “status long recognized in the law” and that “a person may have and exercise rights of nationality in two countries and be subject to the responsibilities of both. The mere fact he asserts the rights of one citizenship does not without more mean that he renounces the other,” (Kawakita v. U.S., 343 U.S. 717) (1952). In Schneider v. Rusk 377 U.S. 163 (1964), the US Supreme Court ruled that a naturalized US citizen has the right to return to their native country and resume their former citizenship and also remain a US citizen, even if they never return to the United States.

The Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) neither defines dual citizenship nor takes a position for it or against it. There has been no prohibition against dual citizenship, but some provisions of the INA and earlier U.S. nationality laws were designed to reduce situations in which dual citizenship exists. Although naturalizing citizens are required to undertake an oath renouncing previous allegiances, the oath has never been enforced to require the actual termination of original citizenship.

Although the U.S. Government does not endorse dual citizenship as a matter of policy, it recognizes the existence of dual citizenship and completely tolerates the maintenance of multiple citizenship by U.S. citizens. In the past, claims of other countries on dual-national U.S. citizens sometimes placed them in situations where their obligations to one country were in conflict with the laws of the other. However, as fewer countries require military service and most base other obligations, such as the payment of taxes, on residence and not citizenship, these conflicts have become less frequent. As a result, there has been a dramatic increase in recent years in the number of people who maintain U.S. citizenship in other countries.

[top]Loss of Citizenship

As a historical matter, U.S. citizenship could be forfeited upon the undertaking of various acts, including naturalization in a foreign state, service in foreign armed forces, and voting in a foreign political election (with a few exceptions, such as municipal and local elections as opposed to presidential and other national elections). However, a line of U.S. Supreme Court decisions beginning with Afroyim v. Rusk constitutionally limited the government's capacity to terminate citizenship to those cases in which an individual engaged in conduct with an intention of abandoning their citizenship. In the wake of administrative practice changes adopted by the U.S. Department of State during the mid 1990s, it is now virtually impossible to lose one's citizenship without expressly renouncing it before a U.S. consular officer.

There are also special provisions for persons who are deemed to have renounced citizenship for purposes of avoiding U.S. taxation (which is, in some cases, applicable on certain income for up to ten years after the official loss of citizenship, Internal Revenue Code, section 877), which in theory can result in loss of right to entry into the United States. However, the loss of right of entry (8 USC 1182(a)(10)(E)[18]) has never been enforced by the Attorney General since its enactment in 1996. Further, since the creation of the Department of Homeland Security in 2002, the Attorney General (Department of Justice) would no longer be empowered to bar a former U.S. citizen from entering the United States.

No new legislation has modified 8 USC 1182(a)(10)(E) to enable the DHS Secretary to bar a former U.S. citizen from entering the United States. Lastly, IRC section 877 and Revenue Rulings was modified in 2004 to discontinue the practice of the Internal Revenue Service issuing rulings to determine if a former U.S. citizen had a tax-related motive in renouncing U.S. citizenship. Instead, IRC section 877 establishes an objective test to determine if the section 877 regime will apply.

If the former U.S. citizen fails one of these objective tests, for the following ten years after the individual's expatriation he or she will be subject to the 877 regime. In practice, given the various modifications since the enactment of 8 USC 1182(a)(10)(E), that the U.S. government has never enforced 8 USC 1182(a)(10)(E) since its inception in 1996, a former U.S. citizen may freely travel to the U.S. subject to normal visa restrictions.

After a U.S. citizen satisfies the Department of State procedures, the Department of State issues a Certificate of Loss of Nationality ("CLN") signifying that the Department of State has accepted the U.S. Embassy/Consulate's recommendation to allow the renunciation.

It is also possible to forfeit U.S. citizenship upon conviction for an act of treason against the United States.

[top]Discussion Forum

Latest threads from the forum Naturalization & Citizenship

Pocedures with the USCIS for naturalization and citizenship. Permanent residence in the U.S.

 

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