Bookmark Us
Dual Citizenship - Myths and Nuances of Dual Citizenship
- Prior law that a U.S. citizen could not hold dual citizenship was struck down by the United States Supreme Court in 1967 and 1980.
However, there remain some nuances against dual citizenship, in theory, to people who wish to become U.S. citizens via naturalization. The Supreme Court chose to leave in place the requirement that new citizens must renounce their old citizenship during U.S. naturalization. However, in practice, the State Department is no longer doing anything in the vast majority of situations where a new citizen's "old country" refuses to recognize the U.S. renunciation and continues to consider the person's original citizenship to be in effect.
The official State Department policy on dual citizenship today is that the United States does not favor it as a matter of policy because of various problems they feel it may cause, but the existence of dual citizenship is recognized (i.e., accepted) as a fact of life. That is, if you ask them if you ought to become a dual citizen, they will recommend against doing it; but if you tell them you are a dual citizen, they'll almost always say it's OK.
Many other countries do not recognize the act of renouncing their citizenship as part of U.S. naturalization, so a new U.S. citizen may very likely still be considered a citizen by his old country. This is apparently a big reason why the State Department decided (in 1990) not to go after people any more, as a rule, when they continue to let their old country treat them as a citizen despite U.S. naturalization - A naturalized citizen does not lose his/her U.S. citizenship by remaining out of the U.S. for an extended period.
- Nothing causes automatic loss of U.S. citizenship anymore.
- If a U.S. citizen joins a foreign army, s/he can lose U.S. citizenship only if s/he acted with the intent of giving it up. Current law provides that foreign military service will result in loss of U.S. citizenship if the person served as an officer (commissioned or non-commissioned) or the foreign military force is engaged in hostilities against the U.S.; the service was voluntary; and (most importantly) the person intended to give up his or her U.S. citizenship.
Current U.S. policy is more explicit. Unless a dual citizen is serving in a "policy level position" in a foreign government, commits treason against the U.S. (e.g., by fighting the U.S. voluntarily during wartime), or acts in a manner considered totally inconsistent with any possible intent to keep U.S. citizenship, the State Department is unlikely to take any action. Further, the current policy statement on foreign military service recognizes that dual citizens sometimes find themselves legally obligated to participate in the military forces of their other country of citizenship, and can do so in such situations without endangering their U.S. status. - Your old country may not recognize the renunciation of old citizenship which is part of the naturalization oath. Some countries require a dual citizen formally renunciate citizenship by completing a renunciation form, show s/he has sold or surrendered all his/her assets in the country, has fulfilled his military service obligations, etc. In some cases, renunciation of one's old citizenship is simply impossible, because the old country either forbids it altogether or imposes unreasonable conditions on those wishing to sever their citizenship ties.
In certain cases your old country may still have a claim on your military service if you return. So, even after becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, you should still check carefully with diplomatic officials both of the U.S. and of the "old country" before going back for a visit. If you get arrested there for draft evasion, for voicing opinions about their government while you were in the U.S. which are considered taboo in the old country, or for whatever other reason -- or if you find yourself forced into their armed forces -- you may very well find that the U.S. can't help you too much, because the other country will insist you're one of their own citizens and that the matter is therefore none of the U.S.'s business.
This same word of caution may also apply to foreign nationals who were born in the U.S., but whose parents (or even grandparents) came from another country. Many countries have laws conferring citizenship on the basis of the citizenship of one's parents or grandparents (including, the U.S. in specific circumstances). - Although current U.S. law forbids the government from taking your citizenship from you against your will, it does permit you to give it up voluntarily. The State Department now says that it will assume that a U.S. citizen intends to retain (not give up) his U.S. citizenship if s/he:
- Is naturalized in a foreign country;
- Takes a routine oath of allegiance to a foreign country; or
- Accepts foreign government employment that is of a "non-policy-level".
- A "routine oath of allegiance" to another country is no longer taken as firm evidence of intent to give up U.S. citizenship, even if said oath includes a renunciation of U.S. citizenship.
- Takes a "policy-level" position in a foreign country;
- Is convicted of treason against the U.S.; or
- Engages in "conduct which is so inconsistent with retention of U.S. citizenship that it compels a conclusion that [s/he] intended to relinquish U.S. citizenship."
- A U.S. dual citizen should always travel into the U.S. on his/her U.S. passport. S/he should always enter another country of dual citizenship with his/her passport of that other country. There is no U.S. law forbidding a U.S. citizen from holding a U.S. passport and a foreign passport.
When you enter the U.S., always identify yourself only as a U.S. citizen, and always show your U.S. (not any other) passport to U.S. border officials. You may have to carry both passports with you when you travel between the U.S. and your other country of citizenship, but don't mention your other citizenship or offer to show your other passport unless you are explicitly asked about it by a U.S. official.
Renunciation of U.S. Citizenship
A person wishing to renounce his or her U.S. citizenship must voluntarily and with intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship:
- Appear in person before a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer,
- In a foreign country (normally at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate); and
- Sign an oath of renunciation
Renunciations that do not meet the conditions described above have no legal effect. Americans cannot effectively renounce their citizenship by mail, through an agent, or while in the United States.
