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![Us-passport](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/Us-passport.jpg)
Citizenship of the United States
is a
legal status
Legal status is the status or position held by an entity as determined by the law. It includes or entails a set of privileges, obligations, powers or restrictions that a person or thing has as encompassed in or declared by legislation
Legisla ...
that entails
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
with specific
rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
,
duties
A duty (from "due" meaning "that which is owing"; fro, deu, did, past participle of ''devoir''; la, debere, debitum, whence "debt") is a commitment or expectation to perform some action in general or if certain circumstances arise. A duty may ...
, protections, and benefits in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. It serves as a foundation of
fundamental rights
Fundamental rights are a group of rights that have been recognized by a high degree of protection from encroachment. These rights are specifically identified in a constitution, or have been found under due process of law. The United Nations' Susta ...
derived from and protected by the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
and laws of the United States, such as
freedom of expression
Freedom of speech is a principle that supports the freedom of an individual or a community to articulate their opinions and ideas without fear of retaliation, censorship, or legal sanction. The right to freedom of expression has been recog ...
,
due process
Due process of law is application by state of all legal rules and principles pertaining to the case so all legal rights that are owed to the person are respected. Due process balances the power of law of the land and protects the individual per ...
, the rights to
vote
Voting is a method by which a group, such as a meeting or an electorate, can engage for the purpose of making a collective decision or expressing an opinion usually following discussions, debates or election campaigns. Democracies elect holde ...
(however, not all citizens have the right to vote in all federal elections, for example, those living in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and unincorporated ...
), live and work in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
, and to receive
federal assistance
In the United States, federal assistance, also known as federal aid, federal benefits, or federal funds, is defined as any federal program, project, service, or activity provided by the federal government that directly assists domestic governm ...
.
There are two primary sources of citizenship:
birthright citizenship
''Jus soli'' ( , , ; meaning "right of soil"), commonly referred to as birthright citizenship, is the right of anyone born in the territory of a state to nationality or citizenship.
''Jus soli'' was part of the English common law, in contras ...
, in which persons born within the territorial limits of the United States are presumed to be a citizen, or—providing certain other requirements are met—born abroad to a United States citizen parent, and
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
, a process in which an eligible
legal immigrant applies for citizenship and is accepted. The first of these two pathways to citizenship is specified in the
Citizenship Clause
The Citizenship Clause is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was adopted on July 9, 1868, which states:
This clause reversed a portion of the ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' decision, which had d ...
of the
Fourteenth Amendment of the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
which reads:
The second is provided for in U.S. law. In
Article One of the Constitution, the power to establish a "uniform rule of naturalization" is granted explicitly to
Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
.
United States law permits multiple citizenship. Citizens of other countries who are naturalized as United States citizens may retain their previous citizenship, although they must renounce
allegiance
An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign.
Etymology
From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al ...
to the other country. A United States citizen retains United States citizenship when becoming the citizen of another country, should that country's laws allow it. United States citizenship can be
renounced by
Americans
Americans are the citizens and nationals of the United States of America.; ; Although direct citizens and nationals make up the majority of Americans, many dual citizens, expatriates, and permanent residents could also legally claim Ame ...
via a formal procedure at a United States embassy.
''National citizenship'' signifies membership in the country as a whole; ''state citizenship'', in contrast, signifies a relation between a person and a particular
state
State may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Literature
* ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State
* ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States
* ''Our S ...
and has application generally limited to domestic matters. State citizenship may affect (1) tax decisions, (2) eligibility for some state-provided benefits such as
higher education
Higher education is tertiary education leading to award of an academic degree. Higher education, also called post-secondary education, third-level or tertiary education, is an optional final stage of formal learning that occurs after compl ...
, and (3) eligibility for state political posts such as
United States senator
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and po ...
. At the time of the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and t ...
, state citizenship assumed a much increased importance when it was widely deemed to have a prior claim over the citizens' loyalty in the seceding Southern states.
Rights, duties, and benefits
Rights
![Army](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/9/9e/Army.afnews.jpg)
* Freedom to reside and work. United States citizens have the right to reside and work in the United States. Certain non-citizens, such as
lawful permanent residents
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...
, have similar rights; however, non-citizens, unlike citizens, may have the right taken away. For example, they may be
deported
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
if convicted of a serious crime.
* Freedom to enter and leave the United States. United States citizens have the right to enter and leave the United States freely. Certain non-citizens, such as permanent residents, have similar rights. Unlike permanent residents, United States citizens do not have an obligation to maintain residence in the United States – they can leave for any length of time and return freely at any time.
* Voting for federal office in all fifty states and the
District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
is restricted to citizens only. States are not required to extend the franchise to all citizens: for example, several states bar citizen
felon
A felony is traditionally considered a crime of high seriousness, whereas a misdemeanor is regarded as less serious. The term "felony" originated from English common law (from the French medieval word "félonie") to describe an offense that resu ...
s from voting, even after they have completed any custodial sentence. The
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
bars states from restricting citizens from voting on grounds of race, color, previous condition of servitude, sex, failure to pay any tax, or age (for citizens who are at least eighteen years old). Historically, many states and local jurisdictions have allowed
non-citizens to vote; however, today this is limited to local elections in very few places. Citizens are not
compelled to vote.
* Freedom to stand for public office. The
United States Constitution
The Constitution of the United States is the Supremacy Clause, supreme law of the United States, United States of America. It superseded the Articles of Confederation, the nation's first constitution, in 1789. Originally comprising seven ar ...
requires that all members of the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
have been citizens for seven years, and that all
senator
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
s have been citizens for nine years, before taking office. Most states have similar requirements: for example
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
requires that legislators have been citizens for three years, and the Governor has been a citizen for five years, upon taking office. The United States Constitution requires that one be "
a natural born Citizen" and a United States resident for fourteen years in order to be
president of the United States
The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United Stat ...
or
vice president of the United States
The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
. The Constitution also stipulates that otherwise eligible citizens must meet certain age requirements for these offices.
* Right to apply for federal employment. Many federal government jobs require applicants to have United States citizenship. United States citizens can apply for federal employment within a government agency or department.
[ ]
Duties
![Form 1040, 2005](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/38/Form_1040%2C_2005.jpg)
* Jury duty is only imposed upon citizens.
Jury duty
Jury duty or jury service is service as a juror in a legal proceeding.
Juror selection process
The prosecutor and defense can dismiss potential jurors for various reasons, which can vary from one state to another, and they can have a specific ...
may be considered the "sole differential obligation" between non-citizens and citizens; the federal and state courts "uniformly exclude non-citizens from jury pools today, and with the exception of a few states in the past, this has always been the case".
* Military participation is not currently required in the United States, but a policy of
conscription
Conscription (also called the draft in the United States) is the state-mandated enlistment of people in a national service, mainly a military service. Conscription dates back to antiquity and it continues in some countries to the present day un ...
of men has been in place at various times (both in war and in peace) in American history, most recently during the
Vietnam War
The Vietnam War (also known by #Names, other names) was a conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from 1 November 1955 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. It was the second of the Indochina Wars and was officially fought between North Vie ...
. Currently, the
United States Armed Forces
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
are a professional
all-volunteer force, although both male United States citizens and male non-citizen
permanent resident
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...
s are required to register with the
Selective Service System
The Selective Service System (SSS) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the Federal government of the United States, United States government that maintains information on U.S. Citizenship of the Unite ...
and may be called up in the event of a future draft.
Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hem ...
political scientist
Benjamin Ginsberg writes, "The professional military has limited the need for citizen soldiers".
[
* Taxes. In the ]United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
today, everyone except those whose income is derived from tax-exempt revenue (Subchapter N, Section 861 of the U.S. Tax Code) is required to file a federal income tax return. U.S. citizens are subject to federal income tax on worldwide income regardless of their country of residence.
* Census. A response to the decennial United States census is mandated by Article I, Section 2 of the United States Constitution and by Title 13 of the United States Code of all residents. A response to the American Community Survey
The American Community Survey (ACS) is a demographics survey program conducted by the U.S. Census Bureau. It regularly gathers information previously contained only in the long form of the decennial census, such as ancestry, citizenship, educati ...
is also mandated by Title 13, U.S. Code, Sections 141, 193, and 221, as changed by Title 18.
Benefits
* Consular protection outside the United States. While traveling abroad, if a person is arrested or detained by foreign authorities, the person can request to speak to somebody from the United States Embassy or Consulate. Consular officials can provide resources for Americans incarcerated abroad, such as a list of local attorneys who speak English. The United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
may even intervene on the person's behalf.[ Non-citizen United States nationals also have this benefit.
* Increased ability to sponsor relatives living abroad.][ Several types of immigrant visas require that the person requesting the visa be directly related to a United States citizen. Having United States citizenship facilitates the granting of IR and F visas to family members.
* Ability to invest in United States real property without triggering FIRPTA. Perhaps the only quantifiable economic benefit of United States citizenship, citizens are not subject to additional withholding tax on income and capital gains derived from United States real estate under the ]Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act
The Foreign Investment in Real Property Tax Act of 1980 (FIRPTA), enacted as Subtitle C of Title XI (the "Revenue Adjustments Act of 1980") of the Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 1980, Pub. L. No. 96-499, 94 Stat. 2599, 2682 (Dec. 5, 1980), is a Unit ...
(FIRPTA).
* Transmission of United States citizenship to children born abroad. Generally, children born to two United States citizen parents abroad are automatically United States citizens at birth. When the parents are one United States citizen and one non-United States citizen, certain conditions about the United States citizen's parent's length of time spent in the United States need to be met. Non-citizen United States nationals also have a similar benefit (transmission of non-citizen United States nationality to children born abroad).
* Protection from deportation. Naturalized United States citizens are no longer considered aliens
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrate ...
and cannot be placed into deportation proceedings.
* Other benefits. The USCIS sometimes honors the achievements of naturalized United States citizens. The Outstanding American by Choice Award was created by the USCIS to recognize the outstanding achievements of naturalized United States citizens, and past recipients include author Elie Wiesel
Elie Wiesel (, born Eliezer Wiesel ''Eliezer Vizel''; September 30, 1928 – July 2, 2016) was a Romanian-born American writer, professor, political activist, Nobel Peace Prize, Nobel laureate, and Holocaust survivor. He authored Elie Wiesel b ...
who won the Nobel Peace Prize
The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemi ...
; Indra K. Nooyi
Indra Nooyi (née Krishnamurthy; born October 28, 1955) is an Indian-American business executive and former chief executive officer and chairperson of PepsiCo.
She has consistently ranked among the world's 100 most powerful women. In 2014, sh ...
who was CEO of PepsiCo
PepsiCo, Inc. is an American multinational food, snack, and beverage corporation headquartered in Harrison, New York, in the hamlet of Purchase. PepsiCo's business encompasses all aspects of the food and beverage market. It oversees the manuf ...
; John Shalikashvili
John is a common English name and surname:
* John (given name)
* John (surname)
John may also refer to:
New Testament
Works
* Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John
* First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John
* Second E ...
who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff (CJCS) is the presiding officer of the United States Joint Chiefs of Staff (JCS). The chairman is the highest-ranking and most senior military officer in the United States Armed Forces Chairman: app ...
; and others. Further, citizenship status can affect which country an athlete can compete as a member of in competitions such as the Olympics
The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...
.
Civic participation
Civic participation
Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...
is not required in the United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. There is no requirement to attend town meetings, belong to a political party, or vote in elections. However, a benefit of naturalization is the ability to "participate fully in the civic life of the country". Moreover, to be a citizen means to be vitally important to politics and not ignored. There is disagreement about whether popular lack of involvement in politics is helpful or harmful.
Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson
Dana D. Nelson is a professor of English at Vanderbilt University and a prominent progressive advocate for citizenship and democracy. She is notable for her criticism—in her books such as ''Bad for Democracy—''of excessive presidential power ...
suggests that most Americans merely vote for president every four years, and sees this pattern as undemocratic. In her book ''Bad for Democracy
''Bad for Democracy: How the Presidency Undermines the Power of the People'' (2008) is a non-fiction book written by Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson. It is notable for its criticism of excessive presidential power and for her call for subst ...
'', Nelson argues that declining citizen participation in politics is unhealthy for long term prospects for democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
.
However, writers such as Robert D. Kaplan
Robert David Kaplan (born June 23, 1952) is an American author. His books are on politics, primarily foreign affairs, and travel. His work over three decades has appeared in ''The Atlantic'', ''The Washington Post'', ''The New York Times'', ''The ...
in ''The Atlantic
''The Atlantic'' is an American magazine and multi-platform publisher. It features articles in the fields of politics, foreign affairs, business and the economy, culture and the arts, technology, and science.
It was founded in 1857 in Boston, ...
'' see benefits to non-involvement; he wrote "the very indifference of most people allows for a calm and healthy political climate". Kaplan elaborated: "Apathy, after all, often means that the political situation is healthy enough to be ignored. The last thing America needs is more voters—particularly badly educated and alienated ones — with a passion for politics".[ He argued that ]civic participation
Civic engagement or civic participation is any individual or group activity addressing issues of public concern. Civic engagement includes communities working together or individuals working alone in both political and non-political actions to ...
, in itself, is not always a sufficient condition to bring good outcomes, and pointed to authoritarian societies such as Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, borde ...
which prospered because it had "relative safety from corruption, from breach of contract, from property expropriation, and from bureaucratic inefficiency".
Dual citizenship
A person who is considered a citizen by more than one nation has ''dual citizenship
Multiple/dual citizenship (or multiple/dual nationality) is a legal status in which a person is concurrently regarded as a national or citizen of more than one country under the laws of those countries. Conceptually, citizenship is focused on ...
''. It is possible for a United States citizen to have dual citizenship; this can be achieved in various ways, such as by birth in the United States to a parent who is a citizen of a foreign country (or in certain circumstances the foreign nationality may be transmitted even by a grandparent) by birth in another country to a parent(s) who is/are a United States citizen/s, or by having parents who are citizens of different countries. Anyone who becomes a naturalized United States citizen is required to renounce any prior "allegiance" to other countries during the naturalization ceremony; however, this renunciation of allegiance renunciation of citizenship to those countries. The United States Department of State
The United States Department of State (DOS), or State Department, is an executive department of the U.S. federal government responsible for the country's foreign policy and relations. Equivalent to the ministry of foreign affairs of other n ...
confirms on their website that a United States citizen can hold dual nationality: "''A United States citizen may naturalize in a foreign state without any risk to his or her United States citizenship.''"
The earliest recorded instances of dual citizenship began before the French Revolution
The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are considere ...
when the British captured American ships and forced them back to Europe. The British Crown
The Crown is the state (polity), state in all its aspects within the jurisprudence of the Commonwealth realms and their subdivisions (such as the Crown Dependencies, British Overseas Territories, overseas territories, Provinces and territorie ...
considered subjects from the United States as British by birth and forced them to fight in the Napoleonic wars.
Under certain circumstances there are relevant distinctions between dual citizens who hold a "substantial contact" with a country, for example by holding a passport or by residing in the country for a certain period of time, and those who do not. For example, under the Heroes Earnings Assistance and Relief Tax (HEART) Act of 2008, United States citizens in general are subject to an expatriation tax
An expatriation tax or emigration tax is a tax on persons who cease to be tax resident in a country. This often takes the form of a capital gains tax against unrealised gain attributable to the period in which the taxpayer was a tax resident of t ...
if they give up United States citizenship, but there are exceptions (specifically ) for those who are either under age 18½ upon giving up United States citizenship and have lived in the United States for less than ten years in their lives, or who are dual citizens by birth residing in their other country of citizenship at the time of giving up United States citizenship and have lived in the United States for less than ten out of the past fifteen years. Similarly, the United States considers holders of a foreign passport to have a substantial contact with the country that issued the passport, which may preclude security clearance
A security clearance is a status granted to individuals allowing them access to classified information (state or organizational secrets) or to restricted areas, after completion of a thorough background check. The term "security clearance" is ...
.
United States citizens are required by federal law to identify themselves with a United States passport, not with any other foreign passport, when entering or leaving the United States. The Supreme Court case of ''Afroyim v. Rusk
''Afroyim v. Rusk'', 387 U.S. 253 (1967), was a landmark decision of the Supreme Court of the United States, which ruled that citizens of the United States may not be deprived of their citizenship involuntarily. The U.S. government had attemp ...
'', declared that a United States citizen did not lose his citizenship by voting in an election in a foreign country, or by acquiring foreign citizenship, if they did not intend to lose United States citizenship. United States citizens who have dual citizenship do not lose their United States citizenship unless they renounce it officially.
History of citizenship in the United States
Citizenship began in colonial times as an active relation between men working cooperatively to solve municipal problems and participating actively in democratic decision-making, such as in New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
town hall meetings. Men met regularly to discuss local affairs and make decisions. These town meetings were described as the "earliest form of American democracy" which was vital since citizen participation in public affairs helped keep democracy
Democracy (From grc, δημοκρατία, dēmokratía, ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which the people have the authority to deliberate and decide legislation (" direct democracy"), or to choose gov ...
"sturdy", according to Alexis de Tocqueville
Alexis Charles Henri Clérel, comte de Tocqueville (; 29 July 180516 April 1859), colloquially known as Tocqueville (), was a French aristocrat, diplomat, political scientist, political philosopher and historian. He is best known for his works ...
in 1835. A variety of forces changed this relation during the nation's history. Citizenship became less defined by participation in politics and more defined as a legal relation with accompanying rights
Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...
and privileges. While the realm of civic participation in the public sphere
The public sphere (german: Öffentlichkeit) is an area in social life where individuals can come together to freely discuss and identify societal problems, and through that discussion influence political action. A "Public" is "of or concerning th ...
has shrunk, the citizenship franchise has been expanded to include not just propertied white adult men but black men and adult women.
The Supreme Court affirmed in ''United States v. Wong Kim Ark
''United States v. Wong Kim Ark'', 169 U.S. 649 (1898), was a landmark decision of the U.S. Supreme Court which held that "a child born in the United States, of parents of Chinese descent, who, at the time of his birth, are subjects of the Empe ...
'', , that per the Fourteenth Amendment's Citizenship Clause an ethnic Chinese person ''born'' in the United States becomes a citizen. This is distinct from naturalized citizenship; in 1922 the Court held in ''Ozawa v. United States
''Takao Ozawa v. United States'', 260 U.S. 178 (1922), was a US legal proceeding. The United States Supreme Court found Takao Ozawa, a Japanese American who was born in Japan but had lived in the United States for 20 years, ineligible for natural ...
'', , that a Japanese person, born in Japan but resident in the United States for twenty years, could not be naturalized under the law of the time and in 1923 in ''United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind
''United States v. Bhagat Singh Thind'', 261 U.S. 204 (1923), was a case in which the Supreme Court of the United States decided that Bhagat Singh Thind, an Indian Sikh man who identified himself as an Aryan, was ineligible for naturalized citi ...
'', , that an Indian person could not be naturalized. In the ''Ozawa'' decision it was noted that "In all of the naturalization acts from 1790 to 1906 the privilege of naturalization was confined to white persons (with the addition in 1870 of those of African nativity and descent)", 1906 being the most recent legislation in question at the time.
The Equal Nationality Act of 1934 allowed a foreign-born child of a US citizen mother and an alien
Alien primarily refers to:
* Alien (law), a person in a country who is not a national of that country
** Enemy alien, the above in times of war
* Extraterrestrial life, life which does not originate from Earth
** Specifically, intelligent extrater ...
father, who had entered US territory before age 18 and lived in the United States for five years, to apply for United States citizenship for the first time. It also made the naturalization process quicker for American women's alien husbands. This law equalized expatriation, immigration, naturalization, and repatriation rules between women and men. However, it was not applied retroactively, and was modified by later laws, such as the Nationality Act of 1940
The Nationality Act of 1940 (H.R. 9980; Pub.L. 76-853; 54 Stat. 1137) revised numerous provisions of law relating to American citizenship and naturalization. It was enacted by the 76th Congress of the United States and signed into law on October ...
.
Birthright citizenship
United States citizenship is usually acquired by birth when a child is born within the territory of the United States. For the purposes of birthright citizenship, the territory of the United States consists of the 50 U.S. state
In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sover ...
s, the District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, the Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
, the United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
, and the Palmyra Atoll
Palmyra Atoll (), also referred to as Palmyra Island, is one of the Line Islands, Northern Line Islands (southeast of Kingman Reef and north of Kiribati). It is located almost due south of the Hawaiian Islands, roughly one-third of the way bet ...
. Citizenship, however, was not specified in the original Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment specifically defined persons who were either born or naturalized
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction as citizens. All babies born in the United States—except those born to enemy aliens in wartime or the children of foreign diplomats—enjoy United States citizenship under the Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
's long-standing interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment regardless of the citizenship or immigration status of their parents. The amendment states: "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." There remains dispute as to who is "subject to the jurisdiction" of the United States at birth.
By acts of Congress, every person born in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
, the United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
, Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, and the Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
is a United States citizen by birth. Also, every person born in the former Panama Canal Zone
The Panama Canal Zone ( es, Zona del Canal de Panamá), also simply known as the Canal Zone, was an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the Isthmus of Panama, that existed from 1903 to 1979. It was located within the terr ...
whose father or mother (or both) are or were a citizen is a United States citizen by birth.
Regardless of where they are born, children of United States citizens are United States citizens in most cases. Children born outside the United States with at least one United States citizen parent usually have birthright citizenship by parentage.
A child of unknown parentage found in the United States while under the age of five is considered a US citizen unless and until it is proven, before that child reaches the age of twenty-two, the child had not been born in the US.
While persons born in the United States are considered to be citizens and can obtain US passports, children under the age of eighteen are legally considered to be minors and cannot vote, stand for, or hold public office. Upon the person's eighteenth birthday, they are considered to be full citizens, although no official ceremony takes place and no correspondence between the government and the new citizen occurs to acknowledge the relation. Citizenship is assumed to exist, and the relation is assumed to remain viable until death or until it is renounced or dissolved by some other legal process. Secondary schools ideally teach the basics of citizenship and create "informed and responsible citizens" who are "skilled in the arts of effective deliberation and action."
Americans who live in foreign countries and become members of other governments have, in some instances, been stripped of citizenship, although there have been court cases where decisions regarding citizenship have been reversed.
Naturalized citizenship
Article I, Section 8 of the U.S. constitution gives Congress the power "To establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization". Acts of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...
provide for acquisition of citizenship by persons not born in the U.S.
Agency in charge
The agency in charge of admitting new citizens is the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturalizati ...
, commonly abbreviated as USCIS.[ It is a bureau of the ]Department of Homeland Security
The United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the U.S. federal executive department responsible for public security, roughly comparable to the interior or home ministries of other countries. Its stated missions involve anti-terr ...
. It offers web-based services.[ The agency depends on application fees for revenue; in 2009, with a struggling economy, applications were down sharply, and consequently there was much less revenue to upgrade and streamline services.][ There was speculation that if the administration of president ]Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...
passed immigration reform
Immigration reform is change to the current immigration policy of a country. In its strict definition, ''reform'' means "to change into an improved form or condition, by amending or removing faults or abuses". In the political sense, "immigration ...
measures, then the agency could face a "welcome but overwhelming surge of Americans-in-waiting" and longer processing times for citizenship applications.[ The USCIS has made efforts to digitize records.] A USCIS website says the "United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is committed to offering the best possible service to you, our customer"[ and which says "With our focus on customer service, we offer you a variety of services both before and after you file your case".][ The website allowed applicants to estimate the length of time required to process specific types of cases, to check application status, and to access a customer guide.][ The USCIS processes cases in the order they're received.][ ]
Pathways to citizenship
People applying to become United States citizens must satisfy certain requirements. For example, applicants must generally have been permanent residents
Permanent residency is a person's legal resident status in a country or territory of which such person is not a citizen but where they have the right to reside on a permanent basis. This is usually for a permanent period; a person with such ...
for five years (three if married to a United States citizen), be of "good moral character" (meaning no felony convictions), be of "sound mind" in the judgment of immigration officials, have a knowledge of the Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
, and be able to speak and understand English unless they are elderly or disabled. Applicants must also pass a citizenship test.[ Until recently, a test published by the ]Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...
asked questions such as "How many stars are there in our flag?" and "What is the Constitution?" and "Who is the president of the United States today?"[ At one point, the ]Government Printing Office
The United States Government Publishing Office (USGPO or GPO; formerly the United States Government Printing Office) is an agency of the legislative branch of the United States Federal government. The office produces and distributes information ...
sold flashcards for US$8.50 to help test-takers prepare for the test. In 2006, the government replaced the former trivia test with a ten-question oral test designed to "shun simple historical facts about America that can be recounted in a few words, for more explanation about the principles of American democracy, such as freedom". One reviewer described the new citizenship test as "thoughtful".[ While some have criticized the new version of the test, officials counter that the new test is a "teachable moment" without making it conceptually more difficult, since the list of possible questions and answers, as before, will be publicly available.][ Six correct answers constitute a passing grade.][ The new test probes for signs that immigrants "understand and share American values".][
* One way to become a permanent resident is to apply to the US government Diversity Visa (DV) lottery. This program permits foreigners to apply for a drawing to become a permanent resident.]
* Military participation can also allow immigrant residents to become citizens. The military has had a tradition of "filling out its ranks" with aliens living in the United States. The financial and social benefits of citizenship can motivate persons to participate in potentially hazardous activities such as military service. For example, a 2009 article in ''The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' said that the United States Military
The United States Armed Forces are the military forces of the United States. The armed forces consists of six service branches: the Army, Marine Corps, Navy, Air Force, Space Force, and Coast Guard. The president of the United States is the ...
was recruiting "skilled immigrants who are living in this country with temporary visas" by promising an opportunity to become citizens "in as little as six months" in exchange for service in Afghanistan
Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
and Iraq
Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...
where United States forces are "stretched thin". One estimate was that in 2009 the US military had 29,000 foreign-born people currently serving who were not American citizens.[ In 2003, of 1.4 million service members, 37,000 active-duty members were not citizens, and of these, 20% had applied for citizenship.][ In 2002, President ]Bush
Bush commonly refers to:
* Shrub, a small or medium woody plant
Bush, Bushes, or the bush may also refer to:
People
* Bush (surname), including any of several people with that name
**Bush family, a prominent American family that includes:
*** ...
signed an executive order
In the United States, an executive order is a directive by the president of the United States that manages operations of the federal government. The legal or constitutional basis for executive orders has multiple sources. Article Two of th ...
to eliminate the three-year waiting period and made service personnel immediately eligible for citizenship.[ In 2003, Congress voted to "cut the waiting period to become a citizen from three years down to one year" for ]immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
who had served in the armed forces.[ Spouses of citizens or non-citizens who served in the ]military
A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...
also become citizens more quickly. The option was not open to illegal immigrants.[ One analyst noted that "many immigrants, not yet citizens, have volunteered to serve in the United States military forces ... Some have been killed and others wounded ... Perhaps this can be seen as a cynical attempt to qualify more easily for United States citizenship ... But I think that service in the United States military has to be taken as a pretty serious commitment to the United States".][ By June 2003, twelve non-citizens had died while on active duty in the United States armed forces during the ]Iraqi war
{{Infobox military conflict
, conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق (Kurdish languages, Kurdish)
, partof = the Iraq conflict (2003–present), I ...
.[
* Grandparent rule. Section 322 of the ]Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (), also known as the McCarran–Walter Act, codified under Title 8 of the United States Code (), governs immigration to and citizenship in the United States. It came into effect on June 27, 1952. Before ...
(INA), added in 1994, enabled children of a United States citizen who did not become citizens at birth, to use the physical presence period in the United States of a grandparent who was a citizen to qualify for United States citizenship. Under the Child Citizenship Act of 2000
The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 (CCA) is a United States federal law that amended the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 regarding acquisition of citizenship by children of US citizens and added protections for individuals who have voted i ...
, Section 322 was amended to extend also to children who generally reside outside the United States with a United States citizen parent, whether biological or adopted. The child must be in the legal and physical custody of the United States citizen parent, the child and parent must be lawfully present in the United States for the interview, and the child must take the oath of allegiance
An oath of allegiance is an oath whereby a subject or citizen acknowledges a duty of allegiance and swears loyalty to a monarch or a country. In modern republics, oaths are sworn to the country in general, or to the country's constitution. For ...
before the age of 18 years (for those 14 years or older). The application (Form N-600K) may only be submitted by the United States citizen parent, or by the grandparent or legal guardian within 5 years of the parent's death. In 2006, there were 4,000 applications of citizenship using the physical presence of grandparents. Israel
Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...
comprises 90% of those taking advantage of the clause.[
]
Strong demand
According to a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is a non-partisan think tank established in 2001 by Kathleen Newland and Demetrios G. Papademetriou. The Migration Policy Institute is supportive of Liberalism, liberal immigration policies.
About
The Migrati ...
, "citizenship is a very, very valuable commodity".[ However, one study suggested legal residents eligible for citizenship, but who don't apply, tend to have low incomes (41%), do not speak English well (60%), or have low levels of education (25%).][ There is strong demand for citizenship based on the number of applications filed.][ From 1920 to 1940, the number of immigrants to the United States who became citizens numbered about 200,000 each year; there was a spike after ]World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
, and then the level reduced to about 150,000 per year until resuming to the 200,000 level beginning about 1980. In the mid-1990s to 2009, the levels rose to about 500,000 per year with considerable variation.[ In 1996, more than one million people became citizens through naturalization.] In 1997, there were 1.41 million applications filed; in 2006, 1.38 million.[ The number of naturalized citizens in the United States rose from 6.5 million in the mid-1990s to 11 million in 2002.][ By 2003, the pool of immigrants eligible to become naturalized citizens was 8 million, and of these, 2.7 million lived in ]California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
. In 2003, the number of new citizens from naturalization was 463,204.[ In 2007, the number was 702,589.][ In 2007, 1.38 million people applied for citizenship creating a backlog.][ In 2008, applications decreased to 525,786.][
Naturalization fees were US$60 in 1989; US$90 in 1991; US$95 in 1994; US$225 in 1999; US$260 in 2002; US$320 in 2003; US$330 in 2005.] In 2007 application fees were increased from US$330 to US$595 and an additional US$80 computerized fingerprinting fee was added.[ The biometrics fee was increased to US$85 in 2010. On December 23, 2014, the application fees were increased again from US$595 to US$640. The high fees have been criticized as putting up one more wall to citizenship.][ Increases in fees for citizenship have drawn criticism.] Doris Meissner
Doris Marie Meissner (born November 3, 1941) is a former Commissioner of the Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS), the agency previously responsible for immigration enforcement in the United States. She headed the INS from October 18, 1993 ...
, a senior fellow at the Migration Policy Institute
The Migration Policy Institute (MPI) is a non-partisan think tank established in 2001 by Kathleen Newland and Demetrios G. Papademetriou. The Migration Policy Institute is supportive of Liberalism, liberal immigration policies.
About
The Migrati ...
and former Immigration and Naturalization Service Commissioner, doubted that fee increases deter citizenship-seekers.[ In 2009, the number of immigrants applying for citizenship plunged 62%; reasons cited were the slowing economy and the cost of naturalization.]
Citizenship ceremonies
The citizenship process has been described as a ritual that is meaningful for many immigrants.[ Many new citizens are sworn in during ]Independence Day
An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...
ceremonies.[ Most citizenship ceremonies take place at offices of the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services. However, one swearing-in ceremony was held at ]Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery is one of two national cemeteries run by the United States Army. Nearly 400,000 people are buried in its 639 acres (259 ha) in Arlington, Virginia. There are about 30 funerals conducted on weekdays and 7 held on Sa ...
in Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
in 2008. The judge who chose this venue explained: "I did it to honor our country's warriors and to give the new citizens a sense for what makes this country great". According to federal law, citizenship applicants who are also changing their names must appear before a federal judge.[
]
Honorary citizenship
The title of "Honorary Citizen of the United States
A person of exceptional merit, a non-United States citizen, may be declared an honorary citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress or by a proclamation issued by the president of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Cong ...
" has been granted eight times by an act of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called Public and private bills, private laws), or to the general public (Public and private bills, public laws). For a Bill (law) ...
or by a proclamation issued by the president
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
pursuant to authorization granted by Congress. The eight individuals are Sir Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer Churchill (30 November 187424 January 1965) was a British statesman, soldier, and writer who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom twice, from 1940 to 1945 during the Second World War, and again from 1 ...
, Raoul Wallenberg
Raoul Gustaf Wallenberg (4 August 1912 – disappeared 17 January 1945)He is presumed to have died in 1947, although the circumstances of his death are not clear and this date has been disputed. Some reports claim he was alive years later. 31 J ...
, William Penn
William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...
, Hannah Callowhill Penn
Hannah Margaret Penn ( Callowhill; 11 February 1671 – 20 December 1726) was an Anglo-American governor. The second wife of Pennsylvania founder William Penn, she effectively administered the Province of Pennsylvania for six years after her ...
, Mother Teresa
Mary Teresa Bojaxhiu, MC (; 26 August 1910 – 5 September 1997), better known as Mother Teresa ( sq, Nënë Tereza), was an Indian-Albanian Catholic nun who, in 1950, founded the Missionaries of Charity. Anjezë Gonxhe Bojaxhiu () was bo ...
, the Marquis de Lafayette
Marie-Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier, Marquis de La Fayette (6 September 1757 – 20 May 1834), known in the United States as Lafayette (, ), was a French aristocrat, freemason and military officer who fought in the American Revoluti ...
, Casimir Pulaski
Kazimierz Michał Władysław Wiktor Pułaski of the Ślepowron coat of arms (; ''Casimir Pulaski'' ; March 4 or March 6, 1745 Makarewicz, 1998 October 11, 1779) was a Polish nobleman, soldier, and military commander who has been called, tog ...
, and Bernardo de Gálvez y Madrid, Viscount of Galveston and Count of Gálvez.
Sometimes, the government awarded non-citizen immigrants who died fighting for American forces with the posthumous title of United States citizen, but this is not considered honorary citizenship. In June 2003, Congress approved legislation to help families of fallen non-citizen soldiers.[
]
Corporate citizenship
There is a sense in which corporations can be considered "citizens". Since ''corporations'' are considered persons in the eyes of the law, it is possible to think of corporations as being like citizens. For example, the airline Virgin America
Virgin America Inc. was a low-cost U.S. airline that operated from 2007 until 2018, when it was acquired by Alaska Airlines. The airline primarily focused on operating low-fare service between cities on the West Coast and other major metropoli ...
asked the United States Department of Transportation
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT or DOT) is one of the executive departments of the U.S. federal government. It is headed by the secretary of transportation, who reports directly to the President of the United States and ...
to be treated as an American air carrier.[ The advantage of "citizenship" is having the protection and support of the ]United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
when jockeying with foreign governments for access to air routes and overseas airports.[ ]Alaska Airlines
Alaska Airlines is a major American airline headquartered in SeaTac, Washington, within the Seattle metropolitan area. It is the sixth largest airline in North America when measured by fleet size, scheduled passengers carried, and the numb ...
, a competitor of Virgin America, asked for a review of the situation; according to United States law, "foreign ownership in a United States air carrier is limited to 25% of the voting interest in the carrier", but executives at Virgin America insisted the airline met this requirement.
For the purposes of diversity jurisdiction
In the law of the United States, diversity jurisdiction is a form of subject-matter jurisdiction that gives United States federal courts, U.S. federal courts the power to hear lawsuits that do not involve a federal question jurisdiction, federal ...
in the United States civil procedure
Civil procedure is the body of law that sets out the rules and standards that courts follow when adjudicating civil lawsuits (as opposed to procedures in criminal law matters). These rules govern how a lawsuit or case may be commenced; what ki ...
, corporate citizenship is determined by the principal place of business of the corporation. There is some degree of disagreement among legal authorities as to how exactly this may be determined.
Another sense of "corporate citizenship" is a way to show support for causes such as social issues and the environment and, indirectly, gain a kind of "reputational advantage".
Distinction between citizenship and nationality
The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (INA) made a minor distinction between United States citizenship and United States nationality.[ ("The term ']national of the United States
Citizenship of the United States is a legal status that entails Americans with specific rights, duties, protections, and benefits in the United States. It serves as a foundation of fundamental rights derived from and protected by the Constituti ...
' means (A) a citizen of the United States, or (B) a person who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent
Permanent may refer to:
Art and entertainment
* ''Permanent'' (film), a 2017 American film
* ''Permanent'' (Joy Division album)
* "Permanent" (song), by David Cook
Other uses
* Permanent (mathematics), a concept in linear algebra
* Permanent (cy ...
allegiance
An allegiance is a duty of fidelity said to be owed, or freely committed, by the people, subjects or citizens to their state or sovereign.
Etymology
From Middle English ''ligeaunce'' (see medieval Latin ''ligeantia'', "a liegance"). The ''al ...
to the United States."); ''Miller v. Albright
''Miller v. Albright'', 523 U.S. 420 (1998), was a United States Supreme Court case in which the Court upheld the validity of laws relating to U.S. citizenship at birth for children born outside the United States, out of wedlock, to an American p ...
''
523 U.S. 420
423-24 (1998) ("Persons not born in the United States acquire American_nationality_by_birth_only_as_provided_by_
American_nationality_by_birth_only_as_provided_by_Immigration_and_Nationality_Act">Acts_of_Congress
_
An_Act_of_Congress_is_a_statute_enacted_by_the_United_States_Congress._Acts_may_apply_only_to_individual_entities_(called__private_laws),_or_to_the_general_public_(_public_laws)._For_a_bill_to_become_an_act,_the_text_must_pass_through_both_house_...
".);_''Jaen_v._Sessions'',_F.3d
No._17-1512
(United_States_Court_of_Appeals_for_the_Second_Circuit.html" ;"title="Immigration_and_Nationality_Act.html" "title="nited States citizenship o
American nationality
by birth only as provided by Immigration and Nationality Act">Acts of Congress
An Act of Congress is a statute enacted by the United States Congress. Acts may apply only to individual entities (called private laws), or to the general public ( public laws). For a bill to become an act, the text must pass through both house ...
".); ''Jaen v. Sessions'', F.3d
No. 17-1512(United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit">2d Cir. Aug. 13, 2018) (case involving a United States citizen in removal proceedings); ''Anderson v. Holder''
673 F.3d 1089 1092 (United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, 9th Cir. 2012) (same); ''Ricketts v. Attorney General of the United States'', F.3d
No. 16-3182 p.5 note 3 (
United States Court of Appeals for the Third Circuit, 3d Cir. July 30, 2018) ("
Citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
and
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
are not synonymous. While all citizens are nationals, not all nationals are citizens".); ''Mohammadi v. Islamic Republic of Iran''
782 F.3d 9 15 (
D.C. Cir. 2015) ("The sole such statutory provision that presently confers United States nationality upon non-citizens is ."); see also ("Nationals but not citizens; residence within outlying possessions"). Citizenship comprises a larger set of privileges and rights for those persons that are United States citizens which is not afforded to individuals that are only United States nationals by virtue of their rights under the INA.
[''Should American Samoans be citizens?''](_blank)
Danny Cevallos. CNN. February 11, 2014. Retrieved March 7, 2015. It is well-established that all United States citizens are United States nationals but not all United States nationals are United States citizens.
The
Naturalization Act of 1790
The Naturalization Act of 1790 (, enacted March 26, 1790) was a law of the United States Congress that set the first uniform rules for the granting of United States citizenship by naturalization. The law limited naturalization to "free White ...
() provided the first rules to be followed by the United States in the granting of national
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
after the ratification of the
Constitution
A constitution is the aggregate of fundamental principles or established precedents that constitute the legal basis of a polity, organisation or other type of entity and commonly determine how that entity is to be governed.
When these pr ...
. A number of other Acts and statutes followed the Act of 1790 that expanded or addressed specific situations but it was not until the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 (), codified under
Title 8 of the United States Code
Title 8 of the United States Code codifies statutes relating to aliens and nationality in the United States Code.
Chapters 1-11
* : General Provisions (repealed or omitted)
* : Elective Franchise (transferred)
* : Civil Rights (transferred/repe ...
(), that the variety of statutes governing citizenship law were organized within one single body of text. The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 set forth the legal requirements for the acquisition of American nationality. The
Fourteenth Amendment (1868) addressed citizenship rights. The
United States nationality law
United States nationality law details the conditions in which a person holds United States nationality. In the United States, nationality is typically obtained through provisions in the U.S. constitution, U.S. Constitution, various laws, and ...
, despite its "nationality" title, comprises the
statutes
A statute is a formal written enactment of a legislative authority that governs the legal entities of a city, state, or country by way of consent. Typically, statutes command or prohibit something, or declare policy. Statutes are rules made by le ...
that embody the law regarding both American
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
and American
nationality
Nationality is a legal identification of a person in international law, establishing the person as a subject, a ''national'', of a sovereign state. It affords the state jurisdiction over the person and affords the person the protection of the ...
.
The
United States government
The federal government of the United States (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States, a federal republic located primarily in North America, composed of 50 states, a city within a fede ...
takes the position that
unincorporated territories of the United States
Territories of the United States are sub-national administrative divisions overseen by the federal government of the United States. The various American territories differ from the U.S. states and tribal reservations as they are not sover ...
are not "in the United States" for purposes of the
Citizenship Clause
The Citizenship Clause is the first sentence of the Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which was adopted on July 9, 1868, which states:
This clause reversed a portion of the ''Dred Scott v. Sandford'' decision, which had d ...
, and thus individuals born in those territories are only United States citizens at birth if Congress has passed a citizenship statute in regards to that territory. Thus, people born in
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
,
Guam
Guam (; ch, Guåhan ) is an organized, unincorporated territory of the United States in the Micronesia subregion of the western Pacific Ocean. It is the westernmost point and territory of the United States (reckoned from the geographic cent ...
, the
United States Virgin Islands
The United States Virgin Islands,. Also called the ''American Virgin Islands'' and the ''U.S. Virgin Islands''. officially the Virgin Islands of the United States, are a group of Caribbean islands and an unincorporated and organized territory ...
and the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
(after November 4, 1986) have United States citizenship at birth, while people in the
Northern Mariana Islands
The Northern Mariana Islands, officially the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI; ch, Sankattan Siha Na Islas Mariånas; cal, Commonwealth Téél Falúw kka Efáng llól Marianas), is an unincorporated territory and commonw ...
who automatically gained U.S Citizenship on November 4, 1986 may elect to give up United States citizenship while retaining United States nationality at the age of 18 (or within six months of becoming US Citizens, if over 18). Meanwhile, per , people born in
American Samoa
American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the International ...
are United States nationals but not United States citizens at birth, and must apply for
naturalization
Naturalization (or naturalisation) is the legal act or process by which a non-citizen of a country may acquire citizenship or nationality of that country. It may be done automatically by a statute, i.e., without any effort on the part of the in ...
if they wish to become US citizens, which requires them to pay a US$680 fee (as of February 11, 2014), pass a
good moral character
Good moral character is an ideal state of a person's beliefs and values that is considered most beneficial to society.
In United States law, good moral character can be assessed through the requirement of virtuous acts or by principally evaluatin ...
assessment, be fingerprinted and pass an English and civics examination.
The nationality status of a person born in an unincorporated
United States Minor Outlying Island
The United States Minor Outlying Islands is a statistical designation defined by the International Organization for Standardization's ISO 3166-1 code. The entry code is ISO 3166-2:UM. The minor outlying islands and groups of islands consist ...
is not specifically mentioned by law, but under international law and Supreme Court dicta, they are also regarded as non-citizen nationals of the United States.
The United States government position with regards to American Samoa began to be challenged in court in the 2010s. A 2016 ruling by the
D.C. Circuit Court upheld the United States government's position interpretation that American Samoa is not "in the United States" for purposes of the Fourteenth Amendment and thus American Samoans are nationals but not citizens at birth, A 2021 ruling by the
10th Circuit Court similarly upheld the government's position and reversed a lower court ruling that said American Samoan plaintiffs were United States citizens at birth.
Non-citizen nationals of the United States may reside and work in the United States without restrictions, and may apply for United States citizenship under the same rules as
permanent United States residents. Both of these groups are
not allowed to vote in federal or state elections, although there is no constitutional prohibition against their doing so. Most nationals of the United States statutorily transmit nationality to children born outside the United States.
The United States passport issued to non-citizen nationals of the United States contains the endorsement code 9 which states: "The bearer is a United States national and not a United States citizen" on the annotations page.
Controversies
The issue of citizenship naturalization is a highly contentious matter in United States politics, particularly regarding illegal immigrants. Candidates in the 2008 presidential election, such as
Rudolph Giuliani
Rudolph William Louis Giuliani (, ; born May 28, 1944) is an American politician and lawyer who served as the 107th Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001. He previously served as the United States Associate Attorney General from 1981 to 198 ...
, tried to "carve out a middle ground" on the issue of illegal immigration, but rivals such as
John McCain
John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...
advocated legislation requiring illegal immigrants to first leave the country before being eligible to apply as citizens.
Some measures to require proof of citizenship upon registering to vote have met with controversy.
Controversy can arise when citizenship affects political issues. Whether to include questions about current citizenship status in the
United States Census questions has been debated in the
Senate
A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...
.
[ Census data affects state electoral clout; it also affects budgetary allocations.] Including non-citizens in Census counts also shifts political power to states that have large numbers of non-citizens due to the fact that reapportionment of congressional seats is based on Census data, and including non-citizens in the census is mandated by the United States Constitution.
There have been controversies based on speculation about which way newly naturalized citizens are likely to vote. Since immigrants from many countries have been presumed to vote Democratic if naturalized, there have been efforts by Democratic administrations to streamline citizenship applications before elections to increase turnout; Republicans, in contrast, have exerted pressure to slow down the process. In 1997, there were efforts to strip the citizenship of 5,000 newly approved immigrants who, it was thought, had been "wrongly naturalized"; a legal effort to do this presented enormous challenges.[ An examination by the ]Immigration and Naturalization Service
The United States Immigration and Naturalization Service (INS) was an agency of the U.S. Department of Labor from 1933 to 1940 and the U.S. Department of Justice from 1940 to 2003.
Referred to by some as former INS and by others as legacy INS, ...
of 1.1 million people who were granted citizenship from September 1995 to September 1996 found 4,946 cases in which a criminal arrest should have disqualified an applicant or in which an applicant lied about his or her criminal history.[ Before the 2008 election, there was controversy about the speed of the USCIS in processing applications; one report suggested that the agency would complete 930,000 applications in time for the newly processed citizens to vote in the November 2008 election.] Foreign-born naturalized citizens tend to vote at the same rates as natives. For example, in the state of New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
in the 2008 election, the foreign born represented 20.1% of the state's population of 8,754,560; of these, 636,000 were eighteen or older and hence eligible to vote; of eligible voters, 396,000 actually voted, which was about 62%.[ So foreign-born citizens vote in roughly the same proportion (62%) as native citizens (67%).][ Note: click on "New Jersey" MPI election profiles for all 50 states and the ]District of Columbia
)
, image_skyline =
, image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, examining voter registration by nativity, providing breakdowns for foreign-born citizens as a share of total state population, and detailing their turnout in the 2004 general election, and by ethnicity.
There has been controversy about the agency in charge of citizenship. The USCIS
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that administers the country's naturalization and immigration system. It is a successor to the Immigration and Naturaliza ...
has been criticized as being a "notoriously surly, inattentive bureaucracy" with long backlogs in which "would-be citizens spent years waiting for paperwork". Rules made by Congress
A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
and the federal government
A federation (also known as a federal state) is a political entity characterized by a union of partially self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a central federal government (federalism). In a federation, the self-governin ...
regarding citizenship are highly technical and often confusing, and the agency is forced to cope with enforcement within a complex regulatory milieu. There have been instances in which applicants for citizenship have been deported on technicalities.[ One ]Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
doctor and his wife, both from the Philippines
The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no),
* bik, Republika kan Filipinas
* ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas
* cbk, República de Filipinas
* hil, Republ ...
, who applied for citizenship, and one Mr. Darnell from Canada who was married to an American with two children from this marriage, ran afoul of legal technicalities and faced deportation.[ '']The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' reported that "Mr. Darnell discovered that a 10-year-old conviction for domestic violence involving a former girlfriend, even though it had been reduced to a misdemeanor and erased from his public record, made him ineligible to become a citizen — or even to continue living in the United States".[ Overworked federal examiners under pressure to make "quick decisions" as well as "weed out security risks" have been described as preferring "to err on the side of rejection".][ In 2000, 399,670 applications were denied (about of all applications); in 2007, 89,683 applications for naturalization were denied, about 12% of those presented.]
Generally, eligibility for citizenship is denied for the millions of people living in the United States illegally, although from time to time, there have been amnesties. In 2006, there were mass protests numbering hundreds of thousands of people throughout the United States demanding United States citizenship for illegal immigrants. Many carried banners which read "We Have A Dream Too".[ One estimate is that there were 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States in 2006.][ Many American high school students have citizenship issues.] In 2008, it was estimated that there were 65,000 illegal immigrant students.[ The number was less clear for post-secondary education. A 1982 ]Supreme Court
A supreme court is the highest court within the hierarchy of courts in most legal jurisdictions. Other descriptions for such courts include court of last resort, apex court, and high (or final) court of appeal. Broadly speaking, the decisions of ...
decision, ''Plyler v. Doe'' , entitled illegal immigrants to free education from kindergarten
Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th cent ...
through high school
A secondary school describes an institution that provides secondary education and also usually includes the building where this takes place. Some secondary schools provide both '' lower secondary education'' (ages 11 to 14) and ''upper seconda ...
. Undocumented immigrants who get arrested face difficulties in the courtroom as they have no constitutional right to challenge the outcome of their deportation hearings. In 2009, writer Tom Barry of the ''Boston Review
''Boston Review'' is an American quarterly political and literary magazine. It publishes political, social, and historical analysis, literary and cultural criticism, book reviews, fiction, and poetry, both online and in print. Its signature form ...
'' criticized the crackdown against illegal immigrants since it "flooded the federal courts with nonviolent offenders, besieged poor communities, and dramatically increased the United States prison population, while doing little to solve the problem itself". Barry criticized the United States' high incarceration rate as being "fives times greater than the average rate in the rest of the world".[ ]Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
senator Jim Webb
James Henry Webb Jr. (born February 9, 1946) is an American politician and author. He has served as a United States senator from Virginia, Secretary of the Navy, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Reserve Affairs, Counsel for the United States ...
agreed that "we are doing something dramatically wrong in our criminal justice system".[
]
Relinquishment of citizenship
United States citizens can relinquish their citizenship, which involves abandoning the right to reside in the United States and all the other rights and responsibilities of citizenship.[ ] "Relinquishment" is the