The term United States person or US person is used in various contexts in
US laws and regulations with different meanings. It can refer to
natural persons or
other entities.
Data collection and intelligence
The term "US person" is used in the context of
data collection
Data collection or data gathering is the process of gathering and measuring information on targeted variables in an established system, which then enables one to answer relevant questions and evaluate outcomes. Data collection is a research com ...
and
intelligence
Intelligence has been defined in many ways: the capacity for abstraction, logic, understanding, self-awareness, learning, emotional knowledge, reasoning, planning, creativity, critical thinking, and problem-solving. More generally, it can ...
by 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., ...
, particularly with respect to the provisions of the
Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act
The Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act of 1978 ("FISA" , ) is a United States federal law that establishes procedures for the physical and electronic surveillance and the collection of "foreign intelligence information" between "foreign pow ...
. If information from, about, or to a US person who is not a named terrorist is captured in the course of US foreign intelligence activities, there are strict rules about preserving the anonymity of such a person in any subsequent intelligence report. Only if the US person information is relevant to the report, is it included.
According to the
National Security Agency
The National Security Agency (NSA) is a national-level intelligence agency of the United States Department of Defense, under the authority of the Director of National Intelligence (DNI). The NSA is responsible for global monitoring, collecti ...
web site, Federal law and
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 t ...
define a United States person as any of the following:
*a
citizen 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 ...
*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 ...
lawfully admitted for permanent residence
*an
unincorporated association
Unincorporated associations are one vehicle for people to cooperate towards a common goal.
The range of possible unincorporated associations is nearly limitless, but typical examples are:
:* An amateur football team who agree to hire a pitch onc ...
with a substantial number of members who are citizens of the US or are aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence
*a
corporation
A corporation is an organization—usually a group of people or a company—authorized by the state to act as a single entity (a legal entity recognized by private and public law "born out of statute"; a legal person in legal context) and ...
that is incorporated in the US
Securities market regulation
Regulation S (promulgated under the
Securities Act of 1933
The Securities Act of 1933, also known as the 1933 Act, the Securities Act, the Truth in Securities Act, the Federal Securities Act, and the '33 Act, was enacted by the United States Congress on May 27, 1933, during the Great Depression and after ...
) in Section 902(k)(1) defines a US person as:
[General Rules and Regulations promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933: Rule 902 -- Definitions](_blank)
/ref>
#Any natural person resident in the United States;
#Any partnership or corporation organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States;
#Any estate of which any executor or administrator is a US person;
#Any trust of which any trustee is a US person;
#Any agency or branch of a foreign entity located in the United States;
#Any non-discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary for the benefit or account of a US person;
#Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States; and
#Any partnership or corporation if:
##Organized or incorporated under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction; and
##Formed by a US person principally for the purpose of investing in securities not registered under the Act, unless it is organized or incorporated, and owned, by accredited investors (as defined in Rule 501(a)) who are not natural persons, estates or trusts.
Section 902(k)(2) further defines some persons who are explicitly not US persons.
Taxation
Internal Revenue Code
The Internal Revenue Code (IRC), formally the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, is the domestic portion of federal statutory tax law in the United States, published in various volumes of the United States Statutes at Large, and separately as Title 2 ...
Section 7701(a)(30) defines a US person as:
# a citizen or resident of the United States (including a lawful permanent resident residing abroad who has not formally notified United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to abandon that status);domestic partnership
A domestic partnership is a legal relationship, usually between couples, who live together and share a common domestic life, but are not married (to each other or to anyone else). People in domestic partnerships receive benefits that guarantee ...
;
# a domestic corporation;
# any estate (other than a foreign estate, within the meaning of paragraph (31)); and
# any trust if—
## a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust, and
## one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust.
See also
* United States entity
* Personhood § United States
Footnotes
References
{{reflist
*
Law of the United States
National Security Agency
United States nationality law
United States securities law