Does the USA allow dual citizenship?

Question

As I know it, the USA only allows dual citizenship with Puerto Rico. I've heard of people coming to the USA who become citizens in the USA yet who do not reject the citizenship in the country from which they came. I do genealogy and know that in the late 1800's and early 1900's that it was a requirement that you reject your old country if you wished to become a citizen in the USA. Give me your understanding and info in this regard, i.e. don't people these days have to reject citizenship in their old country anymore? Thanks.

Answer 1

America does allow dual citizenship, though not with all countries. Also, if you want to work for the government, most likely (I'm not positive about all branches), you can ONLY be a U.S. citizen.

Answer 2

Yes, the USA allows dual citizenship, provided that an US Citizen does not renounce its US Citizenship.

As for Puerto Rico, you should know that Puerto Ricans are US Citizens by BIRTH because Puerto Rico is an US Territory (and has been so since 1898, although US Citizenship was formally applied in 1917 with the advent of World War 1. Thus, there is no such thing as Puerto Rican citizenship.

An US Citizen by birth may acquire a foreing citizenship through their parents or by choice, and be considered as a dual citizen, as long as the US Citizen does not join the armed forces of the other country; does not run for public office in his new country, and does not make any statements declaring himself as sole citizen of that other country.

There are some other criteria involved. But if you contact the US State Department or go to their website at http://www.state.gov, you will find the entire text explaining the rules for dual citizenship.

Answer 3

You're on the right track.

But to first clarify the Puerto Rico issue. Puerto Rico is not a country it's a commonwealth of the United States and all Puerto Ricans are Americans. The same is true of Guam and the US Virgin Islands.

Now the complicated issue of "dual citizenship". Yes, the US now ALLOWS it, but definitely does not encourage it. It is relatively recent that the US has even allowed it, and it stems from immigration reforms in the 1960s and 70s. You are correct that in earlier years, any immigrant was given no choice but to renounce their citizenship of their homeland before being granted US Citizenship. Then came the "hippie generation" and a good number of illegitimate children whose parents were citizens of two different countries. It posed horrible problems for the world's governments trying to sort through who had legal authority and responsibility over these children. So the laws changed to respond to the issues. There was also the rise of the Communist bloc and the children of American citizens caught behind it. The laws also changed to allow their children to regain American citizenship without disturbing the Communist countries. After the fall of Communism, the laws expanded even more to redefine the parameters of dual citizenship.

I hold dual citizenship, though more as a joke than anything else. I was born and raised in the US. But 20 years ago I traced my paternal great-grandmother's family back to Acadia and a pair of little islands in the North Atlantic named St-Pierre et Miquelon. Through a fluke (namely that one of my grandmothers many generations back was one of the Acadians who sought refuge there after the grand arrangement), I was eligible for citizenship. So I actually hold two passports and can legally travel the world with either one. It did raise eyebrows when I went to France (they wondered how a Miquelonia didn't have a French accent), but otherwise, it's done me well in traveling to the Middle East. No one knows where the country is, so they spend their time asking me questions about it and give me preferential treatment over the other Americans I travel with...

Answer 4

The US definitely permits dual citizenship. I know this for a fact b/c about 2 years ago I, an American citizen, became a citizen of Italy. My husband's family came from Italy in the early 1900's, and later became American citizens by taking the test, but never were required to give up their Italian citizenship.

Answer 5

Dual Israeli/US citizens planned the Iraq War, planned the 9/11 conspiracy and have served at the private Federal Reserve Bank, and answer to the banks, as all the Fed people do. Dual citizenship has been a disaster for America.

Answer 6

Both the UK and the USA recognize dual citizenship at this time so if you meet requirements to apply for citizenship in the UK then you would continue to be a US citizen.

Answer 7

Individuals become United States citizens both by birth and naturalization. However, when they decide to become citizens of the US, most countries don't make their nationals relinquish their original citizenship, and although the United States doesn't encourage multiple citizenships, it hasn't legislated against them either. Of course, anyone with multiple citizenships has responsibilities as a citizen to all his or her respective countries, including military service and income taxes. The US determines who pays income tax by citizenship, but Australia, for example, determines income tax by residency. Therefore, someone with a dual citizenship in Australia and the US would pay a double set of income taxes if he or she chose to live in Australia. Ouch!

Nicole Kidman has both Australian and US citizenship; Dan Aykroyd has Canadian and US citizenship, and Governor of California, Arnold Schwarzenegger, while a naturalized US citizen, has retained his Austrian citizenship. Theoretically, a child born in the United States to parents of two different nationalities, for example, could have multiple citizenships in three different countries or maybe even four if he or she married a citizen from yet another country.

Answer 8

It works the other way around. If you are a native born US citizen you can have a dual citizenship with another country (Ireland or England for instance) if your mother or grandmother were citizens of that country. It does not apply to all countries but only countries that the US has an agreement with and it is an offer generated by the other country not the US.

All immigrants to the US must give up their citizenship and allegiance to their native country to become a US citizen.

Answer 9

I know the USA does allow joint citizenship however, only with certain countries. You do not have to reject citizenship of your secondary country. Rules such as you can not travel into american soil using another passport. So, If I use my Irish passport to enter America I would run the risk of forfiting my citizenship. So If I am American Citizen by birth and an Irish citizen I would use my Irish passport to go to Ireland and my American one to return to the US. Tons of other rules where a parson can lose the US Citizenship:
These include:

becoming a naturalized citizen of another country, or declaring allegiance to another country, after reaching age 18;

serving as an officer in a foreign country's military service, or serving in the armed forces of a country which is engaged in hostilities against the US;

working for a foreign government (e.g., in political office or as a civil servant);

formally renouncing one's US citizenship before duly authorized US officials; or

committing treason against, or attempting or conspiring to overthrow the government of, the US.

On 16 April 1990, US adopted a new policy on dual citizenship, under which US citizens who perform one of the potentially expatriating acts listed above are normally presumed not to have done so with intent to give up US citizenship. Thus, the overwhelming majority of loss-of-citizenship cases nowadays will involve people who have explicitly indicated to US consular officials that they want to give up their US citizenship.

The US law on citizenship by birth incorporates two traditional legal principles:

ius soli ("right of the soil"), under which citizenship results from being born in the US (other than forign diplomats and certain illegal immigration issues), and

ius sanguinis ("right of the blood"), under which citizenship results from having an American parent or parents

Note that people born in the following places are defined to be US citizens however not all US Citizens are Nationals: Puerto Rico; the Canal Zone; Alaska and Hawaii (before they became states); the US Virgin Islands; and Guam.

Answer 10

Top 2 answers are both wrong. You can have duel citizenship as far as the USA is concerned . It is usually the country of origin , that has the problem with it in some cases. You may serve in the US military even if you aren't an American citizen( I did).