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Image File history File links Flag_of_the_United_States. ...
The Great Seal of the United States, obverse side. ...
Possession of citizenship U.S. citizens have the right to participate in the political system of the United States (with most U.S. states having restrictions for felons, and federal restrictions on naturalized persons), are represented and protected abroad by the United States (through U.S. embassies and consulates), and are allowed to reside in the United States, and certain territories, without any immigration requirements. Citizenship is membership in a political community (originally a city but now a state), and carries with it rights to political participation; a person having such membership is a citizen. ...
A state of the United States (a U.S. state) is any one of the fifty states (four of which officially favor the term commonwealth) which, along with the District of Columbia, form the United States of America. ...
A felony, in many common law legal systems, is the term for a very serious crime; misdemeanors are considered to be less serious. ...
Citizens are liable for jury service. Citizens are also required to pay taxes on worldwide income, including income earned while residing abroad (regardless of the duration of the residence) – but only beyond the first $80,000 in this case because of the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion.[1]. U.S. taxes payable may be further reduced by credits for foreign tax paid.
Male U.S. citizens and permanent residents who reach the age of 18 are required to register under the Selective Service Act (while the U.S. does not actively use conscription, it reserves the right to do so): failure to do so is a criminal offense (up to 5 years imprisonment, $20,000 fine, and the suspension of federal educational grants/loans). The United States Government also insists that U.S. citizens travel into and out of the United States on a U.S. passport, regardless of dual nationality. The Selective Service Act (40 Stat. ...
The government of the United States, established by the United States Constitution, is a federal republic of 50 states, a few territories and some protectorates. ...
Acquisition of citizenship
Natural-born citizens Most United States citizens are natural-born citizens, meaning they were born in the United States or born to United States citizens overseas. In general, a natural-born citizen of a country is someone who is legally recognized as that countrys citizen as of the moment of birth, rather than by acquiring citizenship afterwards through naturalization. ...
Birth within the United States Children born in the United States (including, in most cases, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Panama Canal Zone before it was returned to Panama), are U.S. citizens at birth (unless born to foreign diplomatic staff), regardless of the citizenship or nationality of the parents (see Jus soli). This has become controversial, as some Mexican parents will cross the border into the United States to give birth, so that their children will be U.S. citizens. A birth certificate is considered evidence of citizenship. The Panama Canal Zone was a 553 mile² (1,432 km²) territory inside of Panama, consisting of the Panama Canal and an area extending 5 mi (8. ...
Jus soli (Latin for right of the territory), or birthright citizenship, is a right by which nationality or citizenship can be recognised to any individual born in the territory of the related state. ...
Through birth abroad to two United States citizens In most cases, one is a U.S. citizen if both of the following are true: - Both their parents were U.S. citizens at the time of their birth
- At least one of their parents lived in the United States prior to their birth.
A person's record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of their citizenship. They may also apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship to have their citizenship recognized.
Through birth abroad to one United States citizen In most cases, one is a U.S. citizen if all of the following are true: - One of their parents was a U.S. citizen at the time of their birth;
- Their citizen parent lived at least 5 years in the United States before their birth; and
- At least 2 of these 5 years in the United States were after their citizen parent's 14th birthday (see note below).
A person's record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of their citizenship. They may also apply for a passport or a Certificate of Citizenship to have their citizenship recognized.
Note: If born before November 14, 1986, one is a citizen if their U.S. citizen parent lived in the U.S. for at least 10 years and 5 of those years in the U.S. were after their citizen parent's 14th birthday.
Different rules apply for those born before December 24, 1952.
Naturalization Naturalization is the process by which one becomes a citizen of a country. If not a U.S. citizen, one may be eligible to become one through naturalization. A person who becomes a U.S. citizen through naturalization is not considered a natural-born citizen. Consequently, naturalized U.S. citizens are not eligible to become President of the United States. For example, as of 2005, the current Secretary of Commerce and the current Secretary of Labor cannot succeed to the presidency because they became U.S. citizens through naturalization. Ordinarily, the Secretary of Commerce and the Secretary of Labor are tenth and eleventh in the presidential line of succession, as established by the United States Constitution and the Presidential Succession Act. The presidential seal was used by president Hayes in 1880 and last modified in 1959 by adding the 50th star for Hawaii. ...
Eligibility for naturalization To become a naturalized United States citizen, one must be 18 years of age at the time of filing, a legal permanent resident (LPR) of the United States, and have resided as a LPR in the United States for five years less 90 days before they apply (this requirement is reduced to three years less 90 days if they (a) acquired legal permanent resident status through marriage to a U.S. Citizen, and (b) have remained married to and living with that citizen since their marriage). They must have been physically present for at least 30 months of 60 months prior to the date of filing their application. Also during those 60 months if the LPR was outside of the U.S. for a continuous period of 6 months or more they are disqualified from naturalizing (certain exceptions apply for those continuous periods of six months to 1 year). They must be a "person of good moral character", and must pass a test on United States history and government. Most applicants must also have a working knowledge of the English language (there are exceptions for long-resident older applicants and those with mental or physical disabilities), although this requirement is not intended to be an onerous one, since the test requires that they read and write simple sentences in English, such as "The United States is a democracy". However, some applicants fail the language and civics tests, and others are deterred from applying for naturalization by virtue of the test requirement.
Expeditious naturalization - children Effective 1 April 1995, a child born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent may qualify for expeditious naturalization based on the physical presence of the child's grandparent in the U.S. In general the grandparent should have spent 5 years in the U.S., 2 years of which after the age of 14.
The process of naturalization, including the oath of allegiance, must be completed before the child's 18th birthday. It is not necessary for the child to be admitted to the U.S. as a lawful permanent resident. Details
Child Citizenship Act of 2000 Effective 27 February 2001, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 provided that a non-U.S. citizen child (aged under 18) with a U.S. citizen parent, and in the custody of that parent, automatically acquired U.S. citizenship: The Child Citizenship Act of 2000 is a United States federal law that allows certain foreign-born, biological and adopted children of United States citizens to acquire U.S. citizenship automatically. ...
- on that date, if admitted to the U.S. as a permanent resident
- immediately upon subsequent admission to the U.S. as a permanent resident, if still aged under 18. Details
Nationals who are not citizens According to 8 U.S.C. §1408 it is possible to be a U.S. national without being a U.S. citizen. A person whose only connection to the U.S. is through birth in an outlying possession, (which as of 2005 is limited to American Samoa and Swains Island), or through descent from a person so born acquires U.S. nationality but not U.S. citizenship. Nationals who are not citizens cannot vote or hold elected office. However, they may live in the United States without restriction and naturalize as U.S. citizens under the same rules as other resident aliens. The United States Code (U.S.C.) is a compilation and codification of the general and permanent federal Law of the United States. ...
2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Swains Island is an atoll in the Tokelau chain, the most northwesterly island administered by American Samoa. ...
Not all U.S. Nationals are U.S. citizens; however, all U.S. citizens are U.S. nationals. Indeed, U.S. passports normally make no distinction between the two, mentioning only the bearer's nationality, not his citizenship.
Loss of citizenship As a historical matter, U.S. citizenship could be forfeited upon the undertaking of various acts, including naturalization in a foreign state, service in foreign armed forces, and voting in a foreign political election. However, a line of U.S. Supreme Court decisions beginning with Afroyim v. Rusk (1967) constitutionally limited the government's capacity to terminate citizenship to those cases in which an individual engaged in conduct with an intention of abandoning their citizenship. In the wake of administrative practice changes adopted by the U.S. Department of State during the mid 1990s, it is now virtually impossible to lose one's citizenship without expressly renouncing it before a U.S. consular officer. Afroyim v. ...
There are also special provisions for persons who are deemed to have renounced citizenship for purposes of avoiding U.S. taxation (which is, in theory, applicable up to ten years after the official loss of citizenship), which can result in loss of right to entry into the United States. While in practice there is little to stop a foreign citizen who has performed a said act from entering the U.S., the U.S. State Department "requires" that a Certificate of Loss of Citizenship be obtained at a U.S. embassy or consulate (though this is generally treated as a gray area, judged on a case by case basis). Taxation in the United States is a complex system which may involve payments to at least four different levels of government: Local government, possibly including one or more of municipal, township, district and county governments Regional entities such as school, utility, and transit districts State government Federal government // Federal taxation...
See also The United States Oath of Citizenship is an oath that must be taken by all immigrants who wish to become United States citizens. ...
This article or section is in need of attention from an expert on the subject. ...
Nationality law is that branch of a countrys legal system wherein legislation, custom and court precendent combine to define the ways in which that countrys nationality and citizenship are transmitted, acquired or lost. ...
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