Just so you know it is pretty hard to lose your U.S. citizenship.   There are two ways.  The first is “expatriation”.   That is when you do something that causes you to lose your U.S. citizenship.   Almost always, it requires an intent on your part to give up your U.S. citizenship —- for most of us, it is very hard to give up your US citizenship by mistake.

The other option is denaturalization.   Denaturalization occurs if the government decides that you were improperly granted citizenship.    This occurs, for example, with the Nazi prison camp guards who lied when they entered the US and lied when they became US citizens.   If the USCIS finds out that a person lied when they entered the US or when they became a US citizen, the government can go back and decide that they improperly granted citizenship to that person at that time.  You can not be denaturalized for something that you did after you became a US citizen — it is basically for people who hid a disqualifying fact when they first came to the US (and obtained a green card) or when they became a citizen.   The relevance of lying when a person obtains a green card is that if he was not entitled to a green card, then he could not have been entitled to citizenship because a person has to get a green card before he can get citizenship.

Now back to expatriation.   In general, you have to specifically intend to give up your US citizenship in order to lose your US citizenship.    When a person becomes a US citizen, they need to say that they give allegiance only to the US and renounce all other citizenships.   The US courts have said that that really means nothing — a person who becomes a US citizen does not give up his other citizenships unless the other country requires it.   Likewise, a US citizen who marries a foreigner and goes to live in the other country and becomes a citizen there does not lose his US citizenship even if he takes an oath stating that he gives up his US citizenship — as long as he wants to keep his US citizenship.   But, if a person takes that oath and really wants to give up his US citizenship, he will be held to have lost his US citizenship.    In general, in order to give up your US citizenship, you need to go into a US consulate and sign a paper stating that you “really, really, really want to give up your US citizenship” (actually that is not a direct quote from the form).

There are, however, some other ways that you can give up your US citizenship without necessarily intending to.   An obvious one is if you join a foreign army and fight against the US.   If you join a foreign army in peace time and serve as an officer without first getting permission from the US, you could lose your citizenship.   If you become a citizen of a foreign state and you serve in a policy-making position in the government, you could lose your US citizenship.  I have known of at least two US citizens who went to foreign countries and became President or Prime minister — such people most likely lost their citizenship.  This is not a broad category.  Being a mailman or a policeman or a dog catcher or the town clerk will not cause you to lose your citizenship.    But holding most elected positions, especially on a national level (but maybe on state or local level) could cause you to lose your US citizenship.

Treason and armed rebellion against the US can also cause you to lose your US citizenship, but only if you intended to give it up.  Some people commit treason simply for monetary gain and not to overthrow the government — they are subject to criminal punishment for treason, but they do not lose their citizenship.   Other people commit treason in order to cause the defeat of the U.S.  Such people would be subject to losing their citizenship.

So, in summary, most people, doing what most people do in their day-to-day lives will not lose their US citizenship.   But be careful if you go to another country and serve in their military or become a citizen there and run for a governmental office.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Does America require you to give up your original citizenship if you become a U.S, citizen?  The answer is a very clear, “No!”  It is true that the U.S. citizenship oath requires that you say, “I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen.”  This sounds like you are giving up all other citizenships, but the U.S, courts have clearly held that it does not mean what it seems to mean.

You can only voluntarily surrender your U.S. citizenship if you fully and completely intend to renounce your U.S. citizenship.  They have applied this same logic to this statement.  The U.S. courts have held that this statement is about obtaining U.S. citizenship, it is not said with the intent of renouncing all other citizenships.

Therefore, there is no restriction under U.S. law in regard to keeping your foreign citizenship when you obtain U.S. citizenship.  Now, that doesn’t mean that another country won’t require you to give up their citizenship when you become a U.S. citizen, but that is outside the scope of this article.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

What are the requirements for obtaining citizenship?

In almost all cases, you need to have a green card before you can become a U.S. citizen.   If you are a U.S. citizen living abroad, and you have a child who is born abroad who is not a U.S. citizen, that child can become a U.S. citizen without first obtaining a green card.

In most cases, you need to have your green card before you can apply for citizenship.   However, if you are the spouse of a U.S. m-ssionary serving overseas, you may be able to apply for citizenship while your green card application is still being processed.  This may also be available to people in the military and spouses of people who are serving overseas in the military or on behalf of the U.S. government.

In most cases, you need to be at least 18 years old in order to apply for citizenship for yourself.   Being 18 doesn’t seem to be a requirement if you have been serving in the military for one year (but it is unlikely that anyone would be able to start serving in the military young enough to serve a year and still get citizenship before turning 18).

In most cases you need to be residing in the U.S. and have your green card for five years.  If you are married to a U.S. citizen, you may be able to apply in three years.  If you are in the military or are married to a person who is in the military or is employed by the US government or is a m-ssionary, and who is serving overseas, you may be able to get your citizenship without any time of residence in the U.S.

In most cases, you need to be physically present in the U.S. at least half of your required residence period.  If you are absent from the US for more than six months straight, they may require you to start counting your three or five years again.    If you are absent from the US. For more than one year straight, you will need to start counting your three or five years again.

In most cases, if you have a required residence period, you also need to be resident in your local USCIS district for three months before you file.    If you move just before you are ready to file, you will need to wait three more months before you can file.

Almost everyone will need to pass the Citizenship Exam. They test you on your ability to read, write, speak and understand English.   And then they test you on your knowledge of US history, government and the Constitution.   These tests are not difficult.   The Civics test (history, etc) is not hard as long as you study.   They provide you with a list of all the questions that they will ask.   The English test is very simple, and they provide you with a list of the types of words that they will use.   However, you do need to be able to have a basic understanding of English, because the interview will be in English and you can’t bring an interpreter.

In all cases, you need to establish that you agree with the oath of citizenship — regarding allegiance to the US and Constitution, and regarding willingness to serve in the military (unless you have a r-ligious objection).  You also need to establish that you have Good Moral Character.   There are a number of specific items which, if they apply to you, will result in a finding of lack of Good Moral Character.   However, they will look at your whole history.    I have heard of Good Moral Character being denied to a person who had a lot of unpaid traffic tickets.

I hope this is interesting and helpful. Remember that this is not legal advice. It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation. I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Did you know that in certain limited circumstances, you may be able to apply for U.S. citizenship before you become a permanent resident?   Normally, before you can apply for citizenship, you need to be a US permanent resident (green card) for three to five years (three if you are married to a US citizen and five if not).   However, as many of you know, there is a special provision for people who are married to US citizens who are full-time m-ssionaries outside the US.   In cases like this, the spouse of the US citizen is allowed to apply for US citizenship without any required residence in the US.

Normally, I tell people who qualify for this that it means that they can apply for US citizenship the day that they enter the US and receive US Lawful Permanent Resident status.    They do not need to wait any longer before applying.

However, if their time is tight and they need US citizenship as soon as possible, there is another option.   If you qualify to file for US citizenship as the spouse of a US citizen who is a full-time m-ssionary, then you might be able to file for citizenship even before you land in the US with your immigrant visa.   You need to file first for the immigrant visa and then you file for citizenship while you are waiting.  It might also be possible if you are currently in the US to file for citizenship while you are waiting for approval of your adjustment of status application.  I have helped one client file for citizenship before they entered the US.   I have never done it with someone applying for adjustment of status but it might be possible.

However, before you jump at this, you need to know the caveats.  The first is that you need to qualify for this m-ssionary-based citizenship process.  There are a number of requirements for this process.  The most important is that within 45 days after becoming a US citizen, both spouses need to leave the US for a year-long commitment as m-ssionaries overseas.  The second caveat is that it is somewhat risky.   You may wind up getting someone at the USCIS who doesn’t realize that this is possible and deny you (meaning that you lose the money you spent) — I know of no “official” rule saying that this can be done — it just has been something that they allowed — and they probably still do, but I can’t guarantee it.  The other problem is the fingerprints.   It used to be easy — you just got fingerprints on a fingerprint card and submitted them with the application.   However, it is more difficult to get fingerprints anymore.  There are very few places overseas which will do fingerprints that the USCIS will accept — usually only USCIS offices overseas and they have been closing and consolidating.  Finally, I have never done this for an Adjustment of Status.  I think it might work and it is easier to get fingerprinted for the USCIS in the States.  I think this would work, but you would need to want it enough to be the guinea pig!

If you think this might interest you, feel free to contact me for further information.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consult an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.

Gunnar Armstrong

Don’t forget that there are special citizenship provisions for spouses of US missionaries.  It is much easier than many people realize.   It can be obtained with no required residence in the US.  You will need to get a green card first, but then, if you satisfy the requirements, you can immediately apply for citizenship.   This allows you to enter the US at any time with peace of mind.  Please let me know if you have any questions.

I hope this is interesting and helpful.   Remember that this is not legal advice.  It is just a summary of certain aspects of immigration law which may or may not apply to your situation.   I encourage you to consulate an attorney if you think any of this may apply to your situation.