Dual Citizenship Allowed for Naturalizing U.S. Citizens

A question commonly asked by U.S. lawful permanent residents (green card holders) who have applied to naturalize is, "After I become a U.S. citizen, can I keep the citizenship of my home country—that is, become a dual citizen?"

The answer depends on two factors, namely:

1. U.S. immigration laws stand on dual citizenship, and
2. Your home country's laws regarding dual citizenship.

This is different from the legal situation decades ago, when the United States did not allow dual citizenship.

U.S. Immigration Law Allows Dual Citizenship

It would be nice if the U.S. Congress had, at some point, simply spelled out within the Immigration and Nationality Act (I.N.A.) that dual citizenship is allowed by the United States. It hasn't done so. In fact, you won't find any formal or official recognition of dual citizenship as an immigration status.

What's more, the oath of allegiance that immigrants must take in order to become naturalized U.S. citizens declares that they will:

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.

That's enough to make anyone think that they must choose between whether to be a citizen of the U.S. or of their home country.

Nevertheless, U.S. practice, as upheld in various court decisions, is to allow dual citizenship. (You can see this on the U.S. State Department's website, for example, where it explains that: "U.S. law does not . . . require a person to choose one citizenship or another....U.S. dual nationals owe allegiance to both the United States and the foreign country.")

The United States will not ask naturalizing citizens to take any steps to formally renounce the citizenship of their home country. Nor will it stop U.S. citizens from later adopting citizenship in another country, though if their intention is to give up U.S. citizenship, they can certainly do so. You may continue to vote in your home country, if it allows it.

Responsibilities of Dual Citizens

All the above does not mean that the United States will tolerate divided loyalties. Dual citizens must obey U.S. laws, uphold the U.S. Constitution, and in every other way adhere to the naturalization oath that they take. They are also required by the I.N.A. to carry their U.S. passport when leaving the United States, and to present it upon reentering the country. (I.N.A. Section § 215(b), 8 U.S.C. § 1185(b).)

Traveling as a Dual Citizen

When traveling, you are expected to use your U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States. But you might also need to carry the passport of your home country, if it requires you to show it in order to enter. In addition, you might find it convenient to carry more than one passport if it allows you visa-free travel privileges in third countries.

Passing Dual Citizenship to Your Children

When you become a naturalized U.S. citizen, it's possible that your children under the age of 18 who were born overseas but have U.S. green cards will "derive" citizenship from you. Or if they were born in the United States, the laws of your home country might nevertheless allow them to claim that country's citizenship. Thus it is possible (but not necessarily automatic) that your children can also become dual citizens with another country and the United States.

Check on Whether Your Home Country Allows Dual Citizenship

What the U.S. government says or does about dual citizenship is only half the inquiry. If your home country forbids this practice, then becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen will result in the loss of your original citizenship.

The various countries' laws on dual citizenship change frequently, so your best bet is to get in touch with your country's consulate within the United States and find out its latest stand on the matter.

The answer you receive might not be a straightforward "yes" or "no." You might, for instance, need to formally apply to your home country's government in order to maintain citizenship there before you become a U.S. citizen. (Be sure to check on this matter well in advance of your naturalization oath ceremony!)

What About Triple or Quadruple Citizenship?

Again subject to the laws in the other countries, you are not limited in how many other citizenships you can have in combination with your U.S. citizenship.

Getting Legal Help

For more information, consult an experienced U.S. immigration attorney—and possibly an attorney in your home country, given that U.S. attorneys are not always familiar with other countries' citizenship laws. Also, continue reading to learn more about your rights and benefits as a new U.S. citizen.