Legal Definition of American Citizen

The clause leaves open some questions about the acquisition of national and state citizenship. It does not say whether a state can grant citizenship to someone who is not a citizen of the United States. Nor does it say whether national citizenship can be acquired other than by birth in the United States or by naturalization, a question that may be important in determining who is a naturally born citizen of the United States and therefore eligible for the presidency. If someone who becomes a citizen by naturalization is not a natural citizen, then persons born outside the United States can only be born citizens if national citizenship can be acquired in a manner not mentioned in the amendment. Regardless of where they were born, children of U.S. citizens are in most cases U.S. citizens. Children born outside the United States with at least one parent with U.S. citizenship generally have citizenship by ancestry. Questions related to the duties of citizens often arise in the same context as the freedoms enjoyed by citizens of the United States.

In one of his most famous speeches, The Duties of American Citizenship, President Theodore Roosevelt declared: “It should be evident in this country that every man must devote an appropriate portion of his time to the fulfillment of his duty in the political life of the community. No one has the right to shirk his political duties for any pleasure or business whatsoever. Before the Civil War, state and national citizenship was the subject of considerable controversy. Citizenship is particularly important for practical purposes because it provides access to the jurisdiction of federal courts based on the diversity of citizenship and because Article IV guarantees certain rights to citizens of one state who are in another. Various theories of citizenship have been developed. According to one view, national citizenship depended on state citizenship, so those who were citizens under state law, and only those people, were citizens of the United States. This view raised a question about those who were born or resided in the District of Columbia or federal territory. Another view was that the federal law implicitly included a rule that identified citizens of the United States, for example, the citizenship by birth rule. The original constitution did not define citizenship, but there are some references. Citizenship requirements are mentioned in the qualifications of Members of Parliament (Article I, Section 2.2), Senators (Article 1, Section 3.3) and Speaker (Article II, Section 1.5).

The drafters also gave Congress the power to set conditions for naturalization (Article I, Section 8.4), but essentially left it to the states to settle the issue of citizenship requirements. In 1790, however, Congress passed the first of the naturalization laws, which essentially declared all free white men to be citizens. Since then, barriers to citizenship based on race, ethnicity and gender have been declared unconstitutional. No doubt because of this long tradition, only three years after the proposed Constitution, the First Congress found that children born abroad to U.S. citizens were U.S. citizens at birth and explicitly recognized that these children were “naturally born citizens.” Naturalization Act 17908×8. 3, 1 Stat. 103 (repealed 1795). provided that “children of citizens of the United States who may have been born outside the sea or outside the borders of the United States shall be considered naturally born citizens: provided that the right to citizenship is not passed on to persons whose fathers never resided in the United States.” 9×9th Id., p. 104 (emphasis omitted). The actions and understanding of the First Congress are particularly compelling because so many of the framers of the Constitution were also members of the First Congress. This is particularly true in the present case, since eight of the eleven members of the committee that proposed the natural fitness requirement to the Convention served at the First Congress and had no objection to a definition of “naturally born citizen” that would include persons born abroad to parents of nationality 10×10.

See Christina S. Lohman, Presidential Eligibility: The Meaning of the Natural-Born Citizen Clause, p. 36. 349, 371 (2000/01). There has been controversy based on speculation about how newly naturalized citizens are likely to vote. For example, in the state of New Jersey in 2008, foreign-born people accounted for 20.1% of the state`s population of 8,754,560; Of these, 636,000 were eighteen years of age or older and were therefore eligible to vote; Among the electorate, 396,000 actually voted, or about 62%. [99] For example, foreign-born citizens vote at about the same rate (62%) as Aboriginal people (67%). [99] Loss of citizenship may occur while serving in the armed forces of another country; act as a public official in a foreign country that requires an oath of allegiance to that country; and the attempted overthrow of the U.S. government, which is established by a conviction for the crime.

However, the U.S. government may ban its citizens from traveling to certain countries hostile to the U.S. and dangerous to U.S. citizens. The passport of a person who is unaware of these restrictions may be revoked, and such a traveller may be denied government protection. Citizen participation is not required in the United States. There is no obligation to attend municipal meetings, belong to a political party or participate in elections. However, one of the advantages of naturalization is the opportunity to “participate fully in the civic life of the country.” [16] Being a citizen also means being crucial in politics and not being ignored. [21] There is disagreement as to whether lack of popular participation in politics is helpful or harmful.

U.S. law allows for multiple citizenship. Citizens of other countries who are naturalized as U.S. citizens may retain their previous citizenship, but must renounce allegiance to the other country. A U.S. citizen retains U.S. citizenship when he becomes a citizen of another country, if the laws of that country allow it. U.S. citizenship can be obtained from Americans who also hold another citizenship through a formal procedure at a U.S. embassy. [10] [11] The Fourteenth Amendment provides that U.S. citizens are also citizens “of the state in which they reside,” but U.S.

citizenship does not require residency in any particular state. There are two main sources of citizenship: citizenship by birth, where a person is considered a citizen if they were born within the territorial boundaries of the United States, or – if certain other requirements are met – was born abroad to a parent with U.S. citizenship,[7][8] and naturalization, a process in which an eligible legal immigrant applies for and accepts citizenship. [9] These two pathways to citizenship are set forth in the Citizenship Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of 1868, which states: U.S. citizenship is generally acquired by birth when a child is born in the United States. In addition to the 50 U.S. states, these include the District of Columbia, Guam, Puerto Rico, the Northern Mariana Islands, and the United States. Virgin Islands. [41] [42] [43] However, citizenship was not stipulated in the original constitution. In 1868, the Fourteenth Amendment specifically defined persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction as citizens. [44] [45] All babies born in the United States – except those born to enemy aliens in time of war or the children of foreign diplomats – enjoy the United States. Citizenship under the Supreme Court`s long-standing interpretation of the Fourteenth Amendment.

[46] The addendum states: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and of the state in which they reside. [47] The question of who is “subject to the jurisdiction of the United States” at birth remains controversial. [48] The Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution provides: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction are citizens of the United States and of the State in which they reside.” The important right to citizenship, whether for native-born or naturalized citizens, cannot be taken away, whether as punishment for a crime or for any other reason. by the states or the federal government, including their agencies and officials (see also Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253, 87 pp. Ct. 1660, 18 L. Ed. 2d 757 [1967]).

U.S. citizenship may be surrendered, but it cannot be revoked unless it was acquired by fraud or other illegal act.

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