The number of people seeking U.S. citizenship continues to grow as many people learn they have new opportunities in the United States. Getting citizenship is not easy, but once someone gets it, they are willing to work to achieve their dreams and a better life. However, this does not mean that a U.S. citizen has no obligations. You may be one of those immigrants who dream of living in the United States and having the same rights as someone who has lived in the United States all his life. However, if you want to do so, you must also know your duties as a citizen. Becoming a citizen is a great obligation. So, if you plan to apply, make sure you know and accept the following commitments. The Fourteenth Amendment deals with many aspects of citizenship and citizens` rights.
The citizenship clause has given rise to several controversies. The limitation clause was also interpreted to mean that it did not grant birthright to various members of Native American tribes whose political ties to the United States limited their authority over tribal members. The scope of the limitation clause is now politically controversial. Citizenship is the state in which it is endowed with the rights, privileges and duties of a citizen, but it can also be defined as the character of an individual considered a member of society. While U.S. citizenship offers many rights, it also comes with many responsibilities. A U.S. citizen by birth or naturalized INA 301 (8 U.S.C. 1401), INA 310 (8 U.S.C.
1421) or a non-U.S. citizen INA 308 (8 U.S.C. 1408), INA 101(29) (8 U.S.C. 1101(29)) loses U.S. citizenship (“expatriate”) by committing a lawful act of expatriation within the meaning of INA 349 (8 U.S.C. 1481) or the previous law, but only if the act is (1) done voluntarily and (2) with the intent to renounce U.S. citizenship. The U.S. Supreme Court has ruled (Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253 (1967) and Vance v.
Terrazas, 444 U.S. 252 (1980)): A person can lose his or her U.S. citizenship only if he or she voluntarily renounces that status. So, if you want to find out the duties of a U.S. citizen, read on. In 1857, the Supreme Court established its own racist view of American identity in the infamous Dred Scott v. Sandford decision (1857). There, Chief Justice Roger Brooke Taney said that a black man generally cannot be a citizen of the United States — that he has “no rights that the white man must respect.” Historically, many of Taney`s claims were simply false: as dissenting judges and other critics of Taney made clear, free blacks were considered citizens in several states at the time of its founding; in fact, some blacks had even fought in Washington`s army and had the right to vote on the Constitution itself in several states in 1787-88. The newly formed Republican Party set out to reverse various aspects of Dred Scott – the most pressing being the decision that Congress could not generally ban slavery in federal territories. After the oath of allegiance, a new citizen pledges his loyalty and allegiance to the United States of America and also receives the full protection of the United States. Constitution, as well as several rights and benefits denied even to immigrants with long-term lawful permanent resident status.
However, with the benefits of U.S. citizenship come significant responsibilities. At the simplest level, the Fourteenth Amendment`s citizenship clause sought to reject Dred Scott and give the Civil Rights Act of 1866 a solid legal basis. However, it was also intended to root post-Civil War America – America`s second foundation – in an inspiring Lincolnian reinterpretation of one of our nation`s founding truths, namely that we are all created/born free and equal. Persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens only if subject to its jurisdiction. This exception applies to residents of the United States over whom the United States does not exercise full territorial jurisdiction or jurisdiction by reason of their relationship with another sovereign or quasi-sovereign, such as a Native American tribe. (Prescriptive jurisdiction is the power of a sovereign to impose legal rules. Jurisdiction is the power of a sovereign`s courts to make parties to cases pending before them.) When the Fourteenth Amendment was passed, the main examples of persons residing in the United States but not entirely subject to its territorial jurisdiction were foreign diplomats enjoying diplomatic immunity under international law and members of Native American tribes whose relations with their tribes limited the authority that the United States exercised over them. Congressional debates on exemption from the citizenship rule focused primarily on members of Native American tribes who fell into this category. Citizens can also be summoned to appear as witnesses during the trial, and if you are summoned, you have a duty to appear and testify under oath. Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a foreign citizen or national after he or she meets the requirements set forth by Congress in the Immigration and Citizenship Act (INA).
The following information provides general advice on how a person can acquire or lose U.S. citizenship. Please scroll down for more information. As we often discuss in our articles on U.S. taxation, the only way out of these obligations is to renounce your U.S. citizenship. I debated at length whether the rights of American citizenship ultimately trumped this responsibility, but I finally decided to leave. You may not know what it means to renounce U.S.
citizenship, and that`s certainly not the answer for everyone. However, if these obligations are causing you too much trouble and you have decided that you no longer want to be part of the U.S. system, you can read more about renouncing your U.S. citizenship here. You can also read our article on the best justice systems in the world to get a better perspective. U.S. citizenship can be acquired either at birth or by naturalization after birth. People born outside the U.S. may acquire U.S. citizenship under certain circumstances. As a U.S.
citizen, you must declare all foreign bank accounts and other foreign financial accounts, as well as corporations, foundations, and trusts. The IRS uses a law called FATCA to force every banker in the world to act as an unpaid tattletale for the IRS. If your combined holdings in foreign bank accounts — personal and financial — exceed $10,000, you must complete Form FBAR to report those accounts to the IRS. You can read more about FBAR here. There are a few unreportable assets you can hold overseas as a U.S. citizen without having to notify the U.S. government: gold and real estate investments (as long as you don`t lease the property). Date: Tbilisi, Georgia Much of what we do here at Nomad Capitalist focuses on what a second passport or residency can do for you. What freedoms will this new citizenship give you? Does your new residence permit give you more travel options? Which second passport is the best insurance if you are heading south to your home country? As I have already explained to the BBC, citizenship is now a commodity.
As you build your passport portfolio, you can use flag theory and second passports to spread your risk across different countries to protect yourself and activate a liberating international lifestyle. But if we only considered second passports as commodities, we would miss the big picture. One of the most important elements in creating a nomadic strategy is finding the places where you really feel at home. The fact is that many people no longer feel at home in their home country. I know that`s how I felt when I lived in the United States. The good news is that we can all go where we are best treated and find the places where we are welcome and at home. And when we find the places where we truly belong, our citizenship can become more meaningful and inspire us to give back and contribute to the community that is our new place of citizenship. After all, every citizenship has both rights and duties. The traditional concept of citizenship is imbued with these responsibilities and focuses not only on the rights to which you are entitled as a citizen, but also on how you can contribute to the community and nation in which you live.