PowerPoint Presentation Citizenship

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Abandonment of LPR status, commission of act
rendering deportable or inadmissible upon
application for new admission, or cause for
rescission.
Admission to permanent residency either through
IV or AOS
It is at this stage that one has to understand
applicability of the deportability and
inadmissibility provisions, relief from removal
and the waivers
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Conferral of citizenship
Adjustment of Status or departure for IV
application
Admission at border or removal for inadmissibility
Application for naturalization
Visa interview
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Citizenship(Acquisition and Loss)
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Avenues to Citizenship(Principles found in Laws
of most Countries)

• Birth in a country
• Birth outside of the country to 1 or more citizen
  parents
• Acquisition of citizenship where person was
  neither born within territory nor of parents who
  were citizens.

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• Birth in a country Jus Soli

• Birth outside of the country to 1 or more
  citizen parents Jus Sanguinis

• Acquisition of citizenship were person was
  neither born within territory nor of parents who
  were citizens Naturalization

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Dual or More Nationalities

• Nothing other than a nations own laws may
  preclude the possibility of multiple
  nationalities.
• Nationality is for each country to define
• Guiding principle is against statelessness
• Historically dual nationality was to be avoided

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U.S. law and the laws of many other countries
allow for this multiple nationality possibility.

• U.S. law provides for renunciation of other
  citizenship upon naturalization
• But a full and effective renunciation may not be
  enforceable by the U.S.
• The U.S. could, but does not condition
  naturalization on full relinquishment of
  citizenship of other citizenships.
• Consider the implications of such a condition
• Some countries do not recognize renunciation
• Even U.S. law only recognizes renunciation of
  U.S. citizenship when it is done in a formal
  process overseas before a U.S. Consul after
  extensive warnings of the consequences.

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U.S. Law of Citizenship
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Birth in the U.S.(Constitutional Citizenship)

• All persons born in the U.S. and subject to
  jurisdiction are citizens
• Based on the 14th Amendment enacted after the
  civil war
• Perhaps the most durable form of citizenship
  because it is based in the Constitution
• Does not include children of accredited diplomats

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Citizenship by Overseas Birth to U.S. Citizen
Parent/s(Statutory citizenship)

• No right to such citizenship
• This citizenship is subject to congressional
  (statutory) restrictions and has been amended
  often
• The most recent amendment was in 2000 Child
  Citizenship Act of 2000
• Allows foreign born children (biological or
  adopted) to become USC automatically

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Naturalization(Art. 1, Sec. 8 clause 4)

• Procedure through which an alien becomes a U.S.
  citizen
• Prerequisites
• Permanent residence
• 18 years of age except where derivative
  beneficiary of parents naturalization
• residence in state for at least 3 months in the
  state where application is filed

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• Resident for 5 years or 3 years depending on how
  LPR status was obtained
• Physical presence for at least 1/2 of the above
  period
• Good moral character
• Attachment to the principles of the U.S.
  Constitution
• Willingness to bear arms or provide noncombat
  service

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Loss of Citizenship
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• While permanent residency may be lost by
  abandonment, citizenship may only be lost by
  voluntary renunciation.
• Statutory provisions governing loss of
  citizenship have for the most part been found to
  be unconstitutional
• However, since citizenship obtained through
  naturalization is governed by the plenary powers
  of Congress to determine the rules of
  naturalization,

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• But these have been negated by court decisions
  placing the burden on the government to prove
  that act was voluntary and intended as
  relinquishment of US citizenship

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Denaturalization

• Loss of citizenship acquired by route of
  permanent residence is easier to lose than
  citizenship acquired by birth in the U.S.
• The basic pre-requisite for denaturalization is
  for the government to establish that the
  naturalization was illegally procured or that a
  material fact which would have rendered the
  applicant was concealed. Fraud

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Loss of Nationality by Action(As provided in the
INA)

• Foreign naturalization
• Military service
• Accepting position in foreign government
• Act of treason
• These provisions were interpreted as presumptive
  of an intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship

Notwithstanding these statutory provisions, the
Supreme Court has interpreted the law as
precluding anything other than voluntary
relinquishment.
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• Therefore there are different rules governing
  naturalized v. citizens by birth.
• Persons who are naturalized may lose their
  citizenship through denaturalization or
  renunciation.
• Persons who acquire citizenship at birth (or
  naturalization) may only lose their citizenship
  by their own actions (voluntary relinquishment).
• in the past there were provisions requiring
  persons to have resided in the U.S. for certain
  periods of time in order to retain their
  citizenship