acquiring US citizenship

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mayflower2000

New Member
anyone has an idea about this? i am a filipino citizen who became a british
citizen through naturalization and has a green card. i will be applying for US
citizenship soon. do i really have to give up, one of my existing citizenships
because i really would like to keep them. pls share if you have any information. thanks.
 
mayflower2000 said:
anyone has an idea about this? i am a filipino citizen who became a british
citizen through naturalization and has a green card. i will be applying for US
citizenship soon. do i really have to give up, one of my existing citizenships
because i really would like to keep them. pls share if you have any information. thanks.
Click to expand...

yes, you have to give up old citizenships ("denounce allegiance to other sovereignties") when becoming a US citizen. the PHilippine government recognizes dual citizenship though, for which you have to apply after you become a US citizen, i.e. you don't automatically have dual citizenship

my interview & oath taking experience
 
You will not lose your British citizenship, that is for sure. I do not know how the Philipines looks at dual citizenship. I assume that if you kept your Filipino citizenship during your British naturalisation, you can keep it during your US naturalisation. The US oath does contain a clause of renouncing any other foreign allegiance, but only your "previous country" can determine if they do or do not consider you their citizen after you become a US citizen. As I said before, the UK will still consdier you British.


mayflower2000 said:
anyone has an idea about this? i am a filipino citizen who became a british
citizen through naturalization and has a green card. i will be applying for US
citizenship soon. do i really have to give up, one of my existing citizenships
because i really would like to keep them. pls share if you have any information. thanks.
Click to expand...
 
Sometimes its better not to ask - just get naturalized here and do your best not to irritate your other "home" countries. By this I mean you ought to arrive in either the Philippines or the UK using the passport you hold for that country.

Note there are some side-effects of holding multiple citizenships. Most notably, the fact you loose any protection you might have had available from the US whenever you are in a country to which you are also a citizen. e.g. emergency repatriation to the US wouldn't be an option if you happened to be in the UK.
 
Let's be clear on this. The U.S. government requires you to renounce your allegiance to foreign governments when you become a citizen. It does NOT require you to renounce your existing citizenship/s. This is a crtical difference.

In fact, if you go to the US State Department website, it explains at some length that traveling on your pre-existing passport is acceptable, providing you always leave and enter the US on your new US passport. The laws are deliberately vague on this issue but the US, de facto, essentially does recognize dual citizenship in the majority of cases.

British-born citizens can most certainly retain their UK citizenship. I do not know if the rules are different for Brits-by-naturalization. I also do not know the Philippine laws on this matter.
 
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