As a Canadian seeking US citizenship, will the US make me renounce my Canadian status?

C

Conecmbo

New Member
I am Canadian, married to a US citizen and live in the US as a permanent resident.
I am able to apply for my US citizenship. I don't want to give up my Canadian citizenship. If I get US citizenship I understand the US recognizes only one citizenship but Canada will recognize dual. Will the US make me renounce my Canadian status? I want to be able to move back to Canada in the future, but hold dual citizenship in case I need to move back to the US. Can I hold dual citizenship without comprimising my Canadian status?
 
I am not as familiar with the immigration law as others here. But I have a friend and I know for a fact that he is dual American and Canadian citizen, I saw his both passports. I just talked to him and he said you can have dual citizenship. I hope that helps you.
 
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I am actually also interested in this since a friend of mine mentioned something similar. He is a naturalized Canadian citizen and also holds citizenship from elsewhere. Now he has moved to the US with his US citizen wife (since the US cutoms gives him hell when crossing back and forth even withi his Canadian passprt) and will naturalize soon, so he was wondering whether he will have to renounce one of his two citizenships he currently has to maintain "dual citizenships" as opposed to "tri-citizenship+".
 
I do not think it is a question of US law. It is a question of whether that "elsewhere" country allows this kinda thing. Since they already allow their citizenship and Canadian, I guess it will not be an issue. We also have a triple citizen on this forum with pretty similar situation and I do not think he has any issue with US asking him to renounce.
 
Conecmbo said:
I am Canadian, married to a US citizen and live in the US as a permanent resident.
I am able to apply for my US citizenship. I don't want to give up my Canadian citizenship. If I get US citizenship I understand the US recognizes only one citizenship but Canada will recognize dual. Will the US make me renounce my Canadian status? I want to be able to move back to Canada in the future, but hold dual citizenship in case I need to move back to the US. Can I hold dual citizenship without comprimising my Canadian status?
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As König wrote above, this is a non-issue. The U.S. does not require those who naturalize to give up their prior citizenship(s).
 
In the end, you are an American citizen in the eyes of the US government even if you hold another country's citizenship. What this also means is that the US government expects you to pay your annual income taxes regardless of where in the world you live.
 
Correct. So far I have had no issues with all three countries involved in my case since all three allow their citizens to hold other citizenships.

sanjoseaug20 said:
We also have a triple citizen on this forum with pretty similar situation and I do not think he has any issue with US asking him to renounce.
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Conecmbo said:
I am Canadian, married to a US citizen and live in the US as a permanent resident.
I am able to apply for my US citizenship. I don't want to give up my Canadian citizenship. If I get US citizenship I understand the US recognizes only one citizenship but Canada will recognize dual. Will the US make me renounce my Canadian status? I want to be able to move back to Canada in the future, but hold dual citizenship in case I need to move back to the US. Can I hold dual citizenship without comprimising my Canadian status?
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Thank you so much for posting this. I am from Alberta and living in South Florida.... and have the EXACT same situation. I am just about to apply for citizenship but was afraid they would make me give-up my Canadian citizenship.

Have you applied? What were the results? Response appreciated:)
 
SpanishGirl said:
Thank you so much for posting this. I am from Alberta and living in South Florida.... and have the EXACT same situation. I am just about to apply for citizenship but was afraid they would make me give-up my Canadian citizenship.

Have you applied? What were the results? Response appreciated:)
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The question was definitively answered up above, but anyway...

I am Canadian also, and will become a US Citizen this month. No, you will not lose your Canadian citizenship when you become a USC. The only way you can renounce your Canadian citizenship is by going through a process with the Canadian government. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/renounce.asp

You can hold multiple passports. You should use your US Passport when exiting and entering the US, though.
I will probably not renew my Canadian passport but opt for another form of Canadian citizenship documentation since the CDN passport has to be renewed every 5 years.

Good luck!
 
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With the US, Canada and several other countries, you can have multiple citizenships. Best practice would be to use each passport at least for entry and exit into and out of the respective country, though this is only mandatory for countries like the US and Brazil. I have a friend who is a French-Greek-Canadian-US citizen.

As for the Canadian passport, they're going to offer it with a validity of 10 years, right? http://www.ppt.gc.ca/articles/20100407.aspx?lang=eng
 
I've done it

I just naturalized in April and am a Canadian by birth. I talked to an immigration lawyer who is in the same boat (i.e. Canadian by birth and naturalized US Citizen) and he says holding both citizenships is fine. When you take a trip to Canada, you need to take both passports. You need to show your Canadian passport when you enter Canada and you need to show your US passport when you re-enter the US.
 
The Oath of Allegiance begins with
-----------
I hereby declare, on oath,
that I absolutely and entirely 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;
----------

Other than that, the goverment does not care about your other passports.
 
U s citizenship

I am a canadian citizen and i wish to know the application process to apply for u.s. Citizenship. How much time it takes to get u.s. Citizenship.
 
WILBEA said:
I am a canadian citizen and i wish to know the application process to apply for u.s. Citizenship. How much time it takes to get u.s. Citizenship.
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If no to the questions above, then 1)Being sponsored by a company in the US (work visa), 6 month travel visa (unable to work) or naturally falling in love & marrying an American.
 
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