Is it worth it?

[lucyrich 20]

How does someone become a dual citizen? I thought they had to give up their citizenship to become an American Citizen. Are they able to then reapply for citizenship in their original country?

It depends on the laws of the country of original citizenship. US law as currently practiced does not require a naturalizing immigrant to give up any previous citizenship. Most people who become US citizens aren't required by their native countries to give up their original citizenship, and some aren't even allowed to do so. They become dual citizens because US law calls them US citizens, while another country's laws call them citizens of that country.

There's a better, more detailed explanation in the Dual Citizenship FAQ.

[Captain Oates 911]

I reckon the tax thing is the biggest thing against...

You would have to renounce your US citizenship to escape annual returns if you went to another country permanently

It would help with the 'domicile ' thing when the UK (say) and USA are always tempted to fight over your financial bones when you die

It would help when visiting Wales or Scotland where they hate the English due to Mel Gibson's smears etc - I could flash my yankee passport and they might stop calling me a 'Saxon' - I actually had that in Wales on more than one occassion...

I digress

[wannabe_texan 0]

As soon as I'm eligible for Naturalization, I will apply. I'm also from England. But I can truly say I love this country, I've been able to be more successful because of the culture and people here, and I will be honored to pledge my allegiance to the US.

[Reba 2]

I'm still on the side of nope, not me not ever. 3 reasons. The main one being that currently as the law is written, the US does not technically allow dual citizenships. They don't currently enforce their law that if you take the oath of citizenship in the US you must renounce all other allegiances. I'e read and heard that at some swearing in ceremonies, they don't even make you say that part now, *however* it is still in the law, so I won't do it. Why? Because sometime down the road some power hungry holier than George W will start enforcing it and I will have to choose my birth country over my husband and that's not something I want to even consider. But the way this country is going with the freakin Patriot Act, I seriously would not doubt that its heading in that direction.

2 - as long as I'm not a citizen, I don't have to worry about jury duty.

3 - as long as I'm not a citizen, if I leave the US to go back and live in Canada permanently, I don't have to file taxe reports to the IRS (after the last year I leave anyway). If I were a citizen, I'd have to do that til the day I die (or renounce), and I think that's just greedy of the US to expect me to do that Canada doesn't make me file taxes after I've left, why should the US?

Plus, I just don't want to. I have no allegiance to this country, so why lie and say I do?

[Nancy2015 2]

I don't understand why some of you think of jury duty as a negative thing. I would love to be on jury duty!

I will apply for citizenship eventually, main reason for me is that with an American passport I won't need a visa to travel to Europe. Moreover, after having spent a few years here, I'm really starting to think of this country as mine - I don't have many ties to the country where I was born. My parents are there, but we can visit each other once a year, and I think it's enough

[Rebecca Jo 1,962]

How about just the mere joy of cheating the SOB's out of filing fees every 10 years?

[TimsDaisy 0]

I think Reba is right about the dual citizenship situation in America. On the USCIS homepage, there's a "so you wanna be an american" pdf you can download and it says pretty clearly there that when you take the oath you are swearing your allegience to one master - the USA. I suppose you could stand with your fingers crossed behind your back and no one would know - but that would technically be fraudulent, no?

My fiance has said he has no interest in naturalizing, which is fine with me, until I get to thinking late at night about the ways in which the US might get scarier in the future. The thought of him getting shipped out terrifies me, regardless of how remote a possibility it is. Then again, like Reba says, I don't want a "me or the Crown" fight either.