DCF hope in London?

[Candace 2]

Any other problems you are aware of?

Besides endangering your US citizenship?

Homesick, what would endanger your US citizenship by taking dual nationality? As far as I was aware, the US allows citizens to take dual nationality. Unless you have a security clearance I didn't think there was any issue? My husband was planning to take UK citizenship in the future, and would be worried if his US citizenship was endangered.

Thanks

Under US law pledging your allegiance to a foreign monarch (in this case, the Queen) could potentially endanger your US citizenship.

Realistically I don't think anything would happen, but why take the chance? British citizenship isn't worth it to me.

Hi Homesick,

Could you let me know the law or precedent where it states this? I tried googling it but didn't come up with any actual reference for us to read. It might not be worth it to you, but dual British and American citizenship is the way we'd like to go. However, we'd prefer to do it with our eyes open and I'd like to read up on where it states that one's US citizenship is potentially endangered. My husband has a military job (although wont have after the end of next year) and only found issues with his clearance, not his citizenship.

Thanks very much!

~Candace

[homesick_american 1]

Hi Homesick,

Could you let me know the law or precedent where it states this? I tried googling it but didn't come up with any actual reference for us to read. It might not be worth it to you, but dual British and American citizenship is the way we'd like to go. However, we'd prefer to do it with our eyes open and I'd like to read up on where it states that one's US citizenship is potentially endangered. My husband has a military job (although wont have after the end of next year) and only found issues with his clearance, not his citizenship.

Thanks very much!

~Candace

Theoretically any time you take foreign citizenship you're endangering your US citizenship, though it's unlikely that the US government would actually view taking UK citizenship as a de facto renunciation taking it could make things difficult for you coming and going, and could hinder your ability to get help overseas.

This information is extremely easy to find. Just google 'dual citizenship', this came up on the first page of hits. It should be reassuring reading; probably NOTHING will happen to you, but I personally would never jeopardize my US citizenship simply to make border crossings easier.

http://www.richw.org/dualcit/law.html#LossCit

[Candace 2]

Theoretically any time you take foreign citizenship you're endangering your US citizenship, though it's unlikely that the US government would actually view taking UK citizenship as a de facto renunciation taking it could make things difficult for you coming and going, and could hinder your ability to get help overseas.

This information is extremely easy to find. Just google 'dual citizenship', this came up on the first page of hits. It should be reassuring reading; probably NOTHING will happen to you, but I personally would never jeopardize my US citizenship simply to make border crossings easier.

http://www.richw.org/dualcit/law.html#LossCit

Thanks for the link Homesick - perfect! That's put my mind at rest. I see now that you meant the law was worded years ago but of course precedent has been set since so there's no way they'd revoke just for taking dual citizenship - kind of like those old laws from like 1336 where a man wasn't allowed to own more than one cow between Monday and Thursday!

And just a note - 'making border crossings easier' isn't everyone's reason for wanting dual citizenship!

Thanks again.

[homesick_american 1]

Theoretically any time you take foreign citizenship you're endangering your US citizenship, though it's unlikely that the US government would actually view taking UK citizenship as a de facto renunciation taking it could make things difficult for you coming and going, and could hinder your ability to get help overseas.

This information is extremely easy to find. Just google 'dual citizenship', this came up on the first page of hits. It should be reassuring reading; probably NOTHING will happen to you, but I personally would never jeopardize my US citizenship simply to make border crossings easier.

http://www.richw.org/dualcit/law.html#LossCit

Thanks for the link Homesick - perfect! That's put my mind at rest. I see now that you meant the law was worded years ago but of course precedent has been set since so there's no way they'd revoke just for taking dual citizenship - kind of like those old laws from like 1336 where a man wasn't allowed to own more than one cow between Monday and Thursday!

And just a note - 'making border crossings easier' isn't everyone's reason for wanting dual citizenship!

Thanks again.

It's pretty much the only reason to take UK citizenship, unless you also want to vote. You don't have to be a citizen in order to use some public services here (though some are off-limits to you), and as long as one of the parents is a UK citizen, the kids will be entitled to British citizenship no matter where they're born.

UK immigrant visas for spouses are ridiculously easy to get and are lightning fast to process. I ought to know; I've done it before. Again, I don't see the point of becoming a UK citizen, especially since it now involves swearing an oath of loyalty to a woman who did nothing but emerge from the correct birth canal.

[iclaudius 0]

One reason we think about both going for Dual citizenship is in case we have kids at some point. I can't bear the thought that if something were to happen to one of us there would be problems living with the kids in the survivor's country (say for example if they were in school). Does anyone know about this?

[homesick_american 1]

One reason we think about both going for Dual citizenship is in case we have kids at some point. I can't bear the thought that if something were to happen to one of us there would be problems living with the kids in the survivor's country (say for example if they were in school). Does anyone know about this?

I think that reasoning is slightly paranoid, but hey...it's your life.

[meauxna 15]

One reason we think about both going for Dual citizenship is in case we have kids at some point. I can't bear the thought that if something were to happen to one of us there would be problems living with the kids in the survivor's country (say for example if they were in school). Does anyone know about this?

It's 90% likely that your kids will have both citizenships through you and your spouse (there are a few rules about how many years one must have lived in the US after age 14, for example).

Your reasoning is sound; my parents made sure we kids knew who was next up to care for us if something happened to them. You really do have to think of these things. In the same vein, I made sure my husband knew what his upcoming immigration steps were, where the paperwork was kept, what his deadlines and options were should something happen to me, or our relationship. I wanted him to have a secure future no matter what our outcomes were. It's just another piece of the planning one does, like buying insurance etc.

(remind me to buy some insurance next week, wontcha?)

[zyggy 9]

Any other problems you are aware of?

Besides endangering your US citizenship?

Homesick, what would endanger your US citizenship by taking dual nationality? As far as I was aware, the US allows citizens to take dual nationality. Unless you have a security clearance I didn't think there was any issue? My husband was planning to take UK citizenship in the future, and would be worried if his US citizenship was endangered.

Thanks

Under US law pledging your allegiance to a foreign monarch (in this case, the Queen) could potentially endanger your US citizenship.

Realistically I don't think anything would happen, but why take the chance? British citizenship isn't worth it to me.

Actually there are several Supreme Court decisions that say this isn't so... you actually have the intent of renouncing your US Citizenship to lose it... the Supreme's have found that the mere action of taking anouther Country's Citizenship Oath and becoming a naturalized citizen in another country is not a high enough bar to establish that intent... To lose one's Citizenship, one must actually go to a US Consulate and renounce it before a Consular Officer.

Edited September 26, 2006 by zyggy

[meauxna 15]

To lose one's Citizenship, one must actually go to a US Consulate and renounce it before a Consular Officer.

Don't go confusing the issue with facts, now. Baseless suspicion is a lot more fun!

[zyggy 9]

And even then.. you'd have to convince the consular officer that you weren't just renouncing it to evade US laws... such as reporting your worldwide income and paying tax on it... A la how the Dart Family (inventers of the styrofoam and plastic drinking cup) found out when they tried to renounce their citizenship in Belize in order to evade paying US Income Taxes on their worldwide investment and royalty income

[meauxna 15]

And even then.. you'd have to convince the consular officer that you weren't just renouncing it to evade US laws... such as reporting your worldwide income and paying tax on it... A la how the Dart Family (inventers of the styrofoam and plastic drinking cup) found out when they tried to renounce their citizenship in Belize in order to evade paying US Income Taxes on their worldwide investment and royalty income

That's hysterical.. how come I never ran into them down there? I could've helped them with their excess money.

Belize sure tried to make a name for itself as the offshore tax haven. A'course, when I was there, I had to store my money under the floorboards of my house!

[homesick_american 1]

Any other problems you are aware of?

Besides endangering your US citizenship?

Homesick, what would endanger your US citizenship by taking dual nationality? As far as I was aware, the US allows citizens to take dual nationality. Unless you have a security clearance I didn't think there was any issue? My husband was planning to take UK citizenship in the future, and would be worried if his US citizenship was endangered.

Thanks

Under US law pledging your allegiance to a foreign monarch (in this case, the Queen) could potentially endanger your US citizenship.

Realistically I don't think anything would happen, but why take the chance? British citizenship isn't worth it to me.

Actually there are several Supreme Court decisions that say this isn't so... you actually have the intent of renouncing your US Citizenship to lose it... the Supreme's have found that the mere action of taking anouther Country's Citizenship Oath and becoming a naturalized citizen in another country is not a high enough bar to establish that intent... To lose one's Citizenship, one must actually go to a US Consulate and renounce it before a Consular Officer.

That is one way, though in some cases taking citizenship in a foreign country can be interpreted as a renunciation. I did check on this as I had considered becoming a UKC prior to this 'loyalty oath' bullshit. It's not worth it to me. I'll never become a UKC. Ever.

[iclaudius 0]

One reason we think about both going for Dual citizenship is in case we have kids at some point. I can't bear the thought that if something were to happen to one of us there would be problems living with the kids in the survivor's country (say for example if they were in school). Does anyone know about this?

It's 90% likely that your kids will have both citizenships through you and your spouse (there are a few rules about how many years one must have lived in the US after age 14, for example).

Your reasoning is sound; my parents made sure we kids knew who was next up to care for us if something happened to them. You really do have to think of these things. In the same vein, I made sure my husband knew what his upcoming immigration steps were, where the paperwork was kept, what his deadlines and options were should something happen to me, or our relationship. I wanted him to have a secure future no matter what our outcomes were. It's just another piece of the planning one does, like buying insurance etc.

(remind me to buy some insurance next week, wontcha?)

Sorry - I think I was unclear in my posting above. The scenario we're worried about (paranoid, yes!) is

- have kids who get dual citizenship. My british wife dies while she and I are living in the US and the kids are at boarding school in the UK. I want them to finish school in the UK but also want to move to the UK to be closer to them. Would I need a UK citizenship to have the right to return to the UK without my deceased UK citizen spouse?

This is really a pretty extreme example, but what we're trying to flesh out is if there are certain circumstances where having a family where one of us is not the citizen of both countries could ever complicate our lives (more than it does already!!)

thanks all

[homesick_american 1]

One reason we think about both going for Dual citizenship is in case we have kids at some point. I can't bear the thought that if something were to happen to one of us there would be problems living with the kids in the survivor's country (say for example if they were in school). Does anyone know about this?

It's 90% likely that your kids will have both citizenships through you and your spouse (there are a few rules about how many years one must have lived in the US after age 14, for example).

Your reasoning is sound; my parents made sure we kids knew who was next up to care for us if something happened to them. You really do have to think of these things. In the same vein, I made sure my husband knew what his upcoming immigration steps were, where the paperwork was kept, what his deadlines and options were should something happen to me, or our relationship. I wanted him to have a secure future no matter what our outcomes were. It's just another piece of the planning one does, like buying insurance etc.

(remind me to buy some insurance next week, wontcha?)

Sorry - I think I was unclear in my posting above. The scenario we're worried about (paranoid, yes!) is

- have kids who get dual citizenship. My british wife dies while she and I are living in the US and the kids are at boarding school in the UK. I want them to finish school in the UK but also want to move to the UK to be closer to them. Would I need a UK citizenship to have the right to return to the UK without my deceased UK citizen spouse?

This is really a pretty extreme example, but what we're trying to flesh out is if there are certain circumstances where having a family where one of us is not the citizen of both countries could ever complicate our lives (more than it does already!!)

thanks all

Dunno, that's a strange one. The Home Office could answer that question; this board seems to restrict itself to US visa expertise only.