Can naturalized USA citizen loose citizenship?

[Delman 0]

Here is my situation, hope someone can help me:

 

I’m a Russian citizen (by birth) and an American citizen (by naturalization), 4 years ago I came to Canada to be with my husband, applied for permanent residency and was living in Canada as a permanent resident. All this time I was filing US taxes.

 

Now my husband (Canadian), kids (Canadian and American) and I planning to move to USA. 

 

My question is can I loose USA citizenship if I apply/get for Canadian citizenship? 

[Boiler 45,549]

No

[NikLR 13,227]

No you can't lose US citizenship unless you intend to. 

~~moved to US citizenship discussion from progress reports~~

[Dashinka 24,514]

I agree, you would not lose your citizenship for that.  However, to answer the general question in the thread title, a naturalized citizen can be denaturalized if they meet certain criteria.

 

Good Luck!

[Delman 0]

7 minutes ago, Bill & Katya said:

I agree, you would not lose your citizenship for that.  However, to answer the general question in the thread title, a naturalized citizen can be denaturalized if they meet certain criteria.

 

Good Luck!

Thank you, what are the criteria to get denaturalized? 

PS: I don’t want to loose US citizenship 

[geowrian 22,337]

7 minutes ago, Delman said:

Thank you, what are the criteria to get denaturalized? 

Either if your gained US citizenship improperly, or if you formally renounce it.

The US does not recognize foreign oaths as a renunciation of US citizenship.

Edited February 5, 2019 by geowrian

[SusieQQQ 11,586]

7 minutes ago, Delman said:

Thank you, what are the criteria to get denaturalized? 

PS: I don’t want to loose US citizenship 

If you got naturalized through fraud/misrepresentation then you can be denaturalized. Your circumstance is fine.

 

edit to add

from uscis:

The general grounds for civil revocation of naturalization are:

•Illegal procurement of naturalization; or

•Concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation.

https://www.uscis.gov/policymanual/HTML/PolicyManual-Volume12-PartL-Chapter1.html

 

also 

Unlike most other immigration proceedings that USCIS handles in an administrative setting, revocation of naturalization can only occur in federal court.

 

A person’s naturalization can be revoked either by civil proceeding or pursuant to a criminal conviction. For civil revocation of naturalization, the United States Attorney’s Office must file the revocation of naturalization actions in Federal District Court. [1] For criminal revocation of naturalization, the U.S. Attorney’s Office files criminal charges in Federal District Court. [2] 

The government holds a high burden of proof when attempting to revoke a person’s naturalization. For civil revocation of naturalization, the burden of proof is clear, convincing, and unequivocal evidence which does not leave the issue in doubt. [3] For criminal revocation of naturalization the burden of proof is the same as for every other criminal case, proof beyond a reasonable doubt.

 

Edited February 5, 2019 by SusieQQQ

[Dashinka 24,514]

19 hours ago, Delman said:

Thank you, what are the criteria to get denaturalized? 

PS: I don’t want to loose US citizenship 

This is what I found.

 

Grounds for Denaturalization

1. Falsification or Concealment of Relevant Facts: You must be absolutely truthful when filling out paperwork and answering interview questions related to the naturalization application process. Even if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) fails to recognize any lies or ommissions at first, the agency may file a denaturalization action against you after citizenship has been granted. Examples include failure to disclose criminal activities or lying about one's real name or identity.
2. Refusal to Testify Before Congress: You may not refuse to testify before a U.S. congressional committee whose job it is to investigate your alleged involvement in subversive acts, such as those intended to harm U.S. officials or overthrow the U.S. government. This requirement to testify in order to maintain citizenship status expires after 10 years.
3. Membership in Subversive Groups: Your citizenship may be revoked if the U.S. government can prove that you joined a subversive organization within five years of becoming a naturalized citizen. Membership in such organizations is considered a violation of the oath of U.S. allegiance. Examples include the Nazi Party and Al Qaeda.
4. Dishonorable Military Discharge: Since you may become a naturalized U.S. citizen by virtue of serving in the U.S. military, your citizenship may be revoked if you are dishonorably discharged before serving five years. Reasons for dishonorable discharge, which must follow a general court-martial, include desertion and sexual assault.

https://immigration.findlaw.com/citizenship/can-your-u-s-citizenship-be-revoked-.html

[Junior-sfo 9]

Interesting question, thanks for asking, and the answer is "Yes"!. There are only exceptional cases though.

 

The government has a big burden to prove why you should be stripped off the US citizenship. That involves resources and the federal court will only allow that for cases where a person lied about criminal history or memberships such a Nazi groups etc. There was an article on this where court did not allow the govt to take away citizenship. It has to be a really bad criminal record or something like that for USCIS to get denaturalization approved. 

 

Read this article for more information.

https://immigrationforum.org/article/fact-sheet-on-denaturalization/

[robhostein 57]

On 2/6/2019 at 5:29 AM, Bill & Katya said:

1. Falsification or Concealment of Relevant Facts: ......... Examples include failure to disclose criminal activities or lying about one's real name or identity.

So, I have a question about that. Say, your birth certificate has THREE middle names for you (your family gave you more than one middle name), and ever since you came to America, it was chosen, by your parents, that you'd use the first middle name as your official American middle name, since having multiple middle names isn't the norm here in America.

 

Okay, now on the N-400, where it asks you what other names you've used in the past. Can you get in trouble if you do not list your other middle names, even though they're listed on the birth certificate that USCIS has a copy of?

[Dashinka 24,514]

8 hours ago, robhostein said:

So, I have a question about that. Say, your birth certificate has THREE middle names for you (your family gave you more than one middle name), and ever since you came to America, it was chosen, by your parents, that you'd use the first middle name as your official American middle name, since having multiple middle names isn't the norm here in America.

 

Okay, now on the N-400, where it asks you what other names you've used in the past. Can you get in trouble if you do not list your other middle names, even though they're listed on the birth certificate that USCIS has a copy of?

I doubt that would get anyone in trouble as naming conventions are different around the world.  For instance, Russians do not use middle names, instead they use patronymic names.  Now many Russians, my wife included adopt their patronymic names as middle names in America, but many do not and I have never heard of any problems.  In your scenario, I would simply put the other middle names that you no longer use in the other names section.

 

Good Luck!

Edited February 23, 2019 by Bill & Katya

[robhostein 57]

2 hours ago, Bill & Katya said:

In your scenario, I would simply put the other middle names that you no longer use in the other names section.

Well, I guess I don't have to worry about that either. The IO put the names in for me when he was going over the application questions with me. Thank you!

[geowrian 22,337]

The correct thing is to always answer all questions fully and accurately.

Whether not listing other names is an issue would depend on if it is material ("relevant" facts). If one used another name to hide their identity from something material, then it certainly can be an issue. If one just didn't list it by mistake and there's no issue associated with that name/identity, then it likely would not be an issue.