Son of Swiftboat 2
Attorney Bob Bauman's view:
I have no way of knowing the merits of the Berg lawsuit v. Obama, but the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that American citizens retain their citizenship when there is no clear intent to end that status.
The Court has also supported American citizens' right to hold dual citizenship. Those rulings would seem to protect Senator Obama's American status, although he might qualify as a "dual national." Dual nationality simply means that you are legally a citizen of two countries at the same time, qualified as such under each nation's law.
You could automatically receive this status if you're born in a foreign country and one of your parents is a U.S. citizen. In that case, you would become both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country where you're born.
Or you could become a dual national from an operation of law. For example, as a U.S. citizen, you could marry a foreigner and become a citizen of your spouse's nation. Or if you were a foreigner who was naturalized as a U.S. citizen, you can still retain your citizenship from the country of your birth.
The point is acquiring and using a foreign passport does not endanger your U.S. citizenship in any way. In fact, it's pretty common to retain two passports depending on your circumstances.
Some countries won't permit their citizens to hold a passport from another nation. This was the case in the U.S. until 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of U.S. citizens to hold a second, foreign passport. Before that time, the official rule was that a person acquiring second nationality automatically lost U.S. citizenship.
Since 1967, the government generally presumes a U.S. citizen does not intend to surrender citizenship. You have to produce proof of that intention before the U.S. government will officially let you give up your U.S. citizenship (i.e. "expatriate"). The burden of proof then falls to the government to prove U.S. citizenship. This presumption is set forth in a U.S. Department of State publication, Advice About Possible Loss of U.S. Citizenship and Dual Nationality, (1990).
As a matter of policy, the U.S. Government recognizes dual nationality, but does not necessarily encourage it.
I have no way of knowing the merits of the Berg lawsuit v. Obama, but the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly ruled that American citizens retain their citizenship when there is no clear intent to end that status.
The Court has also supported American citizens' right to hold dual citizenship. Those rulings would seem to protect Senator Obama's American status, although he might qualify as a "dual national." Dual nationality simply means that you are legally a citizen of two countries at the same time, qualified as such under each nation's law.
You could automatically receive this status if you're born in a foreign country and one of your parents is a U.S. citizen. In that case, you would become both a U.S. citizen and a citizen of the country where you're born.
Or you could become a dual national from an operation of law. For example, as a U.S. citizen, you could marry a foreigner and become a citizen of your spouse's nation. Or if you were a foreigner who was naturalized as a U.S. citizen, you can still retain your citizenship from the country of your birth.
The point is acquiring and using a foreign passport does not endanger your U.S. citizenship in any way. In fact, it's pretty common to retain two passports depending on your circumstances.
Some countries won't permit their citizens to hold a passport from another nation. This was the case in the U.S. until 1967, when the U.S. Supreme Court upheld the right of U.S. citizens to hold a second, foreign passport. Before that time, the official rule was that a person acquiring second nationality automatically lost U.S. citizenship.
Since 1967, the government generally presumes a U.S. citizen does not intend to surrender citizenship. You have to produce proof of that intention before the U.S. government will officially let you give up your U.S. citizenship (i.e. "expatriate"). The burden of proof then falls to the government to prove U.S. citizenship. This presumption is set forth in a U.S. Department of State publication, Advice About Possible Loss of U.S. Citizenship and Dual Nationality, (1990).
As a matter of policy, the U.S. Government recognizes dual nationality, but does not necessarily encourage it.
posted by Anonymous | 5:35 PM
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