The US permits dual citizenship, which potentially allows you to retain the citizenship of your country of origin while also enjoying all the benefits of US citizenship. With dual citizenship, you can potentially travel on your home country’s passport, or on a US passport, potentially making leaving and re-entering the United States simpler. Maintaining your country of origin’s citizenship also allows you to enjoy some of the advantages of being both a US citizen and a citizen of your home country.
However, there are a few complications when getting a dual citizenship. For this reason, you will want to carefully consider your options for dual citizenship and US citizenship before making any citizenship choices. For example, while the US permits dual citizenship, many countries do not. If your home country does not permit dual citizenship, you may not retain your home country citizenship when applying for US citizenship. In addition, there may be some requirements of being a citizenship of your country of origin. For example, depending on your country of origin, you may have mandatory military service, certain tax laws, and other rules that you must follow. Becoming a US citizen and retaining dual citizenship still makes you responsible for following the laws of your home country.
As well, there are potential drawbacks of the dual citizenship. For example, if you wish to take certain high ranking government jobs, dual citizenship can be a disadvantage, as it can make it seem as though your loyalties are divided. Therefore, you may wish to carefully consider and weigh the benefits and drawbacks of dual citizenship before you apply for US citizenship.
There is no separate application for dual citizenship, so if you are hoping to retain the citizenship of your home country while getting US citizenship as well, you will need to do some research. For example, when you take the US oath of citizenship, does your home country consider this as revoking your home country citizenship? If so, you may need to make special provisions at a consulate or embassy belonging to your home country in order to ensure that you retain your original citizenship. Some countries automatically allow you to retain your citizenship, unless you specifically request in writing that you are giving up your citizenship. If this is the case for your home country, you may generally be able to enjoy dual citizenship simply by becoming a US citizen without revoking your original citizenship.
