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Miami Herald, The (FL) - Thursday, November 18, 2004
Author: Herald Staff

DUAL CITIZENSHIP:

U.S. DOESN'T FAVOR IT

*Q: My cousin, a naturalized U.S. citizen, has applied for the reestablishment of her citizenship in her birth country, Czechoslovakia (now Slovakia).

What are the consequences of doing this? She doesn't want to endanger her status in the United States.

T. H.,

Miami

*A: In U.S. citizenship ceremonies, when one takes the oath, one renounces citizenship in another country. But U.S. law doesn't mention dual nationality or require a person to choose one nationality or another, according to the U.S. State Department website, www.state.gov.

You can, theoretically, lose your U.S. citizenship by applying for and accepting foreign citizenship. But it's unlikely to happen.

``I tell people that just by having foreign citizenship restored, they haven't lost their U.S. citizenship,'' Michael Bander , a Miami immigration attorney, said. He says that while the United States doesn't favor dual citizenship, if you're already a dual national, it's unlikely to do anything about it.

To lose U.S. citizenship, you have to do something egregious, such as taking up arms with a country that's engaged in hostilities with the United States. Or you must demonstrate that it was your clear intent to relinquish your citizenship. It can be stripped for trying to overthrow the federal government and for treason, but one must be convicted of the crime, not simply accused of it.

In the past, things were a little dicier. From 1907 to 1922, women who married aliens could possibly lose their citizenship. Ditto for deserters from the armed forces until this section of the law was declared unconstitutional in 1958. The same was at stake if you simply voted in a foreign election. The Supreme Court has since ruled this to be unconstitutional. The court also has determined that, under the law, naturalized citizens are no different from native-born citizens.