Citizenship in the United States

Citizenship in the United States is a status given to a legal member of the United States. It entails specific rights, duties, privileges and economic benefits including federal assistance. In accordance with the Citizenship Clause, people become citizens automatically by being born in the United States or born in a foreign country due to having one or two US parents, known as birthright citizenship, or by a process known as naturalization.

U.S. citizenship is not defined by an obligation to participate in politics, pay taxes, obey laws, serve in the military, or vote, although citizens can participate in politics or join the military if they choose, but rather citizenship is a legal marker identifying a person as having a bundle of rights including the right to live and work in the United States as well as receive government services. Most persons who undergo naturalization do so to get permission to live and work in the nation legally. American law permits dual so it is permitted for citizens of the United States to be a citizen of another country at the same time. Citizenship can be stripped away by government or renounced by citizens, and it can also be restored.

Pathways to citizenship

People applying to become citizens must satisfy certain requirements. For example, there have been requirements for applicants to have lived in the nation for five years (three if married to a U.S. citizen,) be of "good moral character" meaning no felony convictions, be of "sound mind" in the judgment of immigration officials, have knowledge of the Constitution, and be able to speak and understand English unless they're elderly or disabled.

The relation of citizenship

The concept of citizenship has varied in different cultures and times. The Athenian citizen-soldier model required civic participation as well as a duty to fight as part of a well-coordinated phalanx. Roman citizenship was a prized distinction in the early years of the Republic which also entailed a military commitment.

In the United States today, however, citizenship entails few commitments to other citizens or to government; there is no military requirement or call for civic participation. Rather, citizenship is the legal status of membership in America. Citizens have the right to live and work without fear of deportation. It can be thought of as a "right" to "have rights" analogous to a contemporary European conception. The activities typically associated with citizenship typically include duties and privileges.

Duties

Jury duty is only imposed upon citizens. Today, however, there are indications jury duty is declining; there are fewer trials. Newspaper reports have chronicled the decline of juries, and noted how many people don't get summonses, and how Americans see jury duty as an "inconvenient" chore.
Paying taxes is required for both citizens and non-citizens.

Paying taxes is required of everyone earning income in the United States, regardless of citizenship status. However, the US system is unusual in that it taxes American citizens wherever they go in the world. Since the United States requires citizens living abroad to file taxes, some Americans renounce their citizenship as a way to cope with the administrative burden of filing complex tax forms.

In 2006, one former United States Marine and former resident of California abandoned U.S. citizenship discreetly while living in Switzerland; she had considered various options over 10 years, but finally decided to become an alien.

In 2007, 470 Americans renounced their citizenship to move abroad. One estimate was that the numbers of Americans turning in their passports each year for political and economic reasons was small, with the numbers reaching a high of about 2,000 during a Vietnam War-era boom in the 1970s.One lawyer commented that the "administrative costs of being an American and living outside the U.S. have gone up dramatically."

In 2003, there were 509 Americans who renounced citizenship. One account suggested that increased "taxation is driving many Americans to turn in their passports." But Congress passed rules to tax assets on so-called tax exiles or renunciators of American citizenship, who abandon US citizenship for tax purposes, as well as tax any heirs or beneficiaries of those people who still live in the territorial United States. According to a tax accountant, "The new rules say, if you leave any of your property to a U.S. person, it will be taxed at the rates for U.S. gift tax", which were 45% in 2008.
Military participation is not currently required in the United States. But in the past, most recently during the Vietnam War, there was a highly unpopular policy of drafting men. Today, there is a professional paid military, and citizen-soldiers are not needed; Johns Hopkins political scientist Ginsberg wrote "the professional military has limited the need for citizen soldiers." It is possible, however, that in future conflicts, citizens will be required to participate in the military.

The U.S. military has been an all-volunteer force since the end of the Vietnam War but male U.S. citizens are still required to register for the military draft within 30 days of their 18th birthday.

Rights

Freedom to live and work in the United States is perhaps the biggest benefit of U.S. citizenship and legal residency. There are many jobs, opportunities, and educational opportunities. Some immigrants see citizenship as a way of "locking in economic gains that they have made as legal residents." One person said "People don’t feel that being permanent residents is enough to secure their future in this country. They would just feel more secure as citizens.

Voting is a privilege of citizenship. However, voting is not required (compulsory voting), unlike nations such as Australia and Belgium where citizens can be fined for failing to vote. Historically, voting rates in presidential elections by eligible citizens hover around the 50% level, although the recent election of Barack Obama in 2008 saw levels rise over 60%. Legal immigrants are sometimes motivated to become citizens for a chance to exercise voting power.

Civic participation is not required in the United States. There is no requirement to attend town meetings, read newspapers, stay informed about issues, belong to a political party, or write letters; citizens can stay home and do nothing if they choose. One source suggested that a benefit of naturalization is letting immigrants "participate fully in the civic life of the country."

There is disagreement about whether popular lack of involvement in politics is helpful or harmful. Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson suggests that most Americans merely vote for president every four years, and that's all they do, and she sees this pattern as undemocratic. In her book Bad for Democracy, Nelson argues that declining citizen participation in politics is unhealthy for long term prospects for democracy. Generally, civic participation is almost nonexistent for wide swaths of the American public.

One 2009 study found that seven in ten citizens showed "declining civic involvement" nationally, and that citizens of Illinois were "disappointed, frustrated and disillusioned by recent political scandals and the pressures of the recession."

However, writers such as Robert D. Kaplan in The Atlantic see benefits to non-involvement; he wrote "the very indifference of most people allows for a calm and healthy political climate." Kaplan elaborated: "Apathy, after all, often means that the political situation is healthy enough to be ignored. The last thing America needs is more voters–particularly badly educated and alienated ones–with a passion for politics."

He argued that civic participation, in itself, is not always a sufficient condition to bring good outcomes, and pointed to authoritarian societies such as Singapore which prospered because it had "relative safety from corruption, from breach of contract, from property expropriation, and from bureaucratic inefficiency."

Get Your Adjustment of Status Now!