Specifically this section:
(d) Applicability to citizenship through naturalization of parent or spouse
Any person who claims United States citizenship through the naturalization of a parent or spouse in whose case there is a revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such parent or spouse to citizenship under the provisions of subsection (a) of this section on the ground that the order and certificate of naturalization were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation shall be deemed to have lost and to lose his citizenship and any right or privilege of citizenship which he may have, now has, or may hereafter acquire under and by virtue of such naturalization of such parent or spouse, regardless of whether such person is residing within or without the United States at the time of the revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such parent or spouse to citizenship. Any person who claims United States citizenship through the naturalization of a parent or spouse in whose case there is a revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such parent or spouse to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of naturalization under the provisions of subsection ( c ) of this section, or under the provisions of section 1440 ( c ) of this title on any ground other than that the order and certificate of naturalization were procured by concealment of a material fact or by willful misrepresentation, shall be deemed to have lost and to lose his citizenship and any right or privilege of citizenship which would have been enjoyed by such person had there not been a revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such parent or spouse to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of naturalization, unless such person is residing in the United States at the time of the revocation and setting aside of the order admitting such parent or spouse to citizenship and the cancellation of the certificate of naturalization.
From: https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1451
So I got US Citizenship through my mom when I was under 18…
Does this means if, hypothetically, my mom has “Skeletons in the Closet” that comes to light, I could lose my citizenship?
I’ve been just non-stop obsessing over the thought of denaturalization… 👀
Can anyone even decode wtf this is supposed to mean? So much legalase I’m confused.
- If you are a citizen because your parent/spouse was, and that parent/spouse has their citizenship revoked under subsection (a) because of fraud, you lose your citizenship.
- If you are a citizen because your parent/spouse was, and that parent/spouse has their citizenship revoked under subsection © because of any reason other than fraud, you lose your citizenship if you are not residing in the United States at the time their citizenship is revoked.
You don’t suck at reading comprehension, this is difficult to understand.
I’m not a lawyer and this is not legal advice. This depends a lot on your mother. If she’s a Naturalized citizen, then if she’s de-naturalized for fraud or anything that invalidates the naturalization application, then you would lose your citizenship as well. It’s basically just Uno Reverse. However, it seems like if she’s simply the target of some current administration retribution and is a one-off, targeted de-naturalization, or she rescinds her citizenship, as long as you’re in the United States, you should be able to keep your citizenship.
The degree to which “skeletons in the closet” are bad is relative to how it affects her naturalization application, and if that would constitute fraud on that application. If she simply spent 5 years running turtle races at a beach resort and feels bad about it, probably not a big deal. If she spent 5 years in prison and escaped, then said on her naturalization application she was working at a beach resort all that time, that would be bad.
If you are concerned that your mother might be de-naturalized, then it’s worth talking to her about it using secure methods, such as Signal.
This IS legal advice: DO NOT post anywhere online the specific reasons why you are concerned about her citizenship. Anywhere. Do not send it in an email; do not send it in a SMS or Whatsapp message. Unless you are contact with a lawyer, DO NOT put the specific concerns in text anywhere.
Isn’t Signal readable through Israeli spyware the US bought?
Threema then, I’d say.
Via screenshots, but it’s also expensive and requires inter-agency cooperation. OP and their mom aren’t that important. Which isn’t a slight - no one is willing to do paperwork for this level of evidence collection for basic fraud.
INAL, but if you have eligibility to another country’s citizenship, there is the possibility—maybe even more so in the current US climate—that US citizenship could be revoked. Countries cannot make citizens stateless, so there must a secondary country that you would be eligible to be a citizen of, before the US could make you a non-US citizen.
That said, it seems like anything goes these days, so the big orange fella could change that approach too… Good luck and hope there’s no skeletons to worry about.
Countries cannot make citizens stateless
Countries can literally do whatever they want.
Making citizens stateless goes against the UN declaration of human rights, but that’s just a piece of paper.
I wouldn’t trust today’s US government to give a fuck about it.Sadly, the number of stateless people on this planet is around 4.4 million.
Countries can and do prevent people from holding a nationality all the time. You’re just not used to seeing it is all.
Wow, never realised that… Honestly, (rich & power-hungry) humans suck sometimes…
Countries cannot make citizens stateless
Certain (most?) countries do their best to avoid making people stateless but there’s nobody to tell them no other than their own laws.
Last time I checked you can’t voluntarily rid yourself of your US citizenship, even if you have another.
You can now, it costs a few grand
Ah. Yes, I am utterly unsurprised.
As others have said, if you have citizenship solely through your mom, and she got that citizenship though fraud (let’s say she concealed the fact that she was a criminal or something,) the she’s have her citizenship revoked.
It would be as though she never had it.
Which means it would be as though you never had it.
For a more specific case… Musk lied on his citizenship docs. He was here on a student visa and was not attending school.
If he gets his revoked (which he won’t coz he’s rich.) any of his kids could lose theirs- if their mothers weren’t also is citizens.
Regarding the very last point: Won’t his kids retain citizenship regardless if they were born in the US, in which case they have a citizenship in their own right (not tied to their father)?
My impression was that you got a US citizenship if you were born on US soil, regardless of the status of your parents?
They are trying to get rid of that too, but it seems to be difficult.
It sounds like, essentially what you’re saying, I think. That if your mother lied or omitted information that would have led to a denial of her citizenship approval, and this is later discovered she will have her citizenship revoked, and you would also lose citizenship. Essentially because it would be considered that she committed fraud to obtain citizenship, and you by extension would be a benefactor of her fraud even if you were unaware of it.
However,it also sounds like if her citizenship is revoked for other reasons not involving fraudulent statements and covering up a past that would have barred her from citizenship, you will keep your citizenship providing you are in the US when hers is revoked.
That’s my very rough reading of it, and yeah, it’s a bunch of fucking legalese. It’s honestly frustrating that laws like this don’t have a “simple english wikipedia” equivalent to explain it to non-lawyers.
Also… it should be noted that laws seemingly mean nothing with respect to the current US regime and how they manage citizenship revocation.
Damn those are some long and wordy sentences
