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Key Facts
- Federal level: A naturalized citizen is a person who became a U.S. citizen after birth through the federal naturalization process.
- Federal level: Naturalized citizens generally stand on the same footing as citizens by birth, except for distinctions the Constitution itself makes, including presidential eligibility.
- Federal level: A Certificate of Naturalization and a U.S. passport are different forms of citizenship evidence; neither should be confused with the legal event that conferred citizenship.
- Federal level: Denaturalization requires a federal court process under statutory grounds and is different from voluntary loss of citizenship through an expatriating act performed with intent to relinquish nationality.
A naturalized citizen has completed the federal legal process that confers U.S. citizenship after birth. Citizenship ordinarily begins when an approved applicant takes the Oath of Allegiance. The Certificate of Naturalization records that event, but the certificate is evidence rather than a separate class of citizenship.
Naturalized citizenship is citizenship, not a temporary status
The Fourteenth Amendment recognizes citizenship of persons born or naturalized in the United States and subject to its jurisdiction. The Supreme Court has repeatedly rejected the idea that naturalized citizenship is a second-class or probationary status.
In Schneider v. Rusk, the Court stated that a naturalized citizen has the same rights as a native-born citizen except where the Constitution itself provides otherwise. That same-footing principle means Congress cannot create an ordinary inferior citizenship category solely because citizenship was obtained through naturalization.
The best-known constitutional distinction is Article II’s requirement that the President be a natural-born citizen.
The process that creates this status is explained in the naturalization guide. The citizenship application article focuses on Form N-400 and adjudication rather than the resulting status.
Rights and civic responsibilities
A naturalized citizen may vote in federal, state, and local elections when the generally applicable eligibility and registration rules are met. Citizens may apply for a U.S. passport and petition for qualifying relatives under federal immigration law.
Citizenship also carries civic responsibilities, including serving on a jury when summoned and qualified.
Some obligations are shared with noncitizens, and some benefits depend on rules beyond citizenship. Citizenship alone does not guarantee eligibility for every public benefit, professional license, security clearance, job, or elected office.
How naturalized citizenship is proved
USCIS issues a Certificate of Naturalization after the oath to document the person’s name, identifying information, and naturalization. Federal law prescribes the certificate and authorizes replacement or correction procedures.
A valid U.S. passport is separate federal evidence of citizenship and identity for passport purposes. Other records may establish citizenship in particular settings, but agencies and institutions can have different document requirements.
A lost or damaged certificate does not by itself erase citizenship. Replacing the document is distinct from repeating naturalization. The document-specific process is covered in the Certificate of Naturalization guide.
Citizenship loss and denaturalization are different doctrines
Congress lists potentially expatriating acts in 8 U.S.C. § 1481, but loss of nationality requires that the act be performed voluntarily with the intention of relinquishing U.S. nationality. Afroyim v. Rusk held that the government may not involuntarily strip a person of citizenship merely because the person voted in a foreign election.
Denaturalization instead challenges whether citizenship was lawfully obtained. Under 8 U.S.C. § 1451, the federal government may bring a civil action to revoke naturalization and cancel the certificate when naturalization was illegally procured or procured by concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation.
The Supreme Court has required strict proof in civil denaturalization cases because of the importance of citizenship. A criminal conviction can also lead to revocation through the statutory process when the conviction establishes naturalization fraud under the specified federal provisions.
Denaturalization is not an administrative decision that a local official can make, and an accusation does not itself end citizenship. Revocation follows the federal judicial and statutory process, with consequences determined by the judgment and applicable law.
Sources
- Constitution Annotated — Fourteenth Amendment Citizenship Clause
- Constitution Annotated — Article II presidential qualifications
- U.S. Supreme Court — Schneider v. Rusk
- U.S. Supreme Court — Afroyim v. Rusk
- 8 U.S.C. § 1449 — Certificate of Naturalization
- 8 U.S.C. § 1451 — revocation of naturalization
- 8 U.S.C. § 1481 — loss of nationality
- USCIS — citizenship and naturalization
- U.S. Department of State — citizenship evidence for a passport
- U.S. Supreme Court — Schneiderman v. United States
