How citizenship is granted

Citizenship is defined as a relationship between an individual and a country involving the person's allegiance and membership to that country. The Fourteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides that all persons born or naturalized in the United States are citizens.

However, children born in the United States to foreign diplomatic officers are not entitled to US citizenship at birth. Citizenship may be acquired for those born outside the United States if one or both parents are US citizens. This is called derivative (duh-RIHV-uh-tiv) citizenship. The laws that govern derivative citizenship are controlled by Congress, not the Constitution, and are subject to change from time to time.

US citizenship can also be granted through a process called naturalization, which carries all the rights, duties, and privileges of citizenship obtained by persons born in the US

You can lose your US citizenship whether you're native or naturalized.

For more information on citizenship and naturalization, contact an immigration lawyer who specializes in immigration law.

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Becoming a citizen
Citizenship and naturalization
Citizenship through parents
Citizenship by amnesty
Revocation of citizenship
Adjustment of status