page_title: United States nationality law
section_title: Loss of citizenship
hierarchical_section_title: United States nationality law / Loss of citizenship
caption_attribution_description: English: Certificate of Loss of Nationality of the United States, issued by the United States Embassy in Asuncion, Paraguay. According to the document, the subject had aquired no other nationality at the time of issuance; hence leaving him Stateless.
context_page_description: The United States nationality law is set out in the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 which contains a uniform rule of naturalization of the United States. The 1952 Act sets out the legal requirements for the acquisition and divestiture of U.S. nationality.
  The most recent changes to the law were made in 2001.
context_section_description: As a historical matter, U.S. citizenship could be forfeited upon the undertaking of various acts, including naturalization in a foreign state (with a willful intent to renounce U.S. citizenship) or service in foreign armed forces. In addition, before 1967 it was possible to lose the citizenship due to voting in foreign elections. However, the Supreme Court ruled unconstitutional the provisions of Section 349(a) which provided for loss of nationality by voting in a foreign election in the case Afroyim v. Rusk, 387 U.S. 253,8 U.S.C. § 1481 specifically outlines how loss of nationality may occur, which predominantly involves willful acts over the age of 18 with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality.  U.S. Supreme Court decisions beginning with Afroyim v. Rusk constitutionally limited the government's capacity to terminate citizenship to those cases in which an individual engaged in conduct with an intention of abandoning their citizenship.
  In 1990, the U.S. State Department adopted new regulations which presume that an individual does not intend to give up citizenship when performing one of the above potentially expatriating acts. If asked, the individual can always answer that they did not intend to give it up; this is sufficient to retain their citizenship. Hence, the U.S. effectively allows citizens to acquire new citizenships while remaining a U.S. citizen, becoming a dual citizen.
  After a U.S. citizen satisfies the Department of State procedures, the Department of State issues a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) signifying that the Department of State has accepted the U.S. Embassy/Consulate's recommendation to allow the renunciation. Renunciation of citizenship includes renunciation of all rights and privileges of citizenship. A person who wants to renounce U.S. citizenship cannot decide to retain some of the privileges of citizenship, as the State Department regards this as logically inconsistent with the concept of renunciation. Thus, such a person can be said to lack a full understanding of renouncing citizenship or lack the necessary intent to renounce citizenship, and the Department of State will not approve a loss of citizenship in such instances.
  People giving up U.S. citizenship may be subject to an expatriation tax. Originally, under the Foreign Investors Tax Act of 1966, people determined to be giving up citizenship for the purpose of avoiding U.S. taxation were subject to 10 years of continued taxation on their U.S.-source income, to prevent ex-citizens from taking advantage of special tax incentives offered to foreigners investing in the United States. Since 2008, these provisions no longer apply; instead, ex-citizens who meet certain asset or tax liability thresholds pay a one-time capital gains tax on a deemed sale of their U.S. and non-U.S. assets, regardless of their reasons for giving up citizenship. The Reed Amendment, a 1996 law, makes former citizens inadmissible to the U.S. if the Attorney General finds that they renounced citizenship for purposes of avoiding taxes; however, it has never been enforced. Proposals such as the Ex-PATRIOT Act to rewrite the Reed Amendment and make it enforceable failed in 2012 and 2013.
  It is also possible to forfeit U.S. citizenship upon conviction for an act of treason against the United States.  Prominent former Nazi officers who acquired American citizenship have also had it revoked if the Office of Special Investigations has been able to prove that the citizenship was obtained by concealing their involvement in war crimes committed by the Nazis in World War II.
caption: A Certificate of Loss of Nationality, signifying that the bearer has relinquished or renounced their U.S. nationality.
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