Becoming a Citizen

In the United States, a person can become a citizen in two main ways: by birth, which covers most people born in the country (with a few narrow legal exceptions) as well as people born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent who meets specific legal requirements for passing on citizenship, or through naturalization, a legal process available to certain immigrants who meet requirements like residency, passing a citizenship test, and taking an oath of allegiance. A permanent resident, someone lawfully allowed to live in the country long-term, is not automatically a citizen, and many permanent residents must still personally go through naturalization to gain full citizenship rights, like voting in federal elections, though some children can derive citizenship automatically through a parent who naturalizes.

This explanation is AI-generated and can occasionally be wrong. 🚩 Report