Читать книгу U.S. Citizenship For Dummies - Jennifer Gagliardi - Страница 12

When you become a U.S. citizen, you must give up all prior allegiances to other countries. Although nobody will care if you root for your birth country in a soccer match (actually, some soccer fans may care, but the U.S. government certainly won’t), you won’t be able to defend that country against the United States in times of conflict or war. You must also be willing to serve your new country, the United States of America, when required. What this means is that if the United States is at war or in the midst of some other type of crisis, you need to be willing to take up arms or otherwise aid the U.S. military effort in whatever capacity is needed.

Giving up your allegiances to other countries doesn’t necessarily mean you have to give up your citizenship in other countries. You may be able to maintain your original citizenship(s) and hold U.S. citizenship (having citizenship in more than one country is known as dual citizenship). The United States allows dual citizenship (though it is disfavored). Some countries do not allow dual citizenship. If you are a citizen of such a country, you will likely give up your citizenship upon naturalizing to U.S. citizenship. This information may affect your decision to apply for U.S. citizenship. To find out if your citizenship can be affected, check with the embassy of each country where you have or are considering citizenship.

Furthermore, giving up your allegiance to other countries does not mean that you must stop speaking your native language, teaching your children about your culture, or practicing your religion. These are gifts to be shared not only with your friends and family but also your fellow Americans.