Citizenship in the
United States
Citizenship in the United States is a status given to a legal member of the United States. It entails specific rights, duties, privileges and economic benefits including federal assistance. In accordance with the Citizenship Clause, people become citizens automatically by being born in the United States or born in a foreign country due to having one or two US parents, known as birthright citizenship, or by a process known as naturalization.
U.S. citizenship is not defined by an obligation to participate in politics, pay taxes, obey laws, serve in the military, or vote, although citizens can participate in politics or join the military if they choose, but rather citizenship is a legal marker identifying a person as having a bundle of rights including the right to live and work in the United States as well as receive government services.[1] Most persons who undergo naturalization do so to get permission to live and work in the nation legally. American law permits dual citizenship so it is permitted for citizens of the United States to be a citizen of another country at the same time. Citizenship can be stripped away by government or renounced by citizens,[2] and it can also be restored; for example, General Robert E. Lee lost his birthright citizenship during the Civil War when he decided to fight for the Confederate cause, but when the war ended, his citizenship was restored by naturalization.[