Natural-born Filipinos, Naturalized US Citizens and RA 9225

Since the creation of this blog was inspired by questions from my family living in the US, the first country that I will tackle as to effects and impact on reacquiring Filipino citizenship by virtue of RA 9225 is predictably, the United States of America.

General issues that can be addressed without looking at laws outside of the Philippines are addressed at the FAQ part of this site.

One of the most burning questions to availing of RA 9225 is whether or not the naturalized individual will lose his or her existing citizenship. Pertinent to the United States of America, I discuss the issue below by the use of the Q & A format.

What law governs loss of nationality/citizenship in the USA? Will I lose my US citizenship by virtue of pledging allegiance to the Philippines in relation to RA 9225?

The US law is INA Act 349.
Sec. 349. [8 U.S.C. 1481] provides:

“(a) A person who is a national of the United States whether by birth or naturalization, shall lose his nationality by voluntarily performing any of the following acts with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality-

X X X

(2) taking an oath or making an affirmation or other formal declaration of allegiance to a foreign state or a political subdivision thereof, after having attained the age of eighteen years; X X X (emphasis supplied)

You can find the full text of this provision at the USCIS website.

Therefore, when a natural born Filipino who is a naturalized US citizen, takes an oath of allegiance to the Philippines, he/she will lose his/her US nationality if it is proven by a preponderance of evidence that he/she did the same WITH THE INTENTION of RELINQUISHING United States nationality.

It should be noted that in case of doubt the case will be decided in favor of citizenship.

You can find more information at the USCIS website mentioned above.


How does the US determine intent of relinquishing United States nationality?

Official US documents suggests that the US authorities will determine intent on a case to case basis by considering among other elements - - - the circumstances in which the acts occurred, the age of the individual, the foreign country involved (in this case the Philippines), the level of a person’s knowledge of pertinent laws, and the contemporaneous acts of the individual.

For examples of indicators to determine intent of retaining and relinquishing US nationality, I reproduce below the following enumerations from the USCIS website.

"INDICATIONS OF AN INTENT TO RETAIN U.S. CITIZENSHIP:

(1) Statements made immediately prior to or contemporaneously with the possible expatriating act to the effect that the subject continues to regard himself as a U.S. citizen and has no intention of relinquishing that citizenship. Statements made in writing and to a consular or diplomatic officer entitled to the greatest weight. Less formal statements, including subsequent acknowledgments of U.S. citizenship in connection with application for employment, for admission to educational institutions, and the like, also constitute important evidence.

(2) Continued respect for the obligations of U.S. citizenship, including the filing of U.S. income tax returns as a citizen and registering for military service.

(3) Continued use of U.S. passport.

(4) Request for citizenship documentation for children born subsequent to the expatriating act.

(5) Maintenance of a residence in the United States, especially where it is the subject's exclusive residence.

(6) Participation in political activity in the United States, including voting, membership in a political party and running for public office.

INDICATIONS OF AN INTENT TO RELINQUISH U.S. CITIZENSHIP

(1) Renunciatory statements made in connection with the possible expatriating act-the more explicit and formal statement, the greater its probative value.

(2) Surrender of U.S. passport to foreign authorities in connection with the possible expatriating act, return of the passport or other evidence of U.S. citizenship to U.S. authorities, or destruction of documents evidencing U.S. citizenship.

(3) Statements made in connections with tax returns, applications for employment for admission to educational institutions, financial transactions, or the like, in which the subject denies U.S. citizenship.

(4) Requesting a visa for travel to the U.S. and/or entering the U.S. on a foreign passport, especially where the subject has previously entered the U.S. as a U,S, citizen.

(5) Seeking public office in a foreign country.

(6) Membership in a political party in a foreign country.

(7) Exclusive use of a foreign passport.

(8) Failure to register subsequently born children if children born before the possible expatriating act were registered.

(9) Failure to maintain current U.S. citizenship documentation, especially for a period of many years, where the subject has previously maintained current documentation.

(10) Failure to respect the obligations of U.S. citizenship, including, where appropriate, the obligation to file tax returns and to register for military service.”

Hopefully, the above Q & A clarifies the questions frequently asked by Filipino-Americans in relation to the Philippine law, RA 9225.

For more information on this issue, you may follow up with the concerned US government official at the information below.

Director
Office of Policy Review and Inter-Agency Liaison (CA/OCS/PRI)
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
4th Floor
2100 Pennsylvania Avenue, N.W.
Washington, D.C. 20037
Phone: 202-736-9110
Fax: 202-736-9111
Email: ASKPRI@state.gov


Regular Mail
Director
Office of Policy Review and Inter-Agency Liaison (CA/OCS/PRI)
Overseas Citizens Services
Bureau of Consular Affairs
U.S. Department of State
SA-29, 4th Floor
Washington, D.C. 20520