wdavis0721

Hi Everyone,

I have had been a permanent resident / legal alien for around a decade and am about to plunge into Naturalization.

Are there any specific things I need to do or keep in mind to make sure I get dual citizenship and keep my UK passport ?

Thanks

Noorah101

No, nothing special. Just submit the N-400, go to the interview/test, go to the oath ceremony, and you're a USC.

Nothing about your UK citizenship/passport will change. You'll just automatically become a dual citizen.

Rene

S Folinsky

According to your post, you already did it.

MarylandNed

No, you don't need to do anything. You remain a UK citizen after becoming a US citizen.

Note that as part of your US naturalization ceremony you will be required to take the naturalization oath of allegiance to the USA. This includes the following:

"I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen..."

The US can make you say whatever it likes as part of its naturalization oath but it means absolutely nothing to the UK. The UK decides who is and who isn't a UK citizen. You will remain a UK citizen unless you take specific steps to renounce your UK citizenship with the UK authorities.

wdavis0721

Thanks very much everyone !

wdavis0721

Well I just took the Oath so I guess I am now dual !

Any pointers about traveling outside US using different passports ? in particular if I can enter the UK using UK passport but then reentering the US with US passport - no stamp might mean a trip to the "room" ! :S

Thanks

Warren

paul32x

That's what I do. If you're a USC you have to re-enter the US using your US Passport.

Noorah101

Yes, that's the correct procedure.

Rene

MarylandNed

You're also supposed to leave the US using your US passport. Of course, this is an easy rule to break since there are no exit controls.

MarylandNed

I disagree with Rene. There's no one "correct" way to do it. The UK does not demand that its citizens enter on UK passports. So you could actually just use the US passport the entire time (which is what I did last time). You could nip into the UK/EU line if it's shorter.

On one other occasion, I entered the UK on my UK passport but then was leaving on my US passport when I went through a passport check at Heathrow. The guy looked at my US passport and asked why I didn't have a UK entry stamp. I explained that I had entered on my UK passport. He asked to see it and then waved me through. So if you're going to use 2 different passports, make sure that you have the other one handy in case you need to produce it at short notice.

Remember that US law states that you must leave/enter the US on your US passport.

hungryhorace

Out of interest, why do you think the CBP wanted to see your UK passport?

MarylandNed

The absence of a UK entry stamp in my US passport obviously made him suspicious so he asked why I didn't have one. When I told him I was also a UK citizen and had used my UK passport to enter, I assume he asked to see it because he wanted to make sure that I was telling the truth. I don't know what was going through his head. Maybe he thought the US passport was fake and that I'd bought it in the UK (thus no entry stamp). Or maybe he thought I'd entered the UK illegally. Who knows? I'm sure they see all sorts of scenarios.