U.S. Citizens: What You Can and Cannot Do

How U.S. Citizenship Is Obtained

Citizenship Category Comparison

What U.S. Citizens Can Do

• Live permanently in the United States, enter and remain without needing a visa or Green Card, and apply for a U.S. passport.
• Receive assistance from U.S. embassies and consulates abroad, subject to law and practical limits.
• Vote in federal, state, and local elections when properly registered and eligible.
• Run for many elected offices when constitutional and statutory requirements are met, and serve on juries when summoned and eligible.
• Apply for federal positions restricted to citizens, seek qualifying security clearances, work for most employers, operate businesses, buy property, and study.
• Apply for government benefits when program rules are satisfied.
• Petition for a broader range of qualifying relatives and transmit or obtain citizenship for certain children when statutory requirements are met.
• Participate in lawful political activity, advocacy, public meetings, demonstrations, and community organizations.
• Receive constitutional and legal protections, report crimes, request protection, use courts, and hire an attorney.

What U.S. Citizens Cannot Do

• Cannot vote more than once in the same election, knowingly vote where not eligible, register using false information, or commit voter fraud.
• Cannot make false statements on passport, immigration, tax, employment, loan, firearm, or benefit applications.
• Cannot use another person’s identity or citizenship documents, or alter, sell, lend, or misuse a U.S. passport.
• Cannot use citizenship to violate another country’s laws or demand that another country admit them merely because they are a U.S. citizen.
• Cannot assume a U.S. embassy can cancel local criminal proceedings, act as a private attorney, or automatically release a citizen from foreign jail.
• Cannot ignore federal, state, local, or foreign laws, tax obligations, jury summonses, court orders, subpoenas, protection orders, or child-support orders.
• Cannot sponsor every relative automatically or guarantee that a sponsored relative will receive a visa or Green Card.
• Cannot transfer citizenship to every child automatically without meeting statutory requirements.
• Cannot serve as President or Vice President unless constitutional requirements, including the natural-born-citizen requirement, are satisfied.
• Cannot use government seals, insignia, credentials, or documents without authorization or claim government authority they do not possess.

Civic Responsibilities

• Obey federal, state, and local laws.
• File required tax returns and report worldwide income when required under U.S. tax law.
• Serve on a jury when lawfully summoned and not excused.
• Register to vote before voting when registration is required and keep voter-registration information accurate.
• Register with Selective Service when required.
• Keep citizenship and identity documents secure and report a lost or stolen U.S. passport.
• Provide truthful information on government applications, follow court orders, meet child-support and tax obligations, respect the rights of others, and participate responsibly in the community.

U.S. Passports and International Travel

• A U.S. passport is evidence of U.S. citizenship and identity for international travel.
• U.S. citizens generally must use a U.S. passport to depart from and enter the United States, subject to limited exceptions.
• A passport does not guarantee admission to another country. Other countries may require visas, passport validity, proof of funds, onward tickets, vaccinations, or other documentation.
• U.S. citizens remain subject to foreign laws while abroad, and U.S. consular officers cannot act as private attorneys.
• Dual nationals may be treated only as citizens of the other country while present there, and some countries require use of that country’s passport.
• A passport may be denied, limited, or revoked in circumstances authorized by law, including some tax debt, court orders, warrant issues, or child-support enforcement.

Family Immigration

• A U.S. citizen may generally file Form I-130 for a spouse, unmarried child under 21, unmarried son or daughter 21 or older, married son or daughter, parent if the citizen is at least 21, and brother or sister if the citizen is at least 21.
• A U.S. citizen may also be able to use the K-1 fiance process when all requirements are satisfied.
• Filing a petition does not guarantee approval. Some relatives are immediate relatives, while others are family-preference categories with visa-number waiting periods.
• Admissibility, documentation, priority dates, age calculations, prior immigration history, criminal history, unlawful presence, fraud, public-charge rules when applicable, and financial sponsorship may affect the process.
• A citizen cannot simply give another person citizenship or a Green Card. Invitation letters, job offers, housing, or financial promises do not independently create lawful immigration status.
• Form I-864 sponsorship may create an enforceable financial obligation, and divorce does not automatically cancel every existing I-864 obligation.

Dual Citizenship

• U.S. law does not generally require a U.S. citizen to choose only one nationality.
• Another country may treat the person solely as its citizen while the person is there.
• Dual citizens may have obligations in both countries, including taxes, military service, passport use, registration, or restrictions on government employment or property.
• U.S. consular assistance may be limited when the citizen is in the country of the other nationality.
• A dual citizen should verify both countries’ laws before traveling, voting, accepting government employment, performing military service, or handling citizenship documents.

Children and Citizenship

• A child born in the United States is generally a U.S. citizen at birth, subject to limited constitutional exceptions.
• A child born abroad may acquire citizenship at birth through a U.S.-citizen parent if statutory requirements are satisfied.
• Certain children may automatically derive citizenship after birth when Child Citizenship Act requirements are satisfied.
• Evidence may include a Consular Report of Birth Abroad, U.S. passport, Certificate of Citizenship, or other records.
• Parent citizenship, physical presence, custody, residence, marital history, dates, and the law in effect at birth may affect the analysis.
• A parent should not assume every foreign-born child automatically became a citizen or file an immigration petition before checking whether the child may already be a citizen.

Speak With a Qualified Attorney Before Taking Action If...

• You are unsure whether you were already a citizen before applying for naturalization, or you may have acquired citizenship at birth abroad or derived citizenship through a parent.
• Your citizenship documents show different names, birth dates, or places of birth, or your certificate contains an error.
• Your U.S. passport application was denied, limited, suspended, or revoked because citizenship evidence was considered insufficient.
• USCIS or the State Department is questioning how you obtained citizenship.
• You believe inaccurate information appeared in your N-400 or earlier immigration filings.
• You are contacted regarding a denaturalization investigation.
• You need to prove a parent’s physical presence in the United States before your birth.
• You are preparing Form N-600 or N-600K, considering renunciation, or facing dual-citizenship military, tax, passport, or government-service obligations abroad.
• You are sponsoring a relative with criminal, fraud, unlawful-presence, or prior-removal issues.

Citizenship Documents

Common evidence may include a U.S. birth certificate, U.S. passport, Certificate of Naturalization, Certificate of Citizenship, Consular Report of Birth Abroad, or other evidence recognized under applicable law.

• A Social Security card, driver’s license, or voter-registration card should not be treated as universal proof of U.S. citizenship.
• Keep secure digital copies and record document numbers and issue dates in a protected location.
• Avoid sending unredacted documents through insecure messaging and do not post full citizenship documents on social media.
• Report identity theft promptly and replace lost, stolen, damaged, or incorrect documents through the responsible agency.
• Original citizenship certificates should be stored securely. Do not laminate, alter, write on, or unnecessarily mail an original certificate.

Documents Citizens Should Protect

Naturalized Citizens Have Full Citizenship Rights

• Naturalized citizens generally have the same rights and responsibilities as citizens who obtained citizenship at birth.
• They may vote, obtain a U.S. passport, petition for qualifying relatives, serve on juries, seek qualifying government employment, and receive U.S. consular assistance.
• They are not required to carry a Green Card after becoming U.S. citizens and should stop using the Green Card as evidence of current immigration status.
• They should update applicable records, including Social Security records, when appropriate.
• Citizenship does not expire when a Certificate of Naturalization or passport expires. An expired passport does not mean citizenship expired.

Denaturalization Accuracy

• A naturalized citizen cannot ordinarily be deported while citizenship remains valid.
• An arrest or criminal conviction after naturalization does not automatically cancel citizenship.
• The government may pursue denaturalization only through an authorized legal process and on legally recognized grounds.
• Potential grounds may include citizenship that was illegally procured or obtained through concealment of a material fact or willful misrepresentation.
• Criminal conduct before naturalization may become relevant if it affected eligibility or was concealed during the naturalization process.
• After citizenship is lawfully revoked, separate immigration consequences may become possible.

Relinquishing or Losing Citizenship

• U.S. citizenship is not lost merely because a citizen lives abroad for many years, obtains another citizenship, fails to vote, lets a passport expire, or has an ordinary criminal conviction.
• Renunciation is a serious formal process generally intended to be permanent.
• Renunciation may have immigration, tax, property, inheritance, family, and travel consequences, and former citizens may need visas or other permission to enter the United States.
• Renunciation does not necessarily eliminate existing tax, criminal, military, or financial obligations.
• Parents generally cannot renounce citizenship for a minor child merely by making a personal declaration.
• Denaturalization is different from voluntary renunciation.

Official Resources

Use official government sources for current agency instructions, forms, passport rules, and updates.