Name______Date______Period______

Notes: Citizenship

citizen: a person who possesses certain ______and ______to a government

You are a U.S. citizen if:

* You were born in the U.S. or one of its territories

* At least one parent is a U.S. citizen

* You were less than 18 when your parents were naturalized

* You completed the naturalization process (not just the Exam!)

** naturalized citizens have all the rights of natural born

citizens except they cannot serve as President or VP

______: a citizen of one country who lives in another country

Naturalization Requirements:

1. Age ______or older

2. Test – Demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history and government

3. English - ability to read, write, and speak the English language

4. Permanent resident

5. 3 months in one state

6. 5 years (at least) of legal residence in the U.S. (no absence in last year, no absence

greater than 30 months)

7. Loyalty to the principles of the U.S. Constitution

8. Oath of Allegiance (Loyalty)

9. Good moral character (for example, not having been convicted of certain crimes)

Dual citizenship: the status of an individual who is a citizen of ______or more nations

** getting U.S. citizenship does not necessarily mean renouncing (giving up)

other citizenship

-- Retain (you keep both): Canada, Greece, United Kingdom

-- Lose (you give up foreign citizenship and keep U.S. citizenship):

Belgium, Italy, Sweden

Name______Date______Period______

Naturalization Information

To see information about Naturalization on the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services website:

  1. Go to
  2. Click on “Citizenship Through Naturalization” under the Citizenship heading
  3. Read what is on the page
  4. Then click on “Path to U.S. Citizenship” on the lefthand side of the page
  5. Read what is on the page
  6. To see an in-depth explanation of Naturalization Requirements (such as, “What does Good Moral Character really mean?”), click on “A Guide to Naturalization” on the left or the right side
  7. Then click on the first link “entire guide” to download a PDF version of the guide

To see information about the Naturalization Test:

  1. Go to
  2. Click on “The Naturalization Test” under the “Citizenship” heading
  3. Read what is on the page
  4. To see more information about the Naturalization Test, click on “Study Materials for the Naturalization Test” on the right hand side
  5. Then, click on “Study Materials for the Civics Test
  6. Click on “100 Civics Questions and Answers” – you can even download the mp3 audio version

To see what happened to Michael Wu’s private bill:

  1. Go to
  2. Click on “Search Bill Text for Multiple Congresses”
  3. Type “Michael Wu” (with quotes) in search bar

Click “Check All”

From Both House and Senate

Click Search

  1. Click on #10 H.R.1917.ENR

* Note that the bill actually says, “considered to be a child under 18 years of age”

* To see original wording of the bill and how it was amended, click on #1

* Original Version is #3 – Note that it was introduced July 11, 1989

  1. Click “Bill Summary and Status”

* You will see: Sponsor: Rep. Lowery, Bill * Private Bill

* Latest Major Action: 6/15/1992 Became Private Law No: 102-3