In order to be naturalized, the alien, being 18 years of age or over, must first file a declaration of bona-fide intention to seek American citizenship and to renounce forever all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince or state; and then, not less than two years after, file his petition, signed in his own hand writing, verified by two credible witnesses, who are themselves citizens of the United States, that he has resided in the United States con tinuously for at least five years immediately preceding the date of his petition, and at least one year in the State or Territory in which he seeks naturalization. Besides various facts of date and place of birth, date and place of arrival in the United States, name and country of nativity of his wife, names and dates of birth of his children, if any, the petitioner must show that he is not a disbeliever in or opposed to organized government, that he does not practise or believe in polygamy and that he can speak the English language.
Aliens of 21 years of age or more who have been honorably discharged from the armies of the United States, whether regular or volun teer, or who have served five consecutive years in the United States navy or one enlistment in the marine corps, may be admitted to citizen ship without having previously made a declara tion of intention.
Naturalization is ajudicial act and may be granted by the Federal District Courts, or by any court of record in any State or Territory which has a seal and clerk and a jurisdiction in law and equity without limit as to the amount in controversy.
Naturalization is granted to aliens without reference to any permission to expatriate them selves which they may or may not have re ceived from the state of their original alle giance. Thus when the right of expatriation is not recognized by the original state, a double citizenship is created. Dual citizenship also arises when the same person is claimed by two states, the one by reason of the citizenship of his parents, the other by reason of birth within the territorial jurisdiction.
It has been declared by the United States courts that the naturalization of a father operates as a naturalization of his minor chil dren if they are dwelling within the United States. In the same case (Boyd v. Nebraska) it was held that the declaration by a father of an intention to seek citizenship gives his minor children, who reach their majority be fore his naturalization is completed, an in choate citizenship which, however, they may, upon coming of age, repudiate.
In the constitution it is provided that only native-born citizens are eligible for elec tion as President or Vice-President of the United States. By statute it is declared that, except for this disqualification, naturalized citizens shall have all the rights, privileges and protection that are enjoyed by native-born citizens. In fact, however, in those states which do not recognize a full right upon the part of their citizens to expatriate themselves, the United States is not able to extend to the citizens of those states who have become naturalized American citizens that full degree of protection which it is able to assert and effect with regard to its own native-born citizens.
Citizenship may be lost as it may be ac quired, in various ways. Everywhere women lose their citizenship by marriage to aliens. By a recent act of Congress women may, how ever, resume their American citizenship upon termination of the marital relation through the death of the husband, divorce or otherwise, by returning to the United States and residing therein or, if continuing to reside abroad, by making a declaration before an American diplomatic or consular representative of their intention to resume their American nationality.
In some countries citizenship is lost by the ac ceptance of office or service under a foreign government but according to the law of the United States this results only in case the ac ceptance of office involves the taking of an oath of allegiance to the foreign government. By Act, 5 Oct. 1917, however, it was declared that American citizens who, since 1 Aug. 1914, had sworn allegiance to a foreign State which was at war with a State with which the United States is at war, in order to enlist in the armed forces of that foreign State, and was honorably discharged there from, may reassume American citizenship. In others, it is lost by the acceptance of a decoration from a foreign government, by desertion from the military or naval service or by judicial condemnation for certain crimes; but American law does not provide for the loss of citizenship through any of these acts. Again, according to the law of various Euro pean states, citizenship may be lost by long residence abroad even if not followed by naturalization in a foreign state, but according to American law and practice long and con tinued residence abroad has no other result than to create a presumption of intention to abandon American nationality,— a presumption which may be overcome by the presentation of evidence to the contrary. Thus Secretary of State Evarts in 1879 stated that "a citizen of the United States may be absent from this country for an indefinite period for purposes of business, education or pleasure and so long as he does no act, or assumes no obligation in consistent with his native or acquired citizen ship in this country, he is not held under our laws to have forfeited any of his rights as a citizen of the United States.° It was in ac cordance with this principle that the United States government in 1904 assumed the protec tion of an American citizen named Perdicaris, who had been kidnapped by a Moroccan bandit, this notwithstanding the fact that Perdicaris had lived abroad for 34 years. Likewise ac cording to American law and practice loss of citizenship in the case of native-born citizens results ordinarily not from long residence abroad but from naturalization by a foreign government. In the case of naturalized citi zens, however, the presumption from residence abroad of intention to abandon American nationality is much greater. Thus by the Act of Congress of 2 March 1907, it is declared that "when any naturalized citizen shall have resided for two years in the state of his origin, or five years in any other foreign state, it shall be presumed that he has ceased to be an American citizen — provided, however, that such presumption may be overcome on the presentation of satisfactory evidence to a diplomatic or consular officer of the United States.° Leaving now the distinction between native born and naturalized citizens we come to con sider a fundamental constitutional distinction which, in the United States, is made between Federal and State citizenship. This is a dis tinction arising out of the Federal form of the American government. All persons, not aliens, who reside within one of the States of the Union have a double citizenship; they are citi zens of the State in which they reside and arc also citizens of the United States.