Naturalization

NATURALIZATION

NATURALIZATION. U.S. citizenship—a legal status making one a member of the political community—is acquired at birth or through naturalization. With few exceptions, those born on U.S. territory or abroad to American parents automatically acquire U.S. citizenship. Other foreign-born persons, called aliens in legal terminology, must "naturalize" to acquire the status and rights of native-born citizens.

Historically naturalization was considered critical in building America. In colonial America, only the British parliament could naturalize aliens and make them British subjects. Colonies established local naturalization procedures, but London banned these practices in 1773. The conflict over naturalization is evident in the Declaration of Independence, which charges that King George III "has endeavoured to prevent the Population of these States; for that purpose obstructing the Laws for Naturalization of Foreigners." The Articles of Confederation (article 4) left naturalization to the states, but the U.S. Constitution (article 1, section 8, clause 4) gave this power to the federal legislative branch. The first Congress quickly exercised its authority, passing the first U.S. naturalization law on 26 March 1790.

Naturalization can be collective, an individual judicial process, or derivative. Collective naturalization grants citizenship to a group of people, usually after territorial acquisition. Residents of Louisiana, Florida, the Mexican territories, and Alaska received citizenship through treaties of incorporation, and Texans acquired citizenship through a joint resolution of Congress in 1845. American Indians received citizenship through statute (in 1924), as did people in Hawaii (1900), Puerto Rico (1917), the U.S. Virgin Islands (1927), and Guam (1950).

Individual judicial naturalization is perhaps most familiar, used by adult immigrants to become American citizens. From 1790 to 1802 a series of naturalization laws set the core regulations for the next century. Many provisions continue today, including a five-year residence requirement, the need to demonstrate "good moral character," and the obligation to swear an oath of allegiance. Congress gave the courts authority to administer and grant naturalization.

In 1905 a presidential commission investigated lack of standardization and abuses to the naturalization system. At the time, courts charged varying fees, had their own forms, and sometimes turned a blind eye to fraud. The Naturalization Act of 29 June 1906 established a new federal agency, the Bureau of Immigration and Naturalization, to help administer citizenship and establish nationwide standards. The act also made oral English ability a requirement of citizenship.

Today, the Immigration and Nationality Act of 27 June 1952 (the McCarran-Walter Act) and subsequent amendments governs naturalization. Under this act, applicants must demonstrate basic ability in written English. The Immigration Act of 29 November 1990 extended exceptions to the English requirement and assigned exclusive jurisdiction over naturalization to the attorney general.

Unlike many countries, the United States has had no religious requirements for naturalization since 1790. However, throughout the nineteenth and early-twentieth centuries significant racial, gender, and marital status restrictions existed. The 1790 act limited naturalization to "free white persons." Following the Civil War and the Fourteenth Amendment, the Naturalization Act of 14 July 1870 expanded this to "persons of African nativity and African descent." Chinese were barred from naturalization under the Chinese Exclusion Act of 6 May 1882. Subsequent court decisions denied most individuals from Asia access to U.S. citizenship. Racial restrictions only began to disappear during World War II, first for Chinese (1943), then East Indians and Filipinos (1946), and finally for any group in 1952.

Finally, citizenship can also be derived from a close relation. Historically, married women derived citizenship from their husband and in some periods had no control over their status. Under the Act of 10 February 1855, a woman automatically became an American upon marrying a U.S. citizen or following the naturalization of her foreign husband. The 1907 Expatriation Act (2 March) extended this logic by taking away the citizenship of a U.S.-born or naturalized American woman if she married an alien. The 1922 Married Women's Act (or the Cable Act) finally severed the link between naturalization and marital status for most women. However, women who married foreign-born Asian men ineligible for naturalization did not retain independent citizenship until 1931.

Since 1790, children can derive citizenship from a parent when the parent naturalizes. The Child Citizen-ship Act of 2000 added a new provision making citizenship automatic for children adopted from foreign countries, provided at least one parent is American at the time of adoption.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Smith, Rogers M. Civic Ideals: Conflicting Visions of Citizenship in U.S. History. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, 1997.

Ueda, Reed. "Naturalization and Citizenship." In Immigration. Edited by Richard A. Easterlin et al. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press, 1982.

United States Immigration and Naturalization Service. Home page at http://www.ins.usdoj.gov.

Irene Bloemraad

See also Immigration Restriction .