Občanství ve Spojených státech je status udělený právnímu členu Spojených Států. Znamená specifická práva, povinnosti, privilegie a ekonomické benefity including federal assistance. People can become citizens by being born in the United States, known as birthright citizenship, or by naturalization. American law permits dual citizenship so it is permitted for citizens of the United States to be a citizen of another country at the same time. Citizenship can be stripped away by government or renounced by citizens, and it can also be restored; for example, General Robert E. Lee lost his birthright citizenship during the Civil War when he decided to fight for the Confederate cause, but when the war ended, his citizenship was restored by naturalization.
The relation of citizenship
Citizenship is a relationship between an individual and the government which brings rights, duties, privileges and benefits.
- Voting is a privilege of citizenship. However, voting is not required in the United States. This is in contrast to nations like Belgium where citizens can be fined for failing to vote. Historically, voting rates in presidential elections by eligible citizens hover around the 50% level, although the recent election of Barack Obama in 2008 saw levels rise over 60%. Legal immigrants are sometimes motivated to become citizens for a chance to exercise voting power.
- Civic participation is not required in the United States. One source suggested that a benefit of naturalization is letting immigrants "participate fully in the civic life of the country." However, the general pattern is for most Americans to avoid politics. Vanderbilt professor Dana D. Nelson suggests that most Americans merely vote for president every four years, and that's all they do, and she sees this pattern as undemocratic. In her book Bad for democracy, Nelson argues that declining citizen participation in politics is unhealthy for long term prospects for democracy. Generally, civic participation is almost nonexistent for wide swaths of the American public. One 2009 study found that seven in ten citizens showed "declining civic involvement" nationally, and that citizens of Illinois were "disappointed, frustrated and disillusioned by recent political scandals and the pressures of the recession."
- Military participation is not required in the United States. In 2009, the armed forces were made up of volunteers and contractors. But in the past, such as during World War II, citizens, particularly men, were expected to fight. During the Vietnam War, there was a highly unpopular policy of drafting men.
- Obeying laws is generally considered as a duty of citizenship. In some instances, people convicted of breaking laws have been stripped of citizenship. And convicted felons often have difficulty becoming naturalized citizens.
- Jury duty has been a duty of citizenship. But there are indications that the institution of citizens participating as jurors is on the decline, and evidence of fewer trials.
- Government support when traveling. One privilege that citizens have, while traveling abroad, is the possible intervention of the government in cases where there is dispute about their arrest or treatment by foreign governments. For example, an American citizen named William E. Petty, who was jailed by authorities in France in 1854, petitioned U.S. authorities to intervene on his behalf. In a twist of this principle, it's possible for foreign governments to confer citizenship on persons serving in jails in the United States. For example, one American named Jonathan Pollard was convicted of spying against the United States for Israel and was sentenced to life imprisonment; the government of Israel granted Pollard citizenship while Pollard was in American custody on the hope that Israeli citizenship would help Pollard win parole; but president Clinton denied the request for clemency. But it illustrates how citizenship is a way to try to extend the hand of protection to nationals when incarcerated in foreign jails.
- Access to services provided by the federal government, such as income support, has been cited as a benefit of citizenship.
- Increased ability to sponsor relatives living abroad is a benefit.
- Ability to travel freely with a US passport is a benefit.
- Less worry about deportation has been cited as a benefit for residents living in the United States. While there are millions of persons living illegally in the nation, deportations are expensive, time-consuming procedures, and the general pattern is for government to avoid having to deport people unless there are specific and powerful reasons.
- Less fear of government. British comedian Tracy Ullman became a U.S. citizen in 2006 and after becoming an official citizen, she "felt free to lampoon American culture."
- Economic security is a benefit. Some immigrants see citizenship as a way of "locking in economic gains that they have made as legal residents." One person said "People don’t feel that being permanent residents is enough to secure their future in this country. They would just feel more secure as citizens." And there is ability to take any job without worry about being found out.
- Paying taxes is a duty of citizenship. And this duty extends to American citizens who travel abroad. The US system is unique in that it taxes Americans wherever they go in the world. Since the United States requires citizens living abroad to file taxes, some Americans renounce their citizenship as a way to cope with the administrative burden of filing complex tax forms. In 2006, one former United States Marine and former resident of California abandoned U.S. citizenship discreetly while living in Switzerland; she had considered various options over 10 years, but finally decided to become an alien. In 2007, 470 Americans renounced their citizenship to move abroad. One estimate was that the numbers of Americans turning in their passports each year for political and economic reasons was small, with the numbers reaching a high of about 2,000 during a Vietnam War-era boom in the 1970s. One lawyer commented that the "administrative costs of being an American and living outside the U.S. have gone up dramatically." In 2003, there were 509 Americans who renounced citizenship. One account suggested that increased "taxation is driving many Americans to turn in their passports." But Congress passed rules to tax assets on so-called tax exiles or renunciators of American citizenship, who abandon US citizenship for tax purposes, as well as tax any heirs or beneficiaries of those people who still live in the territorial United States. According to a tax accountant, "The new rules say, if you leave any of your property to a U.S. person, it will be taxed at the rates for U.S. gift tax," which were 45% in 2008.
- Government protection is a benefit.
- Dual citizenship has been noted as one benefit of American citizenship, since a citizen of the US can also be a citizen of another country at the same time. But the concept of dual citizenship has been subject to controversy. Some have argued that "dual citizenship is a threat to the American tradition of patriotic assimilation" as well as possibly undermine American sovereignty while others have argued that the effects are less pernicious. Americans who have dual citizenship do not lose their United States citizenship unless they renounce it. When Mexico allowed for people to become dual citizens, many Mexican-born American citizens sought dual citizenship; in this case, dual citizenship (Mexico and the US) offers benefits such as the ability to own property anywhere in Mexico, and legal status to live and work in either country; but one drawback is that dual citizens cannot vote or hold political office. Before 1998, many Mexicans were reluctant to become United States citizens, fearing they would lose real estate, inheritances or businesses in Mexico. In 2003 in the United States, there were 32.8 million Hispanics; of these, 21.7 million were from Mexico or had Mexican heritage; of these, 7.8 million had been born in Mexico; and of these, 1.6 million had become American citizens; of these, 30,000 had become dual citizens from 2000 to 2003.
- Recognition. The USCIS sometimes honors the achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens. The 'Outstanding American by Choice Award' was created by the USCIS to recognize the outstanding achievements of naturalized U.S. citizens, and past recipients include author Elie Wiesel who won the Nobel Peace Prize; Indra K. Nooyi who was CEO of PepsiCo; John Shalikashvili who was Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff; and others.
- Other benefits. Citizenship status can affect which country an athlete can compete as a member of in competitions such as the Olympics.
Spojené státy americké
- Nová Anglie
- Občanství USA
- Osobnosti
