Naturalization, Citizenship aquiring dual citizenship (German and American citizenship)

[elke2008]

My jurisdiction is: Texas

I am a German citizen but have lived in the US for 8 years now (I have a Green Card). I want to apply for US citizenship but I also want to keep my German citizenship. I have turned in an application (Beibehaltungsantrag) to the German consulate in order to get the "ok" to have dual citizenship (so that I wouldn't loose the German when applying for the American). They did not deny my request but stated that based on my explanations they cannot see why I want the American citizenship. Has anybody gone through this process before and could maybe give me the crucial points that would most likely make the German consulate say yes to my application?

 

[Michael Wechsler]

I don't know for certain but my guess is that you would need to establish a continuing link to Germany in order for the consulate to even consider your request.

 

[cbg]

My situation is somewhat different from yours but let me tell you what I know about dual citizenship.

I have dual citizenship by birth with the US and Canada. My mother is a US citizen, my father a Canadian citizen. My parents were married in the US; I was born in Canada and lived there for a number of years before moving to the US while still a minor. Canada considers me a citizen since I was born there; the US considers that I was a US citizen (expat) born "overseas" who has since returned home (I have lived in the us for over 40 years now). My father still retains his Canadian citizenship and has his green card.

When I reached my majority and was looking into things like voting, passports etc., I called the Canadian consulate, who told me something rather important. Canada, they said, recognizes the concept of dual citizenship. The US, on the other hand, reluctantly acknowledges that other countries recognize the concept of dual citizenship, but do not really recognize it themselves. If someone in authority asks you if you are a US citizen, they told me, say yes. Do not expand on that unless you are asked specifically. We will recognize you as a Canadian citizen, they went on to say, unless you sign something that says you're not.

My sister, when she joined the US military, was required to renounce her Canadian citizenship. The reason my father has never applied for US citizenship, which he would qualify for, is that he would be required to do likewise and he does not wish to give up the Canadian citizenship.

The reason I am telling you this is that you will need to work very closely with the German government to be certain that you can retain your German citizenship if you apply for US citizenship, because based on my and my family's experiences you may well be required by the US government to renounce it when you apply for US citizenship.