# A question on American citizenship **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 11, 2016, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247 "2016-10-11T15:36:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 7\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 1:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/41 "2016-10-12T13:49:20Z")
As for being the “citizen” of more than one state, I suspect that this question can come up in tax cases, when more than one state wants to ding you. I avoided tax law like the plague. Others with more familiarity with it can chime in. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![rbroome](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/838e76/32.png) [@rbroome](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rbroome)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/42 "2016-10-12T14:05:43Z")
what about the idea that one apparently can cease to be the citizen of ANY state, temporarily, while that never happens to a citizen of a country (absent the special effort of renouncing citizenship). By this question I mean when I move from state A to state B, there are residency requirements. I have to have a residence in the state, I have to live there for 30 days, have a utility bill, pay taxes, whatever the requirements are. It takes time to meet those requirements. I well and truly leave state A, change my address, notify the post office, do all the necessary things. I am gone-I no longer meet the requirements for residency in state A. It takes time for me to get my own place in state B. During the gap, I am not the citizen (or resident) of any state. But I always remain a citizen of my country. It seems that tenuousness indicates a reduced value or significance to being a citizen of a state. ---
**Author:** ![Telemark](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/telemark/32/372_2.png) [@Telemark](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Telemark)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/43 "2016-10-12T14:30:55Z")
> [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > As for being the “citizen” of more than one state, I suspect that this question can come up in tax cases, when more than one state wants to ding you. Taxing also occurs based on what state you earned the money in. So a NH resident who works in MA will get taxed by MA on that income regardless of residency and the fact that NH doesn’t have an income tax. ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 3:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/44 "2016-10-12T15:16:59Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > what about the idea that one apparently can cease to be the citizen of ANY state, temporarily, while that **never happens to a citizen of a country** (absent the special effort of renouncing citizenship). [Ten million stateless (in the international sense) persons](http://www.statelessness.eu/blog/world%E2%80%99s-stateless-new-report-why-size-does-and-doesn%E2%80%99t-matter) would disagree. Not to hijack, but losing your citizenship in any nation can and does occur. The nation you were a citizen of may cease to exist, for instance. So might a person born to immigrant parents within the boundaries in a jus sanguinis country (so the “birth country” considers the child a citizen of the parent’s nationality, not theirs) but the parents are citizens of a jus soli nation (so the parent’s nation doesn’t consider the child a citizen, it being born in another country.) And some countries have methods of stripping citizenship of their own citizens, which would render the victim stateless if they lacked a dual citizenship to fall back on. Statelessness is shockingly easy to happen. ---
**Author:** ![Tom\_Tildrum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e95f7d/32.png) [@Tom\_Tildrum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tom_Tildrum)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/45 "2016-10-12T15:23:09Z")
> [@gnoitall](#): > > Conundrum solved: “Citizen of a state” and “Resident of a state” are perfectly synonymous. No conflict of definition to create a bogus distinction in Constitution or law. > [@JRDelirious](#): > > More specifically, the Citizen of a State is a Resident of the State who is a US Citizen. However simple it might be, this is not the rule. Citizenship for purposes of diversity jurisdiction is determined by [domicile](http://www.cafalawblog.com/case-summaries/domicile-not-residency-is-the-central-question-in-determining-citizenship-for-diversity-jurisdiction-under-cafa-says-california-district-court), not [residence](http://thekuhnlawfirm.com/citizenship-residence-synonymous-purposes-diversity-jurisdiction/). Domicile basically means residence with the [intent](http://www.onelbriefs.com/outlines/civpro/diversity_jurisdiction.htm) to [remain](http://www.paed.uscourts.gov/documents/opinions/09d0519p.pdf) (pdf) there; it can differ from residence most prominently in cases such as college students, prisoners, and military members. > [@DSYoungEsq](#): > > Your second example has nothing to do with citizenship. It has to do with the “Full Faith and Credit Clause” of the U. S. Constitution (Article IV, Section 1). The act of adoption in State A is required to be given effect by State B, unless doing so violates a public policy of State B (and yes, that’s the way the Supreme Court gets around having to apply the clause when it doesn’t want to). The application to marriages has always been a touchy one; in the days of anti-miscegenation laws, inter-racial couples who traveled into states banning inter-racial marriages ran the risk of prosecution. Note that the application of the FFC to adoption judgments was only recognized by the Supreme Court [this year](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/V.L._v._E.L.). The S.Ct. has always applied the FFC more readily to state court judgments than to other public acts, which is generally why the FFC was never applied to marriages – those involve a state license but not a court judgment. ---
**Author:** ![DSYoungEsq](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/c6cbf5/32.png) [@DSYoungEsq](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DSYoungEsq)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 3:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/46 "2016-10-12T15:24:11Z")
> [@rbroome](#): > > what about the idea that one apparently can cease to be the citizen of ANY state, temporarily, while that never happens to a citizen of a country (absent the special effort of renouncing citizenship). > By this question I mean when I move from state A to state B, there are residency requirements. I have to have a residence in the state, I have to live there for 30 days, have a utility bill, pay taxes, whatever the requirements are. It takes time to meet those requirements. I well and truly leave state A, change my address, notify the post office, do all the necessary things. I am gone-I no longer meet the requirements for residency in state A. It takes time for me to get my own place in state B. During the gap, I am not the citizen (or resident) of any state. But I always remain a citizen of my country. It seems that tenuousness indicates a reduced value or significance to being a citizen of a state. If you change your domicile from State A to State B, you have residency in State B at that point. The fact that State B may make you wait, or do other things, before being able to take advantage of your new residency (for example, for the purpose of claiming in-state tuition) doesn’t change that fact. You would be able to utilize diversity jurisdiction, for example. I believe that it is true you would always be able to register to vote in the new state as well without waiting. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 12, 2016, 3:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247/47 "2016-10-12T15:26:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > I’ve often wondered if I am a citizen of any particular state after having been an overseas resident for 24 years. > > I vote by absentee ballot in Washington DC in presidential elections since that was the last place I resided before moving to Panama. However, that’s only for the purpose of federal elections. I don’t think I’m eligible to vote in DC elections. > > I have ties to New York State, since I was born there, have bank accounts there, and use a mailing address there. But I don’t know if I would be able to qualify as a New York State citizen for any purpose. For most purposes, you are a citizen of the last state or territory/district where you established a domicile. So as far as the US government and most state courts are concerned, you’re from DC. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/a-question-on-american-citizenship/768247.md?page=2)