Is a birth certificate sufficient? A copy or one of the official embossed ones? If you’re the child of immigrants and born in the USA, is your birth certificate enough?
I don’t have a passport. Do naturalized citizens get a document or card to carry around?
Is the question about what documents are good enough, or about what you need to do to get one of those documents?
You can get a Certificate of Citizenship from The Man. What kind of paperwork problem are you experiencing?
A naturalized citizen is a citizen. They have provided all the documentation necessary.
After that, I would say a passport is the best document to prove you are a citizen.
@ThelmaLou, what specific circumstances are we talking about in terms of providing proof?
I mean, for example, in recent political news the SAVE act provision which crashed and burned, had distinct requirements for proof:
Eligible documents include a REAL ID-compliant identification indicating U.S. citizenship; a valid U.S. passport, military ID and service record; a government-issued photo ID showing U.S. birthplace; or a government-issued photo ID that does not indicate birthplace or citizenship and a valid secondary document…
Employers often require similar verification, but different reasons for proving citizenship may use different criterea.
I guess I should have made this the subject of the thread: I’m thinking about the House bill that’s not going to pass, requiring proof of citizenship to vote in federal elections. If it did pass (shakin’ my fist at you, Mike Johnson), what would you have to bring to and show at the polling place? How would you prove citizenship on a mail-in ballot?
IF the above were to become a requirement, would everyone have to get a passport?
ETA: Shoulda read @ParallelLines post before I replied. 
ETA #2: This would really slow down the voting process.
It’s interesting to me to see the military identification card listed as proof of citizenship. We actually have foreign nationals in our military and, of course, they are issued military ID.
Do recent military IDs have a field for the person’s citizenship (perhaps stored electronically if it is not printed)?
It does say that if the government-issued ID does not indicate birthplace or citizenship, you need a valid secondary document.
It’s not even that subtle.
https://www.cac.mil/Common-Access-Card/
Blue Bar: Non-U.S. Citizen
Green Bar: Contractors
White: All Remaining Personnel
So, any CAC other than a blue-bar card is a US Citizen.
But for us military retirees and our dependents, the ID card is merely similar to the CAC and has no indication of citizenship status.
Exactly. Mine looks like this:
In a nation like the United States where citizenship can be obtained merely by being born in the USA itself, a birth certificate would indeed be all the proof needed (in theory.) i.e., if you were born in Cincinnati and can prove it, that is all the proof.
I’ve got a valid birth certificate and can answer key questions proving my citizenship, like knowing that the Dodgers play in Brooklyn.
Am I missing something about the REAL ID compliant identification that proves citizenship? I can’t figure out what that’s referring to because I don’t think REAL ID compliant drivers licenses/IDs indicate citizenship. You must be legally in the US to get one, but that includes a lot of non- citizens.(Enhanced licenses are only available to citizens, but if that’s what is meant , it seems they would have said that)
For retirees, who count as the sponsor for a dependent family, a non-citizen would also apparently have a blue bar on their Next Gen ID card.
Blue Bar: Non-U.S. Citizen Sponsors and their Dependents
The complication for a dependent is that their own citizenship status doesn’t matter for their card; even a citizen dependent of a non-citizen sponsor would have a blue bar on their dependent ID card. (I think.) So not helpful in this context.
Good questions. My guess is that a substantial percentage of natural-born Americans don’t have ready access to proof of citizenship. Googling, less than half of Americans have passports and the cost is probably prohibitive for some.
Per Homeland Security:
Q: How do I get a REAL ID?
Visit your state’s driver’s licensing agency website to find out exactly what documentation is required to obtain a REAL ID. At a minimum, you must provide documentation showing: 1) Full Legal Name; 2) Date of Birth; 3) Social Security Number; 4) Two Proofs of Address of Principal Residence; and 5) Lawful Status.
States may impose additional requirements, so check with your state’s driver’s licensing agency website, before visiting them in person, for additional guidance and assistance.
So to start, between the SSN and the “Lawful Status” (see more on the second below) they’ve got a pretty good start. Note that the REAL ID requirement for SAVE specified a REAL ID that indicated US Citizenship.
A touch farther down on the same FAQ link where it touches on “states that provide driver’s licenses and IDs to certain non-citizens/undocumented immigrants”.
REAL ID allows compliant states to issue driver’s licenses and identification cards where the identity of the applicant cannot be assured or for whom lawful presence is not determined. In fact, some states currently issue noncompliant cards to undocumented individuals. Noncompliant cards must clearly state on their face (and in the machine readable zone) that they are not acceptable for REAL ID purposes and must use a unique design or color to differentiate them from compliant cards. DHS cautions against assuming that possession of a noncompliant card indicates the holder is an undocumented individual, given that individuals may obtain noncompliant cards for many reasons unrelated to lawful presence. Possession of a noncompliant card does not indicate that the holder is an undocumented individual, given that individuals may obtain noncompliant cards for many reasons unrelated to lawful presence.
So yes, a non-citizen’s REAL ID would be visibly different.
But yes, as @ThelmaLou and others have pointed out, it’s all about making voting a chore, taking longer, and especially in places like TX where they’re restricting access in high population with (theoretically and practically) Democratic leaning populations, they could make it very impractical to vote based on the time allotted and working requirements.
“What do you mean all my staff needs a full day off to vote because of the lines?!? Denied!” - some frustrated manager.
Here’s what a NYS REAL ID looks like. It does not say anywhere on it (front or back) whether the holder is a US citizen or a lawful permanent resident (or has some other lawful status that allows a REAL ID to be issued) Lawful permanent residents have lawful status and can have a SS number and can get a REAL ID - but they aren’t citizens and can’t vote in Federal elections. You can’t look at this ID and tell whether the person is eligible to vote or not.
Am I wrong in thinking that a US passport is the only document a citizen can obtain and carry with them that proves they are an actual US citizen?
Also a passport card, but really only those two unless someone wants to carry their birth certificate/naturalization papers.
ETA : An enhanced license/ID should be good enough but most of the country doesn’t know what they are.