# Questions on Becoming a US Citizen **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [May 4, 2011, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-becoming-a-us-citizen/580664 "2011-05-04T06:12:09Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 2\ **Page:** 3
**Author:** ![sees\_46](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e68b1a/32.png) [@sees\_46](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sees_46)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-becoming-a-us-citizen/580664/41 "2012-07-06T01:20:12Z")
Apparently Some americans don’t really get this There doesn’t have to be a NEED to actually aquire a dual citizenship There is just a want factor. I’m in a similar boat as Gus\_Handsom and i know the angle he’s getting at I didn’t bother to read every comment, but i read a lot of false information Someone actually said he couldn’t get a dual citizenship, and that he had to either be a canadian or an American, not both. Thats completely false. I don’t know all the information yet, but so far this is what i got, from a Canadian perspective: You need to get a green card first (And I’ll be damned if i knew how to get that yet) and then you have to reside in the States for 5 years, and can leave on occasions but for no more than 6 months, or your not elligable any more. After 5 years of having a Green Card, you can file for a dual citizenship. The process seems long and gruling, but I’m young, and it might be worth it. I also have no real NEED to become a dual citizenship, but it still looks appealing to me. I like visiting (and maybe, eventually, living in) The States I have friends and family in the states and I’d like to visit often. I think a dual citizenship would make it a lot easier. Also, I want to go to school there too. That’s gonna be a bitch, but hopefully I’ll figure it out. If anyone knows more about this stuff, let me and my new pal Gus here in on it. ---
**Author:** ![grude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e47774/32.png) [@grude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/grude)\ **Post date:** [July 6, 2012, 1:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-becoming-a-us-citizen/580664/42 "2012-07-06T01:50:27Z")
> [@samjones](#): > > It seems to be more of a heads-we-win, tails-you-lose strategy on behalf of the UK (and US) Department of State Departments. > > They won’t recognize you as a citizen of another country if they want to prosecute you for a crime domestically. They won’t recognize you as being _not_ a citizen of another country if the other country wants to prosecute you for a crime there.. Actually if I understand the situation correctly a non-citizen being charged or prosecuted has the right under international treaty(Geneva?) to consular advice of their country of citizenship. So US citizen in Germany on a tourist visa being charged with insulting bratwurst 😉 has the right to access to consular advice. However a dual citizen in either of their countries of citizenship is not a non-citizen, and therefore has no such right to consular access. So don’t expect any consular visits. > **[Vienna Convention on Consular Relations](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vienna_Convention_on_Consular_Relations)** > > The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations is an international treaty that defines a framework for consular relations between sovereign states. It codifies many consular practices that originated from state custom and various bilateral agreements between states. > Consuls have traditionally been employed to represent the interests of states or their nationals at an embassy or consulate in another country. The Convention defines and articulates the functions, rights, and immunities accorded to c... > [@](#): > > Article 36. Foreign nationals who are arrested or detained be given notice “without delay” of their right to have their embassy or consulate notified of that arrest. If the detained foreign national so requests, the police must fax that notice to the embassy or consulate, which can then check up on the person. The notice to the consulate can be as simple as a fax, giving the person’s name, the place of arrest, and, if possible, something about the reason for the arrest or detention. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/questions-on-becoming-a-us-citizen/580664.md?page=2)