A person who is a citizen of two different countries is said to be a dual citizen. A person may become a dual citizen, through two ways, either by choice or by automatic operation of law. In certain circumstances, a person will become a dual citizen by automatic operation of law, if he was born to US citizen parents, in a foreign country. Through his birth in a foreign country, he will become a citizen of that foreign country and will also become a US citizen as he was born to US citizen parents.
Foreign nationals are also allowed to become citizens of the United States through naturalization. A naturalized US citizen, may hold dual citizenship as he may not be required to give up his nationality to become a US citizen. United States allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship, though it is not stated clearly anywhere that it is recognized, and it does not require the foreign national to give up his citizenship to get naturalized. Similarly, a US citizen, who automatically becomes a citizen of a foreign country, may not lose his US citizenship. But voluntarily applying for and becoming a citizen of a foreign country, may result in the loss of US citizenship. If a US citizen wishes to become a citizen of a foreign country, he will be allowed to renounce US citizenship voluntarily and become a citizen of a foreign country.
Though the United States allows its citizens to hold dual citizenship, it does not encourage it. That is because dual citizenship may result in a lot of difficulties. A person who holds dual citizenship must abide by the laws of both the countries and both the countries have the right to enforce their laws on the individual. If a dual national wishes to travel overseas or enter America, he must use his US passport to do so. That requirement also applies to the foreign country and the dual national must use the passport of that foreign country to travel abroad and re-enter that foreign country. Similar to the United States, most foreign countries allow their citizens to renounce citizenship. An American who wishes to renounce his US citizenship may contact a US embassy or Consulate abroad and renounce his citizenship by filing an appropriate form.
US citizenship is a dream for many foreign nationals, but at the same time many people renounce US citizenship for various reasons. Eduardo Saverin, Facebook co-founder, gave up US citizenship. Similarly, some people are found to renounce US citizenship, as they do not want to pay taxes. If a US citizen renounces citizenship, he must obtain a visa, if he intends to enter into the country in future. Though the country allows the citizens to renounce citizenship, a person who gives up US citizenship may not be allowed to re-enter the country, if the United States determines that the person has relinquished US citizenship to avoid taxation.