Citizenship Requirements to Change For Millions of Americ...

By Khaleda Rahman

National Correspondent

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Republican Senator Bernie Moreno of Ohio has introduced a bill to eliminate dual citizenship for Americans.

The "Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025” would establish that citizens of the United States "shall owe sole and exclusive allegiance to the United States," according to a text of the bill.

Newsweek has contacted Moreno’s office for further comment via email.

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Why It Matters

The legislation, if enacted, would mean someone cannot be a U.S. citizen if they are also a citizen of another country.

It’s unclear how many Americans could be affected if that happens, since U.S. law does not require people to declare or register dual citizenship and the government does not maintain a registry.

Experts have estimated the number of U.S. dual citizens could range from 500,000 to 5.7 million. And a report in Forbes suggested about 40 percent of Americans could be eligible for dual citizenship, although being eligible does not mean they actually hold dual citizenship.

What To Know

According to the bill text, "to preserve the integrity of national citizenship, allegiance to the United States must be undivided" because maintaining foreign citizenship as a U.S. citizen "could create conflicts of interest and divided loyalties."

The bill would prohibit dual or multiple citizenship, establishing that "an individual may not be a citizen or national of the United States while simultaneously possessing any foreign citizenship."

It states that no later than a year after the bill is enacted, U.S. citizens who also hold foreign citizenship must submit a written renunciation of their foreign citizenship to the secretary of state or a written renunciation of their U.S. citizenship to the secretary of homeland security.

Those who fail to "timely comply" with that requirement "shall be deemed to have voluntarily relinquished United States citizenship," it adds.

It also states that any U.S. citizen who voluntarily acquires foreign citizenship after the law is enacted "shall be deemed to have relinquished United States citizenship."

The bill would require the secretary of state to create regulations, procedures for declaration, verification and recordkeeping for exclusive citizenship and coordinate with the attorney general and secretary of homeland security to ensure any individual deemed to have relinquished citizenship is "appropriately recorded in Federal systems and treated as an alien for purposes of the immigration laws."

Moreno, who won his Senate seat in 2024 after an endorsement from President Donald Trump, was born in Colombia but has renounced his Colombian citizenship.

His legislation, if enacted, could impact First Lady Melania Trump. She remains a dual citizen of the U.S. and Slovenia, as does her son Barron Trump, according to Mary Jordan’s 2024 book, The Art of Her Deal.

What People Are Saying

Senator Bernie Moreno said in a statement: "One of the greatest honors of my life was when I became an American citizen at 18, the first opportunity I could do so. It was an honor to pledge an Oath of Allegiance to the United States of America and ONLY to the United States of America! Being an American citizen is an honor and a privilege—and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing. It’s time to end dual citizenship for good."

What’s Next

It’s not clear how much support there may be for Moreno’s bill.

But if passed, it may face legal challenges.

The U.S. Supreme Court has affirmed that dual citizenship is "a status long recognized in the law" and that a U.S. citizen cannot lose their citizenship unless they willingly surrender it.

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