Minter later went to work for the Australian Chamber of Commerce in Philadelphia and decided to reapply for Australian citizenship. It was granted last year because, he said, he was able to prove that he took on U.S. citizenship under duress.
Today, though, he said he has no doubts about where his allegiance lies.
"I've lived in Philadelphia for 30 years. I consider myself a Philadelphian."
The surge in dual citizenship comes at a time when the number of Americans born outside the country has risen to nearly 10%, double what it was three decades ago. The number of Americans born elsewhere was once up to 15%, in 1910.
For the Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday April 8, 1998 Home Edition Part A Page 3 Metro Desk 1 inches; 22 words Type of Material: Correction
Dual citizenship--A story in Monday's Times about the proliferation of dual citizenship misstated the capital of Australia. The capital city is Canberra.
Scott Wasmuth, director of a nonprofit refugee relocation agency in New Jersey, deals with a particular type of immigrant. These are people from Liberia who have managed to survive seven years of merciless combat by avaricious warlords. Or families from Bosnia purged from their homelands by their fellow citizens. They are different from most immigrants in that their lives were so threatened, their living conditions so deadly, they were granted political asylum.
To these immigrants, Wasmuth said, U.S. citizenship is more than a passport, economic benefit or immigration status one notch above green card. "Citizenship should be about ideals."
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
U.S. Citizenship: How to Get It,
How to Lose It, How to Add to It
* THE OATH: To become a U.S. citizen, qualified foreign applicants must recite an oath that begins "I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen. . . . "
* THE REALITY: The oath has become largely symbolic. A series of court rulings and rule changes have made it virtually impossible to lose American citizenship by acquiring a passport from somewhere else. According to a recent position paper from the State Department, "The United States does not favor dual nationality as a matter of policy but does recognize its existence in individual cases."
* HOW TO GET AN EXTRA CITIZENSHIP: Anybody born in the United States, regardless of their parents' nationality, automatically becomes a citizen. Americans born abroad, or to a parent from another country, sometimes automatically acquire a second citizenship. Some people seek a second citizenship to avoid high taxes on foreigners or to circumvent employment restrictions. There are no international rules or conventions regulating dual citizenship.
* HOW TO LOSE CITIZENSHIP: It's almost impossible to lose U.S. citizenship without renouncing it in writing, and even then Uncle Sam may refuse. Only 612 people either renounced their citizenship or had it taken away in 1996, according to the INS. The number of people who have lost their citizenship during the 1990s has been only about a third as large as the number during the Vietnam War, when many young men renounced their citizenship to avoid the draft.
(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)
Key Stands on Citizenship
Of the more than 1 million people naturalized as U.S. citizens in 1996, these are the top 10 nations of origin and their stand on citizenship.
*--*
Nation Naturalized Nation's Policy Mexico 217,418 Recognizes dual citizenship but loses right to vote in Mexico Cuba 62,168 Regards all as Cuban citizens Vietnam 47,625 Informally allows dual citizenship Philippines 45,210 Considers person no longer Filipino Ex-Soviet Union 36,265 Russia allows dual citizenship El Salvador 33,240 Recognizes dual citizenship China 30,656 Considers no longer Chinese India 28,932 Considers no longer Indian Dominican Republic 27,293 Recognizes dual citizenship Colombia 26,115 Recognizes dual citizenship
*--*
Source: Immigration and Naturalization Service, foreign embassies
