Hello! My family (my parents, myself, and my little sister) came to the US from Vietnam over 20 years ago. My parents and I became naturalized US citizen about 15 years ago, and my sister automatically became a US citizen as well since she was a minor at that time. I am starting to fill out the e-QIP for Secret clearance and wondering how I should answer the dual citizenship question (for me and for my family members). Did we automatically forfeit the Vietnamese citizenship when became naturalized US citizens?
None of us currently has any Vietnamese passport. We all have US passport.
Thanks for the input!
I don’t think that any of us can tell you if you gave up your Vietnamese citizenship when you became a U.S. citizen. That is based, in part, on Vietnamese law. You may have to take specific action before Vietnam no longer considers you a citizen.
The security process looks at the different types of dual citizenship. You would have to do some research to find out if you are a dual citizen of the US/Vietnam.
What is important is whether you are a dual citizen by choice where there is a threat of loyalty conflicts or circumstance where you have no ties or loyalties to the former country. This is one of the reasons the BI process digs into your background about family, friends, visits, and foreign connections - to try and answer these questions (among others) for the adjudicator.
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Thank you for the inputs. I did some research and looks like Vietnam is one of the countries that do not allow for dual citizenship after US naturalization, so I should no longer carry citizenship of Vietnam. I will also write a notarized letter and send to the Vietnamese embassy in Washington DC to renounce my Vietnamese citizenship (in case I still have it) for extra measure.
Ensure you keep a copy of the notarized letter and the mail receipt. That would help with mitigation.
Yes sir I will do that. Thank you!