All articles tagged with #us citizenship
Joni Mitchell officially became a U.S. citizen on Tuesday, ending a 62-year residency in the country. The 82-year-old singer-songwriter announced the news via social media, sharing photos and video from her swearing-in ceremony. This move grants her voting rights in the United States, a right she previously lacked despite decades of living in California.
Joni Mitchell has officially become a U.S. citizen, ending a 62-year residency in the country. The 82-year-old singer-songwriter announced the news via Instagram, sharing photos of her swearing-in ceremony. The move follows her 2024 public criticism of President Trump and coincides with the upcoming midterm elections. While she retains her Canadian ties, this decision grants her voting rights in the United States. The news also resolves a recent controversy where the New York Times excluded her from a list of American songwriters due to her previous citizenship status.
Joni Mitchell has officially become a U.S. citizen, ending a 62-year residency in the country. The 82-year-old singer-songwriter announced the news via Instagram, sharing photos of her swearing-in ceremony. The move follows her 2024 public criticism of President Trump and coincides with the upcoming midterm elections. While she retains her Canadian ties, this decision grants her voting rights in the United States. The news also resolves a recent controversy where the New York Times excluded her from a list of American songwriters due to her previous citizenship status.
The Justice Department filed 25 complaints seeking to revoke the U.S. citizenship of naturalised Americans in what it says is the largest coordinated denaturalisation effort in U.S. history, including Narinder Singh who allegedly used fraudulent identities to obtain citizenship in 2008. The cases accuse fraud, concealment of criminal histories, and false statements during naturalisation, potentially stripping citizenship and triggering deportation if courts rule in the government's favor. The filings span 17 countries and bring the total denaturalisation actions to 123, with the DOJ stressing that citizenship must be earned honestly and that more actions could follow.
Greg Abel, Berkshire Hathaway’s Canadian-born CEO, was naturalized as a U.S. citizen in Des Moines at Principal Park during a ceremony before an Iowa Cubs game, joining 29 new citizens in the event.
Americans renouncing citizenship surged to 4,889 in 2025—the highest since 2020—driven largely by FATCA tax burdens and political/personal motives. The process is lengthy and costly, though the fee dropped from $2,350 to $450 in 2026. Personal stories, like Erin Klatt moving to New Zealand and Jennifer Sontag in Sicily, illustrate the mix of identity and practicality, while experts warn that giving up US citizenship can limit future mobility and requires having another citizenship; many so‑called accidental Americans are affected by FATCA and its banking/financial implications.
The US Department of Justice has initiated denaturalisation proceedings against 17 naturalised Americans, including Neeraj Sharma, a New Jersey-based India-born CEO, who is accused of signing 11 fraudulent H-1B visa petitions and lying under oath to obtain citizenship in 2017; the campaign targets fraud in naturalisation and other offenses, with other individuals facing denaturalisation for violent or serious crimes.
Rosie O'Donnell, living as an American expatriate in Ireland, said on Chris Cuomo's Sirius XM show that she secretly spent two weeks back in the United States after Trump’s inauguration to visit her family and see how easy it is to enter and exit the country, noting she wanted to hold her children and that the U.S. energy felt scary; critics call the tale a performative stunt, but she stressed there’s nothing illegal about visiting the U.S. as a citizen.
Rapper Nicki Minaj proclaims herself Trump's 'number one fan' onstage and shows off a Trump-branded gold-card visa—an expensive fast-track residency program that costs about $1 million plus a processing fee and offers a path to US citizenship, though it does not confer citizenship by itself; the moment comes amid ongoing debates over immigration policy and ICE actions.
The former superintendent of Des Moines Public Schools, Ian Roberts, is expected to plead guilty in federal court to falsely attesting U.S. citizenship on an I-9 form and illegally possessing firearms, under a plea agreement that could include deportation after sentencing.
Border czar Tom Homan offered a dubious justification for ICE agents storming a Minnesota home and dragging 56-year-old ChongLy “Scott” Thao—an American citizen—out into subfreezing snow, dressed only in boxer shorts. Critics sayICE lacked a judge’s warrant to enter a home and that a deportation warrant isn’t the same as a search warrant, highlighting constitutional questions amid the Metro Surge crackdown. The incident, Thao’s detainment and subsequent release with no charges, has intensified scrutiny of DHS tactics and leadership.
The article reports on the despair and disruption caused by the Trump administration's policies, including travel bans and cancellations of naturalization ceremonies for nationals of certain countries, which have left many hopeful immigrants feeling betrayed and fearful of losing their legal status, amid broader efforts to scrutinize and potentially revoke citizenship.
Sanam, an Iranian immigrant, was about to become a US citizen but her naturalization ceremony was abruptly canceled due to new policies targeting immigrants from 19 countries under the Trump administration's expanded travel ban, leaving many in legal limbo and questioning their future in the US.
The US government has paused some naturalization ceremonies for individuals from 19 countries on the Trump administration's travel ban list, including Venezuela, Iran, and Afghanistan, amid a broader review of immigration benefits following recent security incidents.
An Alabama man with a claim to U.S. citizenship was deported to Laos despite a federal court order blocking his removal, highlighting tensions between immigration enforcement and judicial rulings.