Rising Trend of Americans Seeking Dual Citizenship Amid Political and Economic Concerns
An increasing number of Americans are pursuing dual citizenship by descent, driven by political, economic, and rights concerns.
Hollis Rutledge, a 48-year-old from Texas, obtained Mexican citizenship through his mother. Mexico has permitted dual citizenship since 1998. Rutledge's family includes Mexican-born ancestors, and his children now hold multiple nationalities.
Daniel Kamalić, who traced his ancestry to his Yugoslavian-born father, filed for Croatian citizenship in spring 2025. He seeks European travel and work rights and views it as a safety net should US policies tighten under the Trump administration.
Rose Freymuth-Frazier is pursuing German citizenship under Article 116, which applies to descendants of those deprived of citizenship during the Nazi era. She observes contemporary anti-Israel sentiment and has mixed feelings about German nationality.
Mariam Diop, 24, is seeking Senegalese citizenship. With West African heritage, she points to barriers faced by Black people in the US and sees dual citizenship as a way to expand her options and contribute regionally through education.
Sixteen-year-old Kyla Shannon is connected to German citizenship via her aunt Rose’s application, illustrating how youths can obtain citizenship by descent through ancestors.
Concerning policy context, the US has no central registry of dual citizens, but descent-based applications surged about 500% since 2023, according to Al Jazeera data. Additionally, the UK reported the highest number of American applications for British citizenship in 21 years as of May. Public sentiment reflects broad interest, with 66% of US respondents in a survey expressing openness to dual citizenship.
