A new bill now set before the U.S. Senate could force millions of Americans to give up one of
their passports.
Senator Bernie Moreno
(R-Ohio) introduced the Exclusive
Citizenship Act of 2025 on December 1 — legislation that would eliminate dual citizenship
for U.S. citizens by requiring them to hold “sole and exclusive allegiance” to
the United States. If enacted, Americans who currently hold more than one
nationality would be required to choose between their U.S. citizenship and
their foreign citizenship.
Existing dual
citizens would have a one-year window after the law takes effect to make that
choice, Time
Out reported. Those who opt to keep their U.S. citizenship would be
required to formally renounce their foreign nationality. Those who choose to
retain their other citizenship would automatically lose their U.S. status. The
bill would also apply to future cases: Americans who acquire another
nationality after becoming U.S. citizens would have to relinquish their U.S.
citizenship.
In announcing the
bill, Moreno said, “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.”
Current U.S. law
allows Americans to hold foreign citizenship alongside their U.S. citizenship,
a practice that has become more common as global employment opportunities and
international marriages have become more commonplace. Millions of Americans
today are dual citizens, often because they were born abroad, have foreign-born
parents or were later naturalized in another country.
Those individuals
already operate under specific travel and legal rules. Dual citizens must use a
U.S. passport to enter and leave the United States and may be required to use
their other passport when traveling abroad. They can also face obligations to both
countries, such as tax filing or military service requirements. Still, holding
multiple nationalities has long been legal and widely accepted.
The Exclusive
Citizenship Act would reverse that approach. If passed, the bill gives federal
agencies 180 days after enactment to begin enforcing compliance. Agencies would
be tasked with tracking who holds multiple nationalities and ensuring they
formally renounce one of them within the required timeframe.
For now, the bill
does not change current law. But if it advances, it could have sweeping
consequences for Americans who live, work and travel across borders—and for the
many travelers who rely on dual citizenship for easier mobility, residency and
long-term stays abroad.
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