Sponsor
Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen
Representative · R-AS
Representative · R-AS
The bill improves passport labeling and options for U.S. nationals to ease travel and identification, while removing a residency-based naturalization shortcut and introducing potential legal ambiguity about who is considered a citizen.
Noncitizen U.S. nationals (e.g., American Samoans) will have clearer passport documentation that recognizes their national status, improving travel and formal identification.
Nationals who live in a State or specified territory can request passports that identify them as both 'national and citizen', potentially simplifying travel and access to services for those who live or move between jurisdictions.
Residents of outlying possessions lose the statutory shortcut (repeal of 8 U.S.C. 1436) that counted residence toward naturalization physical‑presence/residence, making it harder for some to qualify for U.S. citizenship.
Allowing passports to be marked 'national and citizen' for some applicants could create legal ambiguity or disputes over citizenship status, complicating eligibility for benefits or consular assistance in some cases.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires passports for U.S. nationals who are not citizens and allows certain nationals to request passports identifying them as both national and citizen; repeals the residency rule for outlying possessions.
Official title: To protect collective self-determination and individual rights under Federal statutes conferring nationality on persons born and residing in the territory of American Samoa, to enable subsequent elective United States citizenship upon application of such persons residing in a State or in a territory subject to sections 301 through 308 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and for other purposes.
Introduced November 7, 2025 by Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen · Last progress November 7, 2025
Requires the State Department to issue U.S. passports to persons who are U.S. nationals but not U.S. citizens, and allows an applicant living in a State or in specified territories to request a passport that identifies them as both a national and a citizen. It also repeals a separate statute that had treated residence in outlying possessions as meeting certain naturalization residence or physical-presence requirements.