Bob Greene wrote: > What is the source, please, of your statement that: > "... The U.S.government will normally not grant a security clearance to a > person who > has gone out of his/her away to acquire another citizenship, even if > the country is an ally." > > I find this hard to believe as a matter of policy, and hard to understand > what "going out of his/her way" means. > Any clarification and/or reference to the source of your info would be > greatly appreciated. > Bob Verdi "Going out of his/her way" means that a person has actively sought another citizenship, as opposed to simply being a citizen of another country by birth without applying for it. However, even passive dual citizenship may be viewed as being disqualifying by the U.S. government. Here's some general information on the subject from http://www.expatsinitaly.com/citizenship/sec_clearence.htm "Although the U.S. does not forbid dual citizenship, and court cases over the last quarter-century have established its legality, being or becoming a dual citizen can affect your ability to acquire or maintain a security clearance. Some recent cases highlight the difficulties for those having or wanting dual citizenship while working on military projects for defense contractors: U.S./Italian Dual Cit. 1, U.S./Italian Dual Cit. 2, U.S./Italian Dual Cit. 3. (Also, note that the Foreign Service does not provide diplomatic privileges and immunities for dual nationals: U.S. Dept. of State, AFSA). Of particular concern, it may not even be necessary to actually acquire dual citizenship. If the government can simply show intent, that may be enough to refuse or discontinue an individual's security clearance. So, someone hoping to land a government or defense job some day might not want to pursue this path until they had decided otherwise, or had finished their tour of government employment. This issue does not that the other country is hostile to the U.S. A security clearance can be denied even if the second citizenship is with a country 'friendly' to the U.S.: the government protects classified information from anyone not authorized to receive it, regardless of whether that person, organization, or nation has interests opposed to those of the United States." Here's a specific example of a denial: http://www.defenselink.mil/dodgc/doha/industrial/01-06327.h1.html