Prosecutor vs. citizenship Forum

[BrianGriffintheDog]

Hello there,

I left a post quite awhile ago regarding being a criminal lawyer (prosecutor) and having an American citizenship. I was just wondering how realistic is it for me (a naturalized Canadian citizen) to become a dual citizen and become a criminal lawyer (prosecutor to be specific) in the States. By mean realistic, I mean is it possible for me to be a dual citizen before graduating from law school? And does being a NATURALIZED, not by birth, Canadian citizen affect any chances of becoming a dual citizen?

Although I am a naturalized citizen, I lived in Canada all my life. And it would be very difficult and even unthinkable for me to throw it all away, yet being a prosecutor and eventually a judge is my dream.



Thanks in advance,

Brian

[mugwump]

This question is probably best answered by the State Department.

[Aeon]

I left a post quite awhile ago regarding being a criminal lawyer (prosecutor) and having an American citizenship. I was just wondering how realistic is it for me (a naturalized Canadian citizen) to become a dual citizen and become a criminal lawyer (prosecutor to be specific) in the States. By mean realistic, I mean is it possible for me to be a dual citizen before graduating from law school? And does being a NATURALIZED, not by birth, Canadian citizen affect any chances of becoming a dual citizen?

To apply to naturalize as a US citizen, you need to have lived here as a permanent resident (that is, with a green card) for at least 4 years and 9 months in the time preceding your application (or 3 years if you got your permanent residency via marriage). The naturalization process is really straightforward unless you have a criminal history or other such factors. If you want to work as a federal prosecutor, you need to have US citizenship; I am not sure whether state or local prosecutorial jobs have the same requirement.

Both the United States and Canada recognize dual citizenship, and it is irrelevant for these purposes whether you got it by naturalization or birth. Do keep in mind that some government legal jobs require top secret security clearance and having dual citizenship might be counted against you (or, in some cases, preclude you from being hired entirely). I don't imagine that it would be a barrier to most prosecutorial jobs, though.

[TheBigMediocre]

Admit it, you just want to keep your Canadian citizenship because the canucks won Men's Hockey yesterday.

[BigFatPanda]

And that they have free health care for all

[Andreeai]

Hello there,

I left a post quite awhile ago regarding being a criminal lawyer (prosecutor) and having an American citizenship. I was just wondering how realistic is it for me (a naturalized Canadian citizen) to become a dual citizen and become a criminal lawyer (prosecutor to be specific) in the States. By mean realistic, I mean is it possible for me to be a dual citizen before graduating from lawl skool? And does being a NATURALIZED, not by birth, Canadian citizen affect any chances of becoming a dual citizen?

Although I am a naturalized citizen, I lived in Canada all my life. And it would be very difficult and even unthinkable for me to throw it all away, yet being a prosecutor and eventually a judge is my dream.



Thanks in advance,

Brian

For State Attorney's Offices you don't need to be a citizen. As long as you're authorized to work in the U.S., you're good.
Don't know about the other ones