denaturalization

Denaturalization is, in US law, the legal process by which a naturalized American citizen has their citizenship annulled and revoked by a federal court. The concept applies exclusively to persons who obtained citizenship through naturalization — not to persons born as American citizens. The central statutory basis is 8 U.S.C. § 1451, Revocation of naturalization, which allows federal authorities to bring an action to set aside a naturalization. The provision applies, among other situations, where the naturalization was procured illegally, or where the applicant concealed material facts or knowingly made false statements during the naturalization process.

In the Demjanjuk case, denaturalization was the first judicial step in a prosecution that spanned decades. John Demjanjuk, Ukrainian-born and a naturalized American citizen, had his citizenship revoked in 1981 after the authorities documented that, upon his entry into the United States, he had concealed his past as a guard in Nazi extermination camps. The concealment of this background met the conditions in 8 U.S.C. § 1451 concerning concealment of a material fact and willful misrepresentation.

A court ruling on denaturalization means that the original naturalization decision is declared invalid and that the certificate of naturalization may be cancelled. The person concerned thereby loses their status as an American citizen and may subsequently be subject to deportation proceedings. Denaturalization is thus not in itself a criminal sanction, but a civil legal annulment with far-reaching consequences for residence and citizenship status.