A Republican senator from Ohio is pushing a bill that could fundamentally alter the landscape of American nationality by ending the practice of dual citizenship. The proposed Exclusive Citizenship Act of 2025 seeks to require U.S. citizens holding a second nationality to choose: either retain their U.S. citizenship or their foreign nationality — but not both.
Under the proposed law, any U.S. citizen who also holds citizenship in another country would be compelled to formally declare their “exclusive allegiance” to the United States. Those who fail to renounce their foreign nationality within a one-year compliance period risk losing their U.S. citizenship automatically.
In addition, the bill would block Americans from acquiring new foreign citizenship in the future without first renouncing their U.S. status. The legislation comes as part of a broader re-evaluation of immigration and citizenship policies under the current political climate.
The law’s chief sponsor, Bernie Moreno, argues that dual citizenship undermines the sanctity of American allegiance. Moreno, who was born in Colombia and later naturalized as a U.S. citizen, said he personally renounced his Colombian citizenship at 18. “Being an American citizen is an honour and a privilege — and if you want to be an American, it’s all or nothing,” he told Fox News.
Currently, U.S. law permits citizens to hold multiple nationalities — a status known as “multiple citizenship” or “dual citizenship.” Under existing rules, a U.S. citizen may naturalize in a foreign country without jeopardising their American citizenship.
But if the Exclusive Citizenship Act becomes law, that flexibility would disappear — forcing a significant number of Americans with foreign roots, family ties abroad, or global mobility for work, study or business to choose between their U.S. status and foreign citizenship. Critics warn that the law could have sweeping consequences, forcing long-time dual nationals to make a painful choice, and potentially uprooting families with transnational ties.
Proponents of the bill contend that dual citizenship can lead to “conflicts of interest and divided loyalties.” The legislation reflects growing concerns among certain lawmakers that national allegiance must be unequivocal — a view shaped also by recent efforts in the U.S. to tighten immigration and visa rules.
At present, nothing has changed: dual citizenship remains legal in the United States, and millions of Americans — including native-born citizens who later obtain citizenship elsewhere, and immigrants who are naturalised Americans — continue to hold more than one nationality. But with the proposed law, the very idea of being both American and foreign at the same time might soon become a thing of the past.
