In accordance with 22 CFR 50.51 and 7 Foreign Affairs Manual (FAM) 1230, an individual may request an administrative review of the Department’s decision to issue a Certificate of Loss of Nationality (CLN) in their name and/or to approve or deny their request for a CLN by submitting a request in writing along with any supporting documentation to:

U.S. Department of State CA/OCS/ACS – Administrative Reviews

SA-17, Floor 10 Washington, D.C. 20522-1710

OR by email to:

Loss of Nationality – Administrative Reviews at LN-Admin-Reviews@state.gov.

The Department may also review determinations of loss of nationality without a request at any time after issuance of a CLN or denial of a request for a CLN to ensure consistency with governing law and policy.

Each case is decided on its own merits.

VACATING A PREVIOUSLY ISSUED CERTIFICATE OF LOSS OF NATIONALITY

The Department will consider reversing a finding of loss of nationality and vacating a previously issued CLN on the grounds listed in 22 C.F.R. §50.51(b).

There is no specific form that must be completed; however, written statements, whether by the individual themselves and/or by others with contemporaneous knowledge, should be in the form of an affidavit or a statement under penalty of perjury in accordance with 28 U.S.C. 1746.  An individual requesting administrative review of a previously issued CLN generally should provide substantial new and contemporaneous evidence regarding the facts and circumstances surrounding the performance of a potentially expatriating act under INA (a)(1)-(5), including evidence of 1) involuntariness; and/or 2) lack of intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship, at the time of the potentially expatriating act.  22 C.F.R. §50.51(b) (4).  

Involuntariness may be demonstrated by evidence of duress, coercion, or undue influence to perform the potentially expatriating act. Lack of the requisite intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship may be demonstrated by evidence that the individual did not have the resolve or intention to lose U.S. citizenship and/or did not comprehend the consequences of loss, usually due to diminished mental capacity.     

Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) § 349(b) states that any person who performs a potentially expatriating act “shall be presumed to have done so voluntarily, but such presumption may be rebutted upon a showing, by a preponderance of the evidence, that the act or acts committed or performed were not done voluntarily.” There is no statutory presumption regarding intent to relinquish U.S. nationality. 

EFFECT OF VACATUR

When the Department reverses a previous finding of loss of nationality, the person concerned “shall be considered not to have lost U.S. nationality as of the time the [potentially] expatriating act was committed, and the Certificate of Loss of Nationality shall be vacated.” 22 C.F.R. 50.51 (c); 7 FAM 1238.  Thus, if the Department vacates a previously issued CLN, the individual in whose name it was issued is deemed never to have lost U.S. nationality.
 

REVERSING A DENIAL OF A REQUEST FOR A CERTIFICATE OF LOSS OF NATIONALITY

The grounds upon which the Department will consider reversing a denial of a request for a CLN include the presentation of substantial new evidence, not previously considered, that the individual voluntarily performed a potentially expatriating act with the intent to relinquish U.S. nationality.

If the Department overturns the denial of a request for CLN and a CLN is issued, expatriation is as of the date of performance of the potentially expatriating act and fulfillment of all conditions.

Notwithstanding the general guidance above, each case is reviewed upon its own merits considering the particular facts and circumstances and applying current law.