A non-citizen national of the United States is someone who owes permanent allegiance to the U.S. but is not a citizen. In practice, the category applies almost entirely to people born in American Samoa and Swains Island, the only inhabited U.S. territory where Congress has never extended birthright citizenship. Non-citizen nationals carry U.S. passports, cannot be deported, and can live and work anywhere in the country, but they cannot vote in federal elections and have a narrower set of rights than citizens in a handful of specific areas.
Who Holds This Status
Federal law defines a “national of the United States” in two parts. Subsection (A) of 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22) covers U.S. citizens. Subsection (B) covers anyone “who, though not a citizen of the United States, owes permanent allegiance to the United States.”1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions The same statute designates American Samoa and Swains Island as the “outlying possessions of the United States,” and people born there receive this second status rather than citizenship.
Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands are different. Separate federal statutes grant citizenship at birth in each of those territories. Only American Samoa sits outside that framework. Roughly 55,000 residents of American Samoa hold non-citizen national status, along with an unknown number of American Samoans living stateside.
You can document the status with a certificate of non-citizen national status issued by the Secretary of State.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1452 – Certificates of Citizenship or US Non-Citizen National Status; Procedure Non-citizen nationals also receive standard U.S. passports, but the passport carries an endorsement stating: “THE BEARER IS A UNITED STATES NATIONAL AND NOT A UNITED STATES CITIZEN.”3U.S. Department of State. 8 FAM 505.2 Passport Endorsements On passport cards, the field that reads “USA” for citizens reads “U.S. National” instead.
Why Not Being an “Alien” Matters So Much
The single most consequential feature of this status is that non-citizen nationals are not “aliens” under federal law. The Immigration and Nationality Act defines an alien as “any person not a citizen or national of the United States.”4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1101 – Definitions Because nationals sit inside the definition, they fall outside every federal rule that targets aliens.
Removal is the clearest illustration. Deportation proceedings under 8 U.S.C. 1227 apply to aliens.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1227 – Deportable Aliens Non-citizen nationals cannot be deported. That protection holds regardless of criminal convictions or other conduct that would trigger removal for a green card holder or visa holder.
The federal firearms prohibition on certain aliens under 18 U.S.C. 922(g)(5) uses the same “alien” definition, which excludes nationals.6Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 922 – Unlawful Acts Non-citizen nationals face no federal firearm restriction based on their immigration status.
Taxes work the same way. The IRS defines an alien as any individual who is not a U.S. citizen or U.S. national.7Internal Revenue Service. Nonresident Aliens Non-citizen nationals file federal taxes as U.S. persons and are subject to taxation on worldwide income the same way citizens are.
What You Can Do Without Being a Citizen
Across a wide range of federal programs and rules, non-citizen nationals are treated the same as citizens.
- Work anywhere in the United States without an Employment Authorization Document. On Form I-9, non-citizen nationals identify themselves as such and provide standard identity and work-authorization documents.
- Travel internationally on a U.S. passport and reenter without visas, reentry permits, or advance parole. There is no residence requirement to maintain the status, and time spent abroad does not put it at risk.
- Receive federal student aid. The Federal Student Aid Handbook lists “a U.S. citizen or U.S. national” as the first eligible category for Title IV aid.8Federal Student Aid. US Citizenship and Eligible Noncitizens
- Qualify for Supplemental Security Income. SSI eligibility requires that the applicant be “a U.S. citizen or national,” and non-citizen nationals satisfy that requirement directly.9Social Security Administration. Understanding Supplemental Security Income SSI Eligibility Requirements
- Donate to political campaigns. Federal campaign finance law bars contributions from foreign nationals but expressly excludes anyone who is “a national of the United States” from that definition.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 52 USC 30121 – Contributions and Donations by Foreign Nationals
What Remains Restricted to Citizens
The gap between non-citizen national status and citizenship is narrow, but it exists in a few specific places.
Voting and Jury Service
Non-citizen nationals cannot vote in federal elections, and the same restriction generally applies to state and local elections. Federal jury service also requires citizenship. The qualification statute specifies that a juror must be a citizen of the United States, so non-citizen nationals are ineligible to serve on federal grand or petit juries.11United States Courts. Juror Qualifications, Exemptions and Excuses
Federal Jobs and Military Officer Commissions
Many federal positions require U.S. citizenship, particularly those involving national security or security clearances, and non-citizen nationals are excluded from those roles. Enlisted military service is open without restriction. Original appointment as a commissioned officer in the Regular Army, Navy, Air Force, or Marine Corps ordinarily requires citizenship, though the Secretary of Defense may waive that requirement for non-citizen nationals for appointments below the rank of major or lieutenant commander.12Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 10 USC 532 – Qualifications for Original Appointment as a Commissioned Officer
Sponsoring Family for Immigration
Citizens can petition for spouses, children of any age and marital status, parents, and siblings. Non-citizen nationals have a narrower set of sponsorship options, closer to what lawful permanent residents can do: spouses and unmarried children.13U.S. Department of State. Family Immigration Parents, married children, and siblings cannot be sponsored by a non-citizen national.
How This Differs From a Green Card
Non-citizen nationals and lawful permanent residents are both non-citizens living in the United States, but the two categories are very different in practice. Green card holders are aliens under federal law. That classification exposes them to removal for certain crimes, requires them to maintain U.S. residence, and forces them to obtain reentry permits for long absences abroad. Non-citizen nationals face none of those risks. The status is inherent and does not depend on paperwork, residence, or conduct.
Becoming a U.S. Citizen
Non-citizen nationals can naturalize without first getting a green card. Under 8 U.S.C. 1436, a non-citizen national who becomes a resident of any state may apply for naturalization under the standard requirements, and time spent living in American Samoa or Swains Island counts toward the continuous residence and physical presence requirements that ordinarily must be spent inside the United States.14Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1436 – Nationals but Not Citizens; Residence Within Outlying Possessions
The implementing regulation confirms that residence in an outlying possession counts for everything except the three-month state residency requirement immediately before filing.15eCFR. 8 CFR Part 325 – Nationals but Not Citizens of the United States; Residence Within Outlying Possessions So a non-citizen national who has spent years in American Samoa can move to any state, establish three months of residence, and apply, provided total qualifying residence meets the five-year threshold.
The application is Form N-400, the same form all naturalization applicants use. Filing fees are $710 online or $760 by paper. A reduced fee of $380 is available for applicants with household income between 150% and 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, and a full fee waiver is available below 150%.16U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. N-400, Application for Naturalization Standard requirements apply, including good moral character and the English and civics tests.
Why This Status Still Exists
American Samoans have challenged their exclusion from birthright citizenship more than once, arguing that the Fourteenth Amendment’s Citizenship Clause should reach anyone born on U.S. soil. Every federal appellate court to rule on the question has disagreed. In Tuaua v. United States, the D.C. Circuit held in June 2015 that the Citizenship Clause does not extend to people born in American Samoa and that the question belongs to Congress.17Justia Law. Tuaua v United States, No. 13-5272 (DC Cir 2015) The Supreme Court declined review in 2016. In Fitisemanu v. United States, a Utah district court ruled the other way in 2019, but the Tenth Circuit reversed in 2021 and the Supreme Court declined review in October 2022.
Non-citizen national status remains the default for anyone born in American Samoa or Swains Island unless Congress changes it or the Supreme Court eventually revisits the question. Community views within American Samoa are not uniform: some advocate for birthright citizenship, while others are concerned that a change could affect traditional Samoan land tenure and local governance under the territory’s constitution.