Many people want to come to the United States and naturalize to gain the privileges that only US citizens can have in the country. And if you are a Russian national, you can also obtain US citizenship. Since the Russian Federation does allow its people to be bipatrides (read: dual citizens), you can freely become a US citizen providing you are eligible for it.

The procedure for acquiring US citizenship is fairly the same for Russians as for people who come from other countries. You need to get a green card, live in the United States for three up to five years at least, and know the US history and government structure. But there are several aspects of getting a second citizenship for Russians that you should know about.

First, Russia will recognize you as a Russian citizen whatever second nationality you acquire. Second, as required by the Russian laws, if you are a male adult and you have not served in the Russian army, they may call you up for military service. If you get US citizenship through naturalization and then you do serve in army for Russia, then your US citizenship may be revoked. To learn more about why your US citizenship get canceled, follow to this article.

You should also know two other important facts with regard to obtaining US citizenship as a Russian subject. One fact is that Russia decided to change the citizenship regulations as of February 2016. Now the Russian government refuses to renew passports for Russians who migrated to other countries under a certain condition. If you did not live in Russia before 1992, then your passport cannot be renewed and you literally lose your Russian citizenship.

Basically, living outside Russia before 1992 and moving to the United States will render you an expatriate for Russian government. An expatriate is a person without nationality or citizenship. And having the expatriation status may cause problems because you lose any protection from any government. But as long as you possess a valid green card and legal necessity to live in the United States, you will not get in trouble. Still, we strongly recommend that you apply for the US citizenship as soon as possible if you are bereft of Russian citizenship. It is best to have American citizenship than not to have any.

The second fact is that you must inform the government of Russia that you acquired a dual citizenship within the two months of getting it. Should you not respect this rule, then the Russian government will fine you 1,000 up to 100,000 roubles. Avoiding a penalty is the best option.

Now that you know what to expect when you get US citizenship as a Russian subject, you can apply here if you decided to become an American.