I was born in the United States in 1961 but moved to Canada when I was very young. I became a Canadian citizen when my parents acquired Canadian citizenship several years later. However, I seem to recall that under U.S. law I had to choose one nationality upon reaching adult age. I never did. Could you explain this requirement? Does it still apply? Am I still considered a U.S. citizen?

Under the now repealed §350 of the Immigration and Nationality Act ("INA"), loss of nationality occurred if a dual national, on or after December 24, 1952, voluntarily sought or claimed a benefit of the foreign nationality, and thereafter, subsequent to his or her 22nd birthday, maintained a continuous residence for 3 years in the foreign state of which he or she was a national without having exercised the election provided for by the section.

The Board of Immigration Appeals had previously held that the benefit contemplated by §350 should be substantial and indicative of an intention to express some preference for another country in a measure inconsistant with U.S. citizenship. Also, where a dual national did not know that he had a claim to United States citizenship at the time he claimed the benefits of his foreign nationality (use of a foreign passport), expatriation based upon such claim to benefits was avoided.

The U.S. Supreme Court decision in Afroyim v. Rusk 387 U.S. 253 (1967) substantially limited the expatriating effect of §350. The Afroyim decision precluded loss of citizenship unless the citizen had performed an expatriating act with the intention of "voluntarily relinquishing" citizenship. As a result, even though the foreign nationality benefit was voluntarily sought or claimed, was substantial, and the other conditions for citizenship loss described in §350 were met, the trier of fact still had to conclude the the expatriating act was committed with the intention to relinquish citizenship. The principle stated in Afroyim v. Rusk was unanimously reasserted the subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decision of Vance v. Terrazas, 444 U.S. 252, 260, 100 S. Ct. 5401162 L. Ed. 2d 461 (1980).

§350 was prospectively repealed by the Act of Oct. 10, 1978, Pub. L. No. 95-432, 92 Stat. 1046. It was therefore applicable only to acts occurring between December 24, 1952 and October 10, 1978.

Even if the conditions for citizenship loss contained in §350 had occurred during the above period, assuming that you did not intend to relinquish it at the time, you probably still have U.S. citizenship. Please refer to my article on Loss of Citizenship and Dual Nationality for additional information.

I am currently in L-1B status in the United States. I would like to apply for permanent residence as a multinational executive or manager. Am I precluded from doing so because I came in under L-1B instead of L-1A?

You seek permanent residence under the first employment-based preference ("EB-1") as a multinational executive or manager. People often assume that the L-1A category and the EB-1 category for multinational managers and executives are related because their eligibility requirements are similar. They are completely separate from each other. There is no requirement that you enter as an L-1A prior to seeking permanent residence in this manner. However, you must independently satisfy the eligibilty requirements for the EB-1 category as a multinational manager or executive.

As there is no "specialized knowledge" equivalent in the EB-1 category, your position in the U.S. must upgrade from a specialized knowledge position to a managerial or executive position before your employer files a petition for permanent residence. There is no requirement that you work in a managerial or executive position in the United States for a minimum period of time before seeking permanent residence.

The EB-1 category requires you to have been employed in a branch, parent, subsidiary or affiliate of your present employer in a managerial or executive capacity for at least one year within the three years prior to your initial entry as a non-immigrant worker (where you are in the U.S. working for the same employer). For this reason, it is advisable to characterize prior employment abroad as managerial or executive (whenever possible) even in L-1B cases. If in your initial L-1B petition characterized your employment abroad as being specialized knowledge but not managerial or executive, you may have trouble qualifying for permanent residence as a multinational executive or manager at a later date.