The USA citizenship oath is a declaration that must be taken by all immigrants during a US naturalization ceremony. The citizenship oath is often considered the final stage of the citizenship process, and it usually takes place at the end of a naturalization ceremony. Once the oath is taken, an immigrant is officially considered a US citizen. The US citizenship oath requires that an immigrant give up all other allegiances and also requires that an immigrant agrees to abide by all US laws as a US citizen. The text of the US citizenship oath is:
“I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen;
that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same;
that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law;
that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by the law;
that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law;
and that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; so help me God.”
You are not considered a US citizen and until you take this oath. In addition to requiring your loyalty, this oath also requires you to possibly bear arms for the US and to give up any hereditary titles. It is a good idea to review the oath and to ensure that you agree with every component of it before arriving at your citizenship ceremony. If you have religious beliefs or a religious background that prevents you from agreeing to bear arms on behalf of the United States, you can request a modified oath ahead of time. You will want to take care of this before attending your citizenship ceremony.
The administrating of the oath is verbal. Someone at the citizenship ceremony will read aloud the naturalization oath slowly, giving immigrants the chance to repeat the words. Therefore, you do not need to memorize the citizenship oath before arriving at the naturalization ceremony.
