Honorary citizenship of the United States Honorary citizenship of the United States A person of exceptional merit, generally a non-United States citizen, may be declared an honorary citizen of the United States by an Act of Congress or by a proclamation issued by the President of the United States, pursuant to authorization granted by Congress. Eight people have been so honored, six posthumously, and two, Sir Winston Churchill and Mother Teresa, during their lifetimes. For Lafayette and Mother Teresa, the honor was proclaimed directly by an Act of Congress. In the other cases, an Act of Congress was passed authorizing the President to grant honorary citizenship
Citizenship of the United States a U.S. citizen, he or she must relocate to another part of the United States, initiate the naturalization process, pay the $680 fee (as of February 11, 2014), pass a good moral character assessment, be fingerprinted and pass an English/civics examination. In addition, residents of the Northern Mariana Islands who automatically gained U.S. citizenship in 1986 as a result of the Covenant between the Northern Mariana Islands and the U.S. could elect to become U.S. noncitizen nationals within 6 months of the implementation of the Covenant or within 6 months of turning 18. The nationality status of a person born