> Suppose an Italian guy, let's call him Luigi Risotto, has an American
> mother who had just moved to Italy when he was born. So he gets US
> citizenship through his mother. Is there some way that his citizenship
> can "lapse" if for example Luigi never visits the US or never gets a
> US
> passport?
> Thanks
>
> Bruno
No, I don't think it can "lapse" in the way you suggest. Possession of a
US passport is dependent on being a US citizen, not the other way
around, so simply not having a US passport is not relevant (although, as
an aside, US citizens are generally expected by the US authorities to
use a US passport to enter the US, and also to deal with the US
authorities as a US citizen at all times). Never visiting the US will
not cause the citizenship to lapse, either.
It is possible to lose one's US citizenship by doing an "expatriating
act" (see for example, the US government website on citizenship and
nationality,
http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship/citizenship_782.html, which has
a link through to sections on loss of citizenship and nationality. (You
need to scroll down the page to find these links.) Over the years, the
interpretation of what consitutes an expatriating act has been modified
by the US courts (more than by legislation), but the trend has generally
been towards liberalisation of policy rather than the opposite.
The circumstances that you describe for our friend Signor Risotto don't,
on the face of it, sound as if his US citizenship is endangered.
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