What is your country of origin?

When the USCIS officer asks about the applicant's country of origin, the applicant should respond with the name of the country where he or she was born, regardless of current citizenship or nationality, matching the information on the Form N-400 application and birth certificate. The N-400 in Part 1 asks for the applicant's country of birth, country of nationality (if different from country of birth), and country of citizenship. The officer asks this question to verify identity and consistency with documents on file, and to test basic English communication.

Many applicants are born in a country, hold citizenship in that country or another, and may have lived in multiple countries before coming to the United States. The applicant should be specific about each: country of birth (where the birth certificate was issued), country of nationality (where the applicant is or was a citizen), and any other countries of residence.

Applicants whose country of birth no longer exists or has changed names (Yugoslavia, Soviet Union, Czechoslovakia, German Democratic Republic, Sudan before South Sudan separation, etc.) should give the historical name and the current name if relevant. Applicants from contested or disputed regions should answer carefully and consistently with their birth certificate and prior documents. Applicants who are stateless (not recognized as citizens by any country) should disclose that status; statelessness is a recognized status under U.S. immigration law. Applicants who are dual citizens of two or more countries should disclose all citizenships.

Naturalization in the United States generally requires renunciation of allegiance to other countries (in the Oath of Allegiance), but many countries do not accept renunciation as terminating their citizenship. The United States does not require giving up other citizenships as a practical matter; many naturalized U.S. citizens hold dual or multiple citizenships.

The country of origin is also relevant to ground-of-immigration analysis. Applicants from countries currently experiencing conflict, persecution, or natural disaster may be eligible for asylum or refugee status (separate processes from naturalization). Applicants from certain countries may face additional security review under various administration policies. Applicants who came as refugees should be ready to discuss the conditions in the country of origin briefly.

Applicants should not feel they need to disparage their country of origin to demonstrate loyalty to the United States; the United States values voluntary loyalty rather than forced rejection of heritage. Many naturalized citizens maintain pride in their heritage while embracing American citizenship. The officer is looking for an honest, clear answer, not for political statements about the home country.