US Citizenship- Duties You Have As An American Citizen
By: Angelo Battaglia | Posted: 11th February 2011
US citizenship is one of the most coveted citizenships in the world. The United States provides an atmosphere in which the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness becomes possible. It is this endeavor that has created one of the biggest industrial nations in the world. Also they are guaranteed minimum standard of living via social security and healthcare. However these rights are not free, they come with responsibilities attached. It is one of the fundamental principles of civics that "rights and duties are two sides of the same coin". The duties that need to be followed on obtaining US citizenship have been listed below.
Pay Taxes: Under the Internal Revenue Service code, all US citizens are required to pay taxes on all of their income including income which has been earned abroad. Taxes are the fundamental source of revenue of the country and are the fuel for systems like social security, healthcare etc. There are however some exceptions under which certain incomes whether generated internally or abroad are exempt from taxation. However it is a pre condition of the US citizenship to pay taxes as imposed by authorities from time to time.
Register with The Armed Forces: Every male US citizen is required to register with the Armed forces on completion of 18 years of age. They may be required to fight for the United States if need be. This has never been the case since the Vietnam war but the US still requires all males to register themselves for a possible summon at some future date.
Obey the Laws: All United States citizens are supposed to respect and obey the law which has been created by their own representatives. Thus they are expected to co-operate with all law enforcement agencies such as police, secret services and the judiciary system. This is the pillar on which the secure system provided by the United States rests.
Vote and Elect Responsible leaders: Passing the US citizenship application also entails the responsibility to vote and elect suitable representatives that may hold office and take decisions on your behalf.
Although the list of responsibilities may be much more than the ones mentioned above but these broadly give a fair idea of what it is like to be a US citizen. The costs are not too high to pay given the opportunity and freedom that a US citizenship provides. The fact that millions apply each year for a US citizenship should tell you volumes about how better the system really is compared to other countries.
About the Author
{if $articleAuthor->occupation}Occupation: {$articleAuthor->occupation}
{/if}
{$articleAuthor->biography}
{if $articleAuthor->website}{/if}
This article is free for republishing
Printed From: http://www.goinglegal.com/us-citizenship-duties-you-have-as-an-american-citizen-2026131.html
Back to the original article
Tags: exceptions, social security, incomes, endeavor, pillar, 18 years, armed forces, vietnam war, law enforcement agencies, internal revenue service, fundamental principles