Subsequent Developments
After receiving Terrazas's case back from the Supreme Court on remand, the district court again ruled that Terrazas had lost his U.S. citizenship. On subsequent appeal, the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals reversed its earlier decision and—this time using a preponderance-of-evidence standard per the instructions of the Supreme Court—ruled against him, finding this time that there was "abundant evidence that plaintiff intended to renounce his United States citizenship when he acquired the Certificate of Mexican Nationality willingly, knowingly, and voluntarily." Since the office of U.S. Secretary of State changed hands twice following the Supreme Court's ruling in the case — Edmund Muskie replacing Cyrus Vance in 1980, and Alexander Haig assuming the position in 1981 — the subsequent lower court cases are known as Terrazas v. Muskie and Terrazas v. Haig.
Congress amended the Immigration and Nationality Act in 1986 to specify, as required by Vance v. Terrazas, that a potentially expatriating act may result in loss of U.S. citizenship only if it was performed "with the intention of relinquishing United States nationality".
Although the Terrazas ruling left intact Congress's right to specify a preponderance-of-evidence standard for judging intent to give up U.S. citizenship, the State Department in 1990 adopted a policy which, in most cases, pursues loss-of-citizenship proceedings only when an individual affirmatively states that he or she intends to relinquish U.S. citizenship. When a case involving possible expatriation comes to the attention of a U.S. consular officer, the officer will normally "simply ask the applicant if there was intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship when performing the act. If the answer is no, the consular officer will certify that it was not the person's intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship and, consequently, find that the person has retained U.S. citizenship."
A bill was introduced in 2005 which sought, among other things, to force the State Department to abolish the above policy on loss of citizenship and reinstate its pre-1990 policy "of viewing dual/multiple citizenship as problematic and as something to be discouraged, not encouraged." However, this bill never made it to the floor of the House and died in committee when the 109th Congress adjourned.
Read more about this topic: Vance V. Terrazas
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