When AARO was founded, children born abroad of an American parent married to a foreigner were denied U.S. citizenship because of unfulfilled residency requirements. Young adults lost their U.S. citizenship because of similar residency requirements. Americans who acquired another nationality were being stripped of their U.S. citizenship.

AARO has advocated successfully over the years to change these citizenship laws, eliminating the last two (in 1978 and 1991), reducing residency requirements for transmitting citizenship to children born abroad (in 1986 and further in 1994) and facilitating citizenship for minor children whose parents cannot satisfy the reduced residency requirement (in 1994 and 2001).

Today, AARO works to protect these gains in citizenship whenever legislation to weaken them is proposed in Congress, to inform Americans abroad about citizenship and visa regulations, and to help members with their own or their children's citizenship issues.

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