I have dual citizenship with the US and France. I was born in France to a french mother and American father. When I turned 18 I decided to move to the US to live with my father who had since divorced my mother. I have now been living in the US for the last 26 years and have maintained my french citizenship by keeping my documents in order at the French embassy.

Keeping my french citizenship is very important to me as my mother still lives in France. Some day I may need to pack my bags and return home - who knows what will happen and I want to know that I will always be able to reside in France without any problem.

The twist in my story is that my employer wants me to apply for a Top Secret clearance with the US government. I have read somewhere on this site that this may mean that I will have to repudiate my french citizenship. What does this mean for me exactly? Does this mean I renounce my french citizenship totally?

Luckily my employer is giving me the option to proceed with this clearance or not; however my career growth my weigh heavily on whether I go for the clearance. I would like to proceed with the clearance but am not willing to do so if I need to give up my french citizenship.

Can anyone comment on what this clearance means to me in regards to my dual citizenship?

The answer largely depends upon which US government agency will hold your clearance. Some agencies, such as the Department of Defense, may permit you to hold a clearance if you first forfeit your French passport, though not necessarily your French citizenship. Others, such as the Central Intelligence Agency, are unlikely to issue a clearance at all. You may want to re-post your story and question to the ClearanceWatch Message Board at Cleared Community: Resources for Acquiring, Maintaining, and Retaining Government-Issued Security Clearances, where users may register for free to post and exchange messages on how to acquire, maintain, and retain security clearances. You may get additional replies to consider from experienced individuals there. Good luck!

Thanks for the useful information and website address. It doesn't look good for me based on your response. I was afraid it would come to this - ugh!