NATURALIZE

7 definitions found across Law Mind sources

NATURALIZEAuthored
The Law Mind • 1293 words
Definition
To naturalize is to confer citizenship upon a person who was not a citizen at birth — to place a foreign-born individual, by legal process, in the same standing with respect to civil and political rights as a native-born citizen. In U.S. law, naturalization is the formal act by which a noncitizen satisfies statutory requirements and is admitted to full citizenship by a court or, under modern procedure, by federal administrative authority. The naturalized citizen generally acquires the same rights and privileges as one born to citizenship, with a narrow but significant constitutional exception: only a natural-born citizen is eligible to hold the presidency. The verb form "to naturalize" encompasses the entire arc of the process — the filing of a petition or application, satisfaction of eligibility requirements, and the final oath of allegiance that completes the transformation in legal status. ---
Common Language
Modern common usage (Wiktionary): To grant citizenship to someone not born a citizen; also, in non-legal contexts, to acclimatize an animal or plant to a new environment, to make a word a natural part of a language, or more broadly to make something natural. Historical common usage (Webster's 1913): To confer the rights and privileges of a native subject or citizen on a foreigner; also, to receive or adopt something foreign as native or natural — as in naturalizing foreign words into a language or naturalizing a habit through custom. The legal meaning is one specific and formal instance of the broader common meaning. When a speaker says a plant has been "naturalized" to a new climate, or that a loanword has been "naturalized" into English, no legal consequence follows. When the law uses the term, it refers exclusively to the conferral of citizenship status through a defined legal process — an act with constitutional grounding, statutory requirements, and enforceable legal consequences. Researchers should note that historical texts sometimes use "naturalize" loosely to describe any process of legal assimilation, including incorporation of territory or adoption of foreign legal norms; context determines whether citizenship status is actually at issue. ---
Common Confusion
NATURALIZE vs. NATIVE-BORN CITIZENSHIP: Naturalization is sometimes mistakenly treated as equivalent to citizenship from birth. They are distinct in origin and, in one respect, in legal consequence. A naturalized citizen holds the same civil and political rights as a native-born citizen in virtually every context — but is constitutionally ineligible for the presidency under Article II. Researchers examining equal protection challenges to laws distinguishing between naturalized and native-born citizens should not assume that distinction is always constitutionally impermissible; the presidency carve-out is textual and absolute. NATURALIZE vs. DENATURALIZE: Denaturalization (or revocation of naturalization) is the legal process by which citizenship conferred through naturalization is stripped, typically on grounds of fraud or willful misrepresentation in the naturalization process. The two are related but conceptually opposite. Historical sources sometimes treat "naturalize" as implying an irrevocable act; that framing is incomplete. ---
Why It Matters in Research
The verb "naturalize" appears in legal texts across three distinct bodies of law — constitutional, statutory, and administrative — and the governing framework has shifted substantially over time. Researchers must be alert to which regime is operative. Constitutional authority: Article I, Section 8 vests Congress with the power to "establish an uniform Rule of Naturalization." This clause has been interpreted broadly. Pre-20th-century sources and cases treat naturalization as primarily a judicial function; courts administered oaths and issued certificates. Modern naturalization is largely administrative, handled through the agency now known as U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS). Sources predating the mid-20th century that describe naturalization as a court proceeding are not wrong for their period — they simply reflect a procedural regime that has since shifted. Statutory instability: The naturalization statutes have been revised repeatedly and substantially. The Naturalization Act of 1790, the Act of 1795, the Act of 1802, the Nationality Act of 1940, and the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1952 each reflect different eligibility criteria — including racial restrictions that were operative law for over 150 years and were not fully dismantled until 1952. A researcher reading historical case law on naturalization must account for the statutory baseline in effect at the time. The word "naturalize" in an 1880 opinion operates against a very different legal backdrop than the same word in a 2005 administrative ruling. Trap — Anderson's entry: The Anderson's Dictionary of Law entry retrieved under "naturalize" appears to be a misaligned excerpt describing natural law or the law of nations, not the definition of "naturalize" as a verb. This is a known hazard in older dictionary compilations where alphabetical organization and cross-referencing introduced textual slippage. Researchers relying on Anderson's for this term should treat that entry with caution and cross-reference against Black's. Corpus connections: In the Law Mind corpus, NATURALIZE connects directly to immigration proceedings, constitutional citizenship doctrine, and the administrative law of agency adjudication. It also intersects with international law materials when examining dual nationality, treaty-based naturalization, and the naturalization of corporate entities or vessels in older maritime sources — a distinct and narrower usage. ---
Historical Dictionary Support
Black's Law Dictionary (both the first and second editions) defines "naturalize" identically: to confer citizenship upon an alien; to make a foreigner the same, in respect to rights and privileges, as if he were a native citizen or subject. The parallel wording across editions reflects definitional stability at the core — the concept of equivalence with native status is central and consistent. Neither Black's edition addresses the limits of that equivalence (i.e., the presidential eligibility exception), nor do they flag the historical racial restrictions on who could be naturalized — restrictions that were legally operative when those dictionaries were written. This omission is historically significant. A researcher using early Black's definitions without contextual awareness may assume a universality of access to naturalization that the law of the period did not actually provide. Anderson's, as noted, appears to have indexed material from a different entry (likely natural law or law of nations) under this heading. The excerpt referencing "natural reason," "universal consent," and the "civilized inhabitants of the world" does not define the verb "naturalize" and should not be used as a source for its legal meaning. Webster's 1913 provides a useful bridge: its definition confirms the citizenship-conferral sense as primary while also capturing the broader common uses (acclimatization, linguistic adoption), reinforcing that the legal meaning is a specialized instantiation of a more general concept. ---
Jurisdictional Note
In the United States, naturalization is exclusively a federal function under the Uniformity Clause of Article I. States may not independently confer or revoke citizenship, though some state-level proceedings historically administered naturalization oaths before federal administrative consolidation. In comparative and international law contexts, "naturalize" refers to the analogous process under each nation's domestic legal framework, which varies substantially. ---
Encyclopedia Cross-Reference
Naturalization, Citizenship, and Denaturalization Proceedings — The Law Mind Administrative Law & Government Encyclopedia (admin_126) Naturalization and Denaturalization — Congressional Power Over Citizenship — The Law Mind Constitutional Law Encyclopedia (constitutional_148) ---
Related Terms
Naturalization — the noun form; the process itself Citizenship — the status conferred Denaturalization — revocation of naturalized citizenship Native-born citizen — citizenship by birth; the contrasting category Alien — the status preceding naturalization Immigration and Nationality Act — primary governing statute (modern) Uniformity Clause — constitutional authority for congressional power over naturalization Oath of allegiance — the final operative act completing naturalization Domicile — often a prerequisite for naturalization eligibility Natural-born citizen — constitutional term of art; distinct from naturalized citizen
NATURALIZEmain
Black's Law Dictionary • 1891
To confer citizenship upon an alien; to make a foreigner the same, in respect to rights and privileges, as if he were a native citizen or subject.
NATURALIZEmain
Black's Law Dictionary (2nd Ed.) • 1910
To confer citizenship upon an alien; to make a foreigner the same, in respect to rights and privileges, as if he were a native citizen or subject.
NATURALIZEmain
Anderson's Dictionary of Law • 1890
with each other, by reason and natural justice.1 A system of rules, deducible by natural reason, and established by universal consent among the civilized inhabitants of the world, in order to decide disputes, regulate ceremonies and civilities, and insure the observance of justice and good faith in their mutual intercourse. This general law is founded upon the principle that different nations ought in time of peace to do one another all the good they can, and in time of war as little harm as possible, without prejudice to their own real interests. And, as none of these states will allow a superiority in the other, no one can dictate or prescribe the rules of this law to the rest; but such rules must necessarily result from those principles of natural justice in which all the learned of every nation agree; or they depend upon mutual compacts or treaties, in the construction of which there is no judge to resort to but the law of nature and reason, - the only law in which all the parties are equally conversant and to which they are equally subject.2 International law is part of the universal law of reason, justice, and conscience. The principal offenses against the law of nations are: violations of safeconducts or passports; infringement of the rights of ambassadors; piracy; injuring a state at peace with the United States by exercising a commission to serve a hostile state, arming a vessel to cruise for such hostile state, assisting its armed vessel or setting afloat a military expedition for it.4 The nation injured by the subject of another first demands satisfaction and that justice be done on the offender by the state to which he belongs; and if that be refused, the sovereign then avows himself an abettor of his subject's crime.2 Public international law comprises the rights and duties of sovereign states toward each other. Private international law comprises the rights and duties of the subjects of different states toward each other - refers to the power of the state to act upon the persons and property within the limits of its own territory.5 The rules of private international law are: 1. Every nation possesses an exclusive sovereignty and jurisdiction within its own territory - as to all property, persons, and contracts. 2. No state can, by its laws, directly affect or bind property out of its territory, or persons not resident therein. 3. Whatever force and obligation the laws of one country have in another depends solely upon the laws of the latter, that is, upon the comity exercised by it. See COMITY; DISCOVERY, 1, Right of; INDIAN; MERCHANT, Law; PUBLICIST; TREATY; WAR. 11 Bl. Com. xxiv, 43. 24 Bl. Com. 67-68. • Wilson v. McNamee, 102 U. S. 574 (1880). See Hogsheads of Sugar v. Boyle, 9 Cranch, 198 (1815); 1 Op. Att.-Gen. 27; 7 id. 18, 229; 37 Miss. 230. Wharton, Cr. Law, 130. To make an alien a citizen or as if native-born. Naturalization. The act or proceeding by which an alien becomes a citizen.s "The Congress shall have Power lish an uniform Rule of Naturalization." . To estabBefore the adoption of the Constitution, each State exercised this right. The provision quoted vests the power exclusively in the Federal government. A State may make a person its own citizen. The original status of an alien is presumed to continue until the contrary is shown. Naturalization is strictly a judicial act. The action of the court must be recorded as its judgment; if valid, it is final. In the absence of proof of its loss or destruction, the record can be proved only by itself, or by an extract. Naturalization cannot be proved by parol. The provisions of the Revised Statutes, Title XXX, respecting naturalization, are as follows: "Sec. 2165. An alien may be admitted to become a citizen of the United States in the following manner, and not otherwise: "First. He shall declare on oath, before a circuit or district court of the United States, or a district or supreme court of the Territories, or a court of record of any of the States having common-law jurisdiction, and a seal and a clerk, two years, at least, prior to his admission, that it is bona fide his intention to become a citizen of the United States, and to renounce forever 1 Mitchell v. Clarke, 71 Cal. 164 (1886). 2 King v. Ward, 74 Me. 351 (1883). * [1 Bl. Com. 374; 9 Wheat. 827; 9 Op. Att.-Gen. 359. 4 Constitution, Art. I, sec. 8, cl. 4. See R. S. §§ 2165-74, 5395, 5424-29; 2 Wheat. 259; 7 How. 556; 19 id. 393, 419; 4 Dill. 425; 5 Cal. 300; 36 id. 658; 56 How. Pr. 5. Charles Green's Son v. Salas, 31 F. R. 106 (1887), See Story, Confl. Laws, §§ 18-23; Hoyt v. Sprague, Speer, J. On citizenship by naturalization, see 18 Am. 103 U. S. 630 (1880). Law Reg. 593-612, 665-76 (1879), cases. all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty, and, particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which the alien may be at the time a citizen or subject." 1 "Second. He shall, at the time of his application to be admitted, declare, on oath, before some one of the courts above specified, that he will support the Constitution of the United States, and that he absolutely and entirely renounces and abjures all allegiance and fidelity to every foreign prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty; and, particularly, by name, to the prince, potentate, state, or sovereignty of which he was before a citizen or subject; which proceedings shall be recorded by the clerk of the court." 2 "Third. It shall be made to appear to the satisfaction of the court admitting such alien that he has resided within the United States five years at least, and within the State or Territory where such court is at the time held, one year at least; and that during that time he has behaved as a man of good moral character, attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well disposed to the good order and happiness of the same; but the oath of the applicant shall in no case be allowed to prove his residence." 2 "Fourth. In case the alien applying to be admitted to citizenship has borne any hereditary title, or been of any of the orders of nobility in the kingdom or state from which he came, he shall, in addition to the above requisites, make an express renunciation of his title or order of nobility in the court to which his application is made, and his renunciation shall be recorded in the court." 2 Fifth. Any alien residing within the United States before January 29, 1795, may be admitted as a citizen on due proof made to any court specified that he has resided two years within the United States, and one year, immediately preceding his application, within the State or Territory where such court is held, and on his declaring on oath that he will support the Constitution, and that he renounces allegiance, etc., as particularized in the sections preceding.2 Sixth. Any alien who was residing within the United States between June 18, 1798, and June 18, 1812, and who has continued so to reside, may be admitted as a citizen without previous declaration of intention to become such; but whenever any person, without a certificate of such declaration, makes application to be admitted, the court must be satisfied that he was a resident before June 18, 1812, and has continued so to reside; and his residence for five years immediately preceding his application must be proved by the oath of citizens; and such residence shall be set forth, with the names of such citizens, in the record of the court admitting the applicant.3 The declaration of intention, required by section 2165, may be made before the clerk of any of the courts therein named; and all declarations as heretofore 1 Acts 14 April, 1802, 26 May, 1824, 1 Feb. 1876. Act 14 April, 1802. 3 Acts 22 March, 1816, 24 May, 1828. made are as valid as if made before one of said courts.1 "Sec. 2166. Any alien, of the age of twenty-one years and upward, who has enlisted, or may enlist, in the armies of the United States, either the regular or volunteer forces, and has been, or may be hereafter, honorably discharged, shall be admitted to become a citizen of the United States, upon his petition, without any previous declaration of his intention to become such; and he shall not be required to prove more than one year's residence within the United States previous to his application to become such citizen; and the court admitting such alien shall, in addition to such proofs of residence and good moral character as are now provided by law, be satisfied by competent proof of such person's having been honorably discharged from the service of the United States." 2 "Sec. 2167. Any alien, being under the age of twentyone years, who has resided in the United States three years next preceding his arriving at age, and who has continued to reside therein to the time he may make application to be admitted a citizen thereof, may, after he arrives at the age of twenty-one years, and after he has resided five years within the United States, including the three years of his minority, be admitted a citizen of the United States without having made the declaration required in the first condition of section 2165; but such alien shall make the declaration required therein at the time of his admission; and shall further declare, on oath, and prove to the satisfaction of the court, that, for two years next preceding, it has been his bona fide intention to become a citizen of the United States; and he shall in all other respects comply with the laws in regard to naturalization." 3 "Sec. 2168. When any alien, who has complied with the first condition specified in section 2165, dies before he is actually naturalized, the widow and children of such a
NATURALIZEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To make natural; as, custom naturalizes labor or study. To confer the rights and privileges of a native subject or citizen on; to make as if native; to adopt, as a foreigner into a nation or state, and place in the condition of a native subject. To receive or adopt as native, natural, or vernacular; to make one's own; as, to naturalize foreign words. To adapt; to accustom; to habituate; to acclimate; to cause to grow as under natural conditions. Its wearer suggested that pears and peaches might yet be naturalized in the New England climate. Hawthorne.
NATURALIZEv.
Websters Unabridged Dictionary (1913) • 1913
To become as if native. To explain phenomena by natural agencies or laws, to the exclusion of the supernatural. Infected by this naturalizing tendency. H. Bushnell.
naturalizeverb
Wiktionary (English) • 2026
Wiktionary contributorsCC BY-SA 4.0 • via Kaikki
Extracted and formatted for display by Law Mind. Source link opens the current Wiktionary page and its contributor history; it is not a frozen copy of this extract.
To grant citizenship to someone not born a citizen. | To acclimatize an animal or plant. | To make natural. | To limit explanations of a phenomenon to naturalistic ones and exclude supernatural ones. | To make (a word) a natural part of the language, using the native homologue of each phoneme (and often for each morpheme) of the imported word (e.g., native inflections). | To study nature.

Explore the full Law Mind legal research platform.

SubscribeEncyclopediaSign In