Honorary Citizen of the United States

A non-U.S. citizen of exceptional merit may be declared an Honorary Citizen of the United States by the President pursuant to an Act of Congress. As of August 6, 2002, six people have had this honor bestowed upon them:

Related Topics:
U.S. - Citizen - President - Act of Congress - August 6 - 2002

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• Winston Churchill, British Prime Minister during World War II (awarded 1963)
• Agnes Gonxha Bojaxhiu (Mother Teresa), Albanian nun and human rights advocate (1996)

Posthumously Awarded:

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• William Callowhill Penn, 18th century co-founder and governor of the US state of Pennsylvania. (1984)
• Hannah Callowhill Penn, second wife of William Callowhill Penn and administrator of Pennsylvania. (1984)
• Marquis de la Fayette, French supporter of the American Revolution (2002)
• Raoul Wallenberg, Swedish diplomat and Holocaust hero (1981)

Honorary citizenship is not to be confused with permanent residency bestowed by a private bill. Private bills are, on rare occasions, used to provide relief to individuals, often in immigration cases, and are also passed by both houses of Congress and signed into law by the President.

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See also Citizenship.

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