The Supreme Court has basically set the standard here. The US Constitution enumerates who is an American. Other countries have their own criteria. So, being a “dual national” is for most people an accident of birth. I am American, born in the USA to an American born mother (who’s father was a career Air Force officer). But my mom married a French man, and French law states that the children of a French father are French. Shortly after my birth my father, who has since naturalized American, filed my birth certificate at the French Consulate.
Anyone who has a nationality in addition to their American can file the birth certificates of their children at the Consular’s office and it will make obtaining passports and proving citizenship much easier. If my father had not filed the records when I was born, then I would have had to prove his citizenship, his marriage to my mother and my birth to them both during their marriage.
For the record I have had my French passport for over 15 years now, renewed it once, but I have never in my life ever used it. And I can’t imagine going to Europe at this point, trying to exchange dollars to Euros. Unless they were paying me in Euros to go there, I don’t think I would be willing to “try my luck” in the job market over there right now. And starting a business - fuhgettaboutit! Too many regulations and they are almost all in a foreign language!
When I was a kid Americans could count on our government to protect them when abroad.
*sigh* Not any more.
Volunteering to be French is wrong.