Joining the Military when one Parent is from Germany

Since I immigrated the legal way, it took a few years to become a naturalized US Citizen. However, when the children want to join a branch of the military, it can become a bit challenging for the following reason:

Until 2011, German citizenship law stated that when you joined the military of a friendly nation, you automatically gave up the German citizenship. However, in 2011, the law concerning German citizenship was comprehensively re-written. This also impacts young men and women with one German parent, when they want to join a branch of the U.S. Military. Since specific security clearances are required for certain fields and dual-citizenship is not allowed, the prospective candidates must renounce their German citizenship.

The attached  document was created to help other parents in this situation as a walk-through for the procedural steps. We did provide this to our recruiter, but it might be useful for someone over here as well. However, keep in mind it only applies to future military with one parent being of German descent.

Renounce_Citizenship_Procedure.pdf