There are many definitions of the term “American.” The one that I personally believe in and the one that is technically stated in the law is that an American is a citizen of the United States of America. I am a citizen and I have lived here for my entire life. A citizen is a person who is a part of the United States or as some people believe, the American continent. There are multiple ways to become one and there are many different things that people consider as an American.

If someone was born in a different country and they move to America then they are not technically American until they pass the citizenship test and become legal. Anyone who is born in the United States is legally a part of it. Sometimes there will be people who live here but are not a citizen because they were not born here and they never passed the test, or even actually took it, which is in fact illegal. If someone is here illegally then they are known as an “illegal alien” and if they are caught then they will automatically be deported back to the original country of which they had come from.

If a person lives in a foreign country then that person is not an American, because they do not live here legally. People can get passports and come visit the United States but that does not make them a part of it, they are just visiting for a certain amount of time. Just because someone’s family or ancestors are from this country that does not make them legal here, they have to be born here or become a resident. There are no ways around it whatsoever. However, there are some people who do live here illegally and do not get caught but it is not worth the risk, because if they do get caught then only under very special circumstances are they ever allowed back into the United States.

Everyone has different opinions as to what or whom they consider to be an American. There are some people who feel as if the Native Americans are the only true ones because they happened to originate from here. However, there are other people who feel that your ancestors have to come from here or you have to have been born and raised here to be a true citizen. I believe in the most commonly known definition of an American which is that anyone who is a citizen or was born here is a part of it. There are some people who feel that as long as you are a part of the Americas which includes the North and South continents then you are one, because technically they are all “America.” It is not just a country, it is a whole continent separated into two parts; north and south.

An example could be that a man who is a citizen of France decides that he would like to live in America and become a part of it. Well, the only way to do that would be to take the test, but let’s say that he does not know enough about the country to take it. He decides to study the material that is required to pass the test for a few months. Once he knows enough facts he goes and takes the test. If he passes it, then he is legally part of the United States of America, but if he fails it then he must go back to France to life.

There are not one specific people who came to the Americas; there was a mixture of many races. There were the French who came to Canada, the English who formed the 13 original colonies, the Spanish who claimed the South American territory and of course there are the Natives which were later named the Indians because of the English, but the natives are the only ones who actually originated from here. Throughout many centuries more and more races have come here and are still coming here today. We are a mixture of all races and do not have as much of a culture as some of the other countries in the world.

Some other countries have completely different policies as to how to become a citizen of their specific country, but what might come as a surprise is that they have many similarities to our own procedure. A few examples of some different ones would be France because you do not even have to take a test; you just have to go through a small procedure including showing your birth certificate, proof of identity, etc. Another country that is quite different is Egypt, to become a citizen you must be over 21 years of age and have lived there for ten consecutive years, there are many other qualifications also. Some countries that have extremely similar requirements are Germany, Lithuania, Greece and Spain, all of which require a test.

Americans are citizens of the United States and I am an American because I was born here. As stated previously, many people have many different perceptions as to what it is and none of them are completely incorrect, they just may not all be the most common known definition of the word. There are many ways to become one and there are many different things that people consider it to be.