H.R. 6158

H.R. 6158:   Preserving collective and individual self-determination for American Samoa

Only constitutional citizenship of Americans eligible to vote in states secures equal rights and equal opportunities of U.S. nationality.

But H.R. 6158 offers an important, practical fix for Americans born in American Samoa who—under current law—are classified as “U.S. nationals but not citizens.”

H.R. 6158 allows those individuals, if they choose, to be reclassified on their passports as “U.S. nationals and citizens.”

This would align American Samoan applicants with the same statutory citizenship status Congress already provides to people born in Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands under 8 U.S.C. §§ 1401–1407.

Why this matters

• American Samoa prefers collective “national” status, which protects local culture and autonomy.
• At the same time, many American Samoans living in the states want the individual legal rights of citizenship—this bill honors both positions.
• Today, those who want citizenship can only obtain it through an outdated and legally flawed naturalization process (8 U.S.C. § 1436). H.R. 6158 creates a simpler, congressionally authorized path.

What the bill avoids

For years, what some saw as well-intentioned but ill-advised lawsuits have tried to use American Samoa’s unique classification to:

1. Force all American Samoans to be statutory citizens on same terms as other territories, instead of nationals under historic agreements protecting local heritage, and
2. Apply the 14th Amendment Citizenship Clause and overturn the Insular Cases doctrine through the courts rather than Congress, a one-size fits all status imposed without self-determination, thereby repeating the original sin of the Insular Cases.   

Those lawsuits have failed—and if H.R. 6158 passes, and to American Samoa, the entire legal theory behind them becomes unnecessary, preserving local self-determination to initiate change is federal-territorial relations.

The bill preserves collective self-determination for American Samoa while protecting individual choice.

What H.R. 6158 ultimately does

It protects:

• Collective autonomy (American Samoans remain “nationals” unless they choose otherwise)
• Individual rights (any person who wants statutory U.S. citizenship can elect it directly through passport reclassification)
• Congressional authority (avoiding judicial attempts to rewrite territorial law)

In short: H.R. 6158 provides a balanced path forward—respecting local preference while empowering individual American Samoans who want full citizenship rights while residing in a state or outside a state of the union.