Quote Originally Posted by AirborneSapper7
Quote Originally Posted by BetsyRoss
Besides, Mormons who went to Mexico weren't giving up on being Americans. They were fleeing the anti-polygamy laws and building up church membership. They didn't renounce their citizenship and skeedaddled right back to the US when Pancho Villa drove them out. They went to Mexico to be Mormons, not Mexicans.
same thing as giving up Citizenship
The facts described by Betsy Ross do NOT constitute renunciation of citizenship and are not the same thing as renunciation of citizenship.

Copied below from the State Department's website is the only method by which one can renounce his or her citizenship:

B. ELEMENTS OF RENUNCIATION

A person wishing to renounce his or her U.S. citizenship must voluntarily and with intent to relinquish U.S. citizenship:

1.appear in person before a U.S. consular or diplomatic officer,
2.in a foreign country (normally at a U.S. Embassy or Consulate); and
3.sign an oath of renunciation
Renunciations that do not meet the conditions described above have no legal effect. Because of the provisions of section 349(a)(5), Americans cannot effectively renounce their citizenship by mail, through an agent, or while in the United States. In fact, U.S. courts have held certain attempts to renounce U.S. citizenship to be ineffective on a variety of grounds, as discussed below.

Here is a link to the webpage containing the above information:
http://travel.state.gov/law/citizenship ... p_776.html