Why You as an American National are a Nonresident Alien

TABLE OF CONTENTS:

  1. Root Metaphor: Two Buildings, Two Doorways
  2. Minimal Working Ontology
  3. Dependency Chain
  4. Counter‑Categorical Warnings
  5. Staged Learning Sequence
  6. Diagram Plan
  7. Examples that Anchor Abstractions
  8. Final Synthesis
  9. Further reading and research

Onboarding readers into the subject using a metaphor‑first approach.

1. Root Metaphor: Two Buildings, Two Doorways

Imagine the United States as a campus with two separate buildings:

  • Building PRI — the political building. Entry requires political status: CitizenPRI or NationalPRI.
  • Building PUB — the civil/administrative building. Entry requires civil capacity: personPUB, taxpayerPUB, residentPUB.

A nonresident alien is simply someone who:

  • Stands outside Building PUB, and
  • Has not walked through the PUB doorway (citizenPUB or residentPUB), and
  • Retains their political identity in Building PRI.

Thus, an American National who never elects into PUB capacity is automatically a nonresident alien in the civil/administrative sense.

This is not a moral judgment. It is a positional description.

2. Minimal Working Ontology

  1. ContextPRI — Political context; constitutional rights; inherent status.
  2. ContextPUB — Civil/administrative context; statutory privileges; benefits and burdens.
  3. personPRI — A human being with political rights; not a statutory creation.
  4. personPUB — A civil office created by statute; a franchise identity.
  5. citizenPUB — A civil status defined in 8 U.S.C. 1401 and incorporated into Subtitle A.
  6. residentPUB — A domicile‑based civil status defined in 26 U.S.C. 7701(b)(1)(A).
  7. nonresident alien — Defined negatively in 26 U.S.C. 7701(b)(1)(B): not a citizenPUB and not a residentPUB.
  8. American National — A political national (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(22)) who may or may not elect civil capacity.

3. Dependency Chain

  1. Context determines whether civil jurisdiction is possible.
    • ContextPRI → no statutory jurisdiction.
    • ContextPUB → statutory jurisdiction possible.
  2. Capacity determines the type of jurisdiction.
    • personPRI → constitutional/common‑law jurisdiction.
    • personPUB → statutory/administrative jurisdiction.
  3. Status determines the scope of jurisdiction.
    • taxpayerPUB → Subtitle A.
    • employeePUB → Subtitle C.
    • residentPUB → domicile‑based statutes.
  4. Nonresident alien status arises only when:
    • You are not a citizenPUB, and
    • You are not a residentPUB.

Thus, an American National who has not elected into PUB capacity is necessarily a nonresident alien in the statutory sense.

4. Counter‑Categorical Warnings

  1. Do not split the term “nonresident alien.” See:
    PROOF OF FACTS: “nonresident alien” does NOT equal “nonresident” + “alien” by statutory construction rules
    https://ftsig.org/proof-of-facts-nonresident-alien-does-not-equal-nonresident-alien/
    • It is not “nonresident” + “alien.”
    • It is a unified statutory term of art.
  2. Do not confuse political nationality with civil citizenship. See:
    Why You are a Political Citizen but Civil Non-Citizen, National, and Nonresident Alien, Form #05.006
    https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/WhyANational.pdf
    • NationalPRI ≠ citizenPUB.
  3. Do not confuse POLITICAL citizen* with CIVIL citizen**+D. See:
    Writing Conventions On This Website, Section 3: Citizenship Terms
    https://ftsig.org/introduction/writing-conventions-on-this-website/#3._Citizenship
  4. Do not assume that being born in a State makes you a residentPUB.
    Authorities on “resident”, Family Guardian Fellowship
    https://famguardian.org/TaxFreedom/CitesByTopic/resident.htm
    • ResidencePUB is a civil domicile election, not a biological fact.
  5. Do not assume that human beings are listed in 26 U.S.C. 1.
    The “Trade or Business” Scam, Form #05.001
    https://sedm.org/Forms/05-MemLaw/TradeOrBusScam.pdf
    • Subtitle A applies to civil offices, not biological persons.

WARNING: If you don’t understand these things, a JUDGE will eat your lunch!

5. Staged Learning Sequence

Stage 1 — Understand the Two‑Building Metaphor

Grasp the difference between political identity (PRI) and civil identity (PUB).

REFERENCE: PersonPRI/PersonPUB: A Capacity-Based Doctrinal Framework for Constitutional Governance
https://ftsig.org/personpri-personpub-a-capacity-based-doctrinal-framework-for-constitutional-governance/

Stage 2 — Learn the Negative Definition

A nonresident alien is defined only by what it is not.

26 U.S.C. 7701(b)(1)(B)
https://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/26/7701

Stage 3 — Map American National → Nonresident Alien

If you are an American National and have not elected PUB capacity, you satisfy the negative definition.

Nonresident Alien Position Course, Form #12.045
https://sedm.org/LibertyU/NRA.pdf

Stage 4 — Understand How Elections Occur

Filing forms, claiming benefits, or accepting PUB privileges can create personPUB.

How American Nationals Volunteer to Pay Income Tax, Form #08.024
https://sedm.org/Forms/08-PolicyDocs/HowYouVolForIncomeTax.pdf

Stage 5 — Understand How Jurisdiction Attaches

Jurisdiction attaches only to PUB capacity, not PRI identity.

HOW TO: Understanding Jurisdiction
https://ftsig.org/how-to-understanding-jurisdiction/

6. Diagram Plan

  1. Two Buildings Diagram
    • PRI Building vs PUB Building.
    • Doorways labeled citizenPUB and residentPUB.
  2. Capacity Flowchart
    • personPRI → no statutory jurisdiction.
    • personPUB → statutory jurisdiction.
  3. Negative Definition Diagram
    • citizenPUB (excluded)
    • residentPUB (excluded)
    • Remaining category = nonresident alien.
  4. Election Pathways Diagram
    • How one becomes personPUB.
    • How one remains personPRI.
  5. Jurisdiction Attachment Diagram
    • Context → Capacity → Status → Jurisdiction.

7. Examples that Anchor Abstractions

  1. Example 1 — The American National Who Never Files
    • Born in a State.
    • Never claims federal civil benefits.
    • Never elects residentPUB.
    • Result: nonresident alien.
  2. Example 2 — The American National Who Files a 1040
    • Filing a 1040 is an election into personPUB.
    • This creates taxpayerPUB.
    • Result: residentPUB for Subtitle A purposes.
  3. Example 3 — The American National Who Files a 1040NR
    • Filing a 1040NR is an affirmation of nonresident alien status.
    • Still personPRI unless other elections are made.

8. Final Synthesis

An American National is a political identity. A nonresident alien is a civil description defined by exclusion from citizenPUB and residentPUB. When an American National does not elect into PUB capacity, they automatically fall into the statutory category of nonresident alien.

This is not a transformation of identity. It is a mapping of political reality onto civil definitions.

The key is the dependency chain:

Context → Capacity → Status → Jurisdiction

If you remain in ContextPRI, you never acquire CapacityPUB, and therefore never become citizenPUB or residentPUB. By the negative definition in 26 U.S.C. 7701(b)(1)(B), you are therefore a nonresident alien.

This framework preserves clarity, avoids category errors, and aligns with the updated materials at FTSIG.org.

9. Further reading and research

  1. Foreign Tax Status Information Group (FTSIG)-focuses exclusively on foreign tax status, including nonresident alien
    https://ftsig.org
  2. Nonresident Alien Position Course, Form #12.045
    https://sedm.org/LibertyU/NRA.pdf
  3. How American Nationals Volunteer to Pay Income Tax, Form #08.024
    https://sedm.org/Forms/08-PolicyDocs/HowYouVolForIncomeTax.pdf
  4. Proof that American Nationals are Nonresident Aliens, Form #09.081
    https://sedm.org/Forms/09-Procs/ProofAnNRA.pdf
  5. Rebutted False Arguments About the Nonresident Alien Position When Used by American Nationals, Form #08.031
    https://sedm.org/Forms/08-PolicyDocs/RebArgNRA.pdf