A growing number of Americans are applying for citizenship in one of the EU member nations, taking advantage of their origin, in order to obtain a new passport that will give them new opportunities and expand their possibilities of working, living and traveling , reports Bloomberg. It is estimated that in the first six months of this year, 3.284 US citizens applied for Irish citizenship, which is twice as many as in the same period last year. Another 3.700 applied to Italy.

Giorgio Nusiner, director of the Assistance Program for Italian American Citizenship, based in Florida, asserted that “every month is a record month.” The consulting firm Global RCG estimated that about 40 % of Americans are entitled to European citizenship. Each applicant has their own reasons, but the most common are increased travel opportunities, more flexible criteria for getting a job in another country, new business and investment opportunities, and fear of political division in the US. USA