As far as I know (and I'm not an authority), the US never requires that you give up your first citizenship. Some countries (like Japan) do however. So a Japan

As far as I know (and I'm not an authority), the US never requires that you give up your first citizenship. Some countries (like Japan) do however. So a Japanese citizen wishing to become American would have to give up his birth citizenship. However, the US do not recognize the concept of dual citizenship. Meaning that an Italian-American is always seen as just an American by the US government. Once you become American you are American, you are not a XXX-American.