I wouldn ' t be the best sperm , that ' s for sure . <| sep |> I don ' t understand how the concept is so hard to comprehend , when there is even something like Statutes of limitations in american law . There is a difference between having done something illegal in the past and doing somethign illegal right now . If you gain citizenship and it gets out that you did something illegal in the past , the severety of that will determine whether they will revoke the existing citizenship or not . Apparently being in the country legally at the time , but working without permit , is not severe enough to rewoke citizenship . And citizens won ' t get deported . Meanwhile , being in the country illegally gets you deported . And you will have to apply for a citizenship from out of country .