Get Serial Number 2013 Commonwealth Of Puerto Rico Department Of ...

The political status of Puerto Rico is that of an unincorporated territory of the United States. As such, the island of Puerto Rico is neither a sovereign nation nor a U.S. state.

Puerto Ricans have been citizens of the United States since 1917, and can move freely between the island and the mainland. As it is not a state, Puerto Rico does not have a vote in the U.S. Congress, which governs the unincorporated territory with jurisdiction under the Puerto Rico Federal Relations Act of 1950.

United States citizenship On 2 March 1917, the Jones Shafroth Act was signed, collectively making Puerto Ricans United States citizens without rescinding their Puerto Rican citizenship.

The United States made a deal 100 years ago today, on March 2, 1917, when the Jones-Shafroth Act became law making Puerto Rico a territory of the United States.

Since 1952, the term commonwealth has evolved to describe a potential relationship between the United States and Puerto Rico in which Puerto Rico is given special rights and privileges greater than those enjoyed by states. ...

Puerto Rico became a U.S. territory in 1898, as a result of the Treaty of Paris that officially ended the Spanish-American War and dictated that Spain cede the island to the U.S. ... Since 1952, Puerto Rico has been a commonwealth of the U.S., which is similar to statehood.

In 1951 Puerto Ricans overwhelmingly approved the commonwealth status in a referendum, and the island's constitution was proclaimed on July 25, 1952, a symbolic date because it was the 54th anniversary of the U.S. invasion of the island.

There are four states in the United States that call themselves commonwealths: Kentucky, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. The distinction is in name alone. ... When used to refer to U.S. states, there is no difference between a 'state' and a 'commonwealth'. The distinction is in name alone.

This was the sixth referendum held on the status of Puerto Rico, with the previous one having taken place in 2017. This was the first referendum with a simple yes-or-no question, with voters having the option of voting for or against becoming a U.S. state.