science

United States person

United States person is a science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand United States person rather than just read about it. In short: The term United States person or US person is used in various contexts in U.S. law and regulations with different meanings. It can refer to natural persons or other entities.

Key takeaways

United States person belongs to science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect United States person to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of United States person from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

The term United States person or US person is used in various contexts in U.S. law and regulations with different meanings. It can refer to natural persons or other entities.

Data collection and intelligence The term "US person" is used in the context of data collection and intelligence by the United States, particularly with respect to the provisions of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. If information from, about, or to a US person who is not a named terrorist is captured in the course of U.S. foreign intelligence activities, there are strict rules about preserving the anonymity of such a person in any subsequent intelligence report. Only if the US person information is relevant to the report, is it included. According to the National Security Agency website, federal law and executive order define a United States person as any of the following:

a citizen of the United States; an alien lawfully admitted for permanent residence; an unincorporated association with a substantial number of members who are citizens of the United States or are aliens lawfully admitted for permanent residence; a corporation that is incorporated in the United States.

Securities market regulation Regulation S (promulgated under the Securities Act of 1933) in Section 902(k)(1) defines a US person as:

Any natural person resident in the United States; Any partnership or corporation organized or incorporated under the laws of the United States; Any estate of which any executor or administrator is a US person; Any trust of which any trustee is a US person; Any agency or branch of a foreign entity located in the United States; Any non-discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary for the benefit or account of a US person; Any discretionary account or similar account (other than an estate or trust) held by a dealer or other fiduciary organized, incorporated, or (if an individual) resident in the United States; and Any partnership or corporation if: Organized or incorporated under the laws of any foreign jurisdiction; and Formed by a US person principally for the purpose of investing in securities not registered under the Act, unless it is organized or incorporated, and owned, by accredited investors (as defined in Rule 501(a)) who are not natural persons, estates or trusts. Section 902(k)(2) further defines some persons who are explicitly not US persons. Unlike other definitions of US person, the Regulation S definition of US person does not include US citizens not resident in the US.

Taxation Internal Revenue Code Section 7701(a)(30) defines a US person as:

a citizen or resident of the United States (including a lawful permanent resident residing abroad who has not formally notified United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to abandon that status); a domestic partnership; a domestic corporation; any estate (other than a foreign estate, within the meaning of paragraph (31)); and any trust if— a court within the United States is able to exercise primary supervision over the administration of the trust, and one or more United States persons have the authority to control all substantial decisions of the trust.

See also Americans Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution United States entity Personhood § United States

Notes

References

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with United States person

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what United States person claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to United States person before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about United States person ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of United States person

In research: United States person appears in science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses United States person in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: United States person is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics American legal terminology, Law of the United States, National Security Agency, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for United States person outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study United States person in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what United States person means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain United States person out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is United States person in simple terms?

The term United States person or US person is used in various contexts in U.S. law and regulations with different meanings. It can refer to natural persons or other entities.

Why does United States person matter?

Because it connects several science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study United States person?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on United States person.