22 U.S.C. § 212 — Persons entitled to passport

This section is a single, undivided rule. A passport may not be granted, issued, or verified for anyone except a person who owes allegiance to the United States. The section says this covers such persons "whether citizens or not" — meaning both U.S. citizens and non-citizens who owe allegiance to the United States can qualify, while people who owe no allegiance to the United States cannot get a passport under this rule. The section does not explain what it means to "owe allegiance" to the United States beyond using that phrase, so that term is not further defined here. It also does not list any exceptions to this requirement.