Yes, the U.S. Virgin Islands are part of the United States. They are an unincorporated U.S. territory in the Caribbean, made up of St. Thomas, St. Croix, St. John, and about 50 smaller islets, with a population of roughly 77,000. People born there are U.S. citizens, the islands use U.S. currency, and the federal government holds sovereignty. But being part of a territory is not the same as being part of a state, and the difference shows up in voting, benefits, and how the Constitution applies.
Not the Same as the British Virgin Islands
Two separate island groups share the name, and the distinction matters. The U.S. Virgin Islands are American territory, governed by U.S. law, and residents carry U.S. passports. The British Virgin Islands sit just to the northeast and are a British Overseas Territory with its own parliamentary government and a governor appointed by the British monarch. Flying to the USVI from the mainland is a domestic trip; the BVI is a foreign country that requires a passport and foreign customs clearance.
What “Unincorporated Territory” Means
Congress holds broad authority over all U.S. territories under the Territorial Clause of Article IV, which lets it “make all needful Rules and Regulations” for U.S. territory.1Congress.gov. U.S. Constitution – Article IV The Supreme Court has described this as “the entire dominion and sovereignty, national and local” over territories.2Constitution Annotated. ArtIV.S3.C2.3 Power of Congress over Territories
The word “unincorporated” is the piece that matters most for residents. A line of early-twentieth-century Supreme Court decisions known as the Insular Cases established that the full Constitution does not automatically apply in unincorporated territories. Only rights the Court considers “fundamental” are guaranteed, and the Court never defined that term precisely. Residents of territories have lived in that constitutional gray zone for over a century.3U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. The Insular Cases and the Doctrine of the Unincorporated Territory
Local governance runs under the Revised Organic Act of 1954, which functions as a local constitution. It created an elected governor serving four-year terms, a unicameral legislature, and a local court system.4Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC Chapter 12 – Virgin Islands 1954 Congress can override local laws at any time. The territory has tried repeatedly to draft its own constitution, but no version has been approved by both local voters and Congress.
Citizenship for People Born There
Anyone born in the U.S. Virgin Islands on or after February 25, 1927, and subject to U.S. jurisdiction, is a U.S. citizen at birth. Federal law also retroactively granted citizenship to people born in the territory between January 17, 1917, and that 1927 cutoff.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 8 USC 1406 – Persons Living in and Born in the Virgin Islands
USVI citizens carry U.S. passports and can move to any state without paperwork. Once living in a state, they gain every right that comes with state residency, including the right to vote in federal elections. The reverse also catches people off guard: a mainland resident who moves to the territory loses the right to vote for president.
Voting and Representation
Territorial status hits hardest here. Residents of the U.S. Virgin Islands cannot vote for president. The territory has no representation in the Electoral College, so there is no mechanism for presidential votes to count.6U.S. Commission on Civil Rights. Voting Rights in U.S. Territories Advisory Memorandum Residents can participate in presidential primaries and help pick party nominees at national conventions, but their involvement ends there.
In Congress, the territory has a single nonvoting delegate in the House of Representatives.7Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 48 USC 1711 – Delegate to House of Representatives from Guam and Virgin Islands The delegate can sit on committees, introduce legislation, and speak on the House floor, but cannot vote on final passage of a bill. There is no representation at all in the Senate. For roughly 77,000 American citizens, federal law is made almost entirely without their input.
Federal Benefits Residents Don’t Fully Receive
Several major federal programs either exclude the territory outright or fund it at far lower levels than states receive.
- Supplemental Security Income: USVI residents are ineligible. SSI covers people in the 50 states, D.C., and the Northern Mariana Islands, but excludes American Samoa, Guam, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.8Social Security Administration. Supplemental Security Income (SSI)
- Medicaid: Federal Medicaid money comes to the territory under a fixed annual cap rather than the open-ended match states receive. The federal matching rate is set at 55 percent, compared to rates that can top 70 percent for lower-income states. When the cap runs out, the territory covers the rest alone.9MACPAC. Federal Match Rate Exceptions
- Nutrition assistance: The USVI does not participate in SNAP. It receives a separate block grant for nutrition assistance, with funding set at a fixed amount regardless of how many residents qualify.
- ACA marketplace: USVI residents cannot buy coverage through the federal Affordable Care Act marketplace, and the territory is exempt from major ACA insurance requirements.10HealthCare.gov. Are You Eligible to Use the Marketplace?
Social Security itself works normally. Workers in the territory pay Social Security and Medicare taxes under the same rules as the mainland, and those with enough work credits qualify for regular retirement and disability benefits.11Internal Revenue Service. Persons Employed in a U.S. Possession – FICA But an elderly, low-income U.S. citizen living in the USVI has access to far fewer federal resources than the same person would have in any state. Moving to the mainland opens up eligibility immediately.
Travel and Customs
U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents traveling directly between the mainland and the U.S. Virgin Islands do not need a passport. A government-issued photo ID with proof of citizenship, such as a birth certificate, is enough.12U.S. Customs and Border Protection. Needing a Passport to Enter the United States from U.S. Territories A passport simplifies the trip and is essential if any part of the itinerary stops at a foreign port.
Even though the islands are American soil, they sit outside the official U.S. customs territory, which covers only the 50 states, D.C., and Puerto Rico. Travelers returning to the mainland pass through a Customs and Border Protection inspection, and goods are subject to duty rules. The USVI’s duty-free allowance is more generous than most international destinations, which supports a sizable local duty-free shopping industry.
Taxes
The U.S. Virgin Islands uses what is known as a “mirror” tax system. Local tax law mirrors the Internal Revenue Code, with “Virgin Islands” substituted wherever the code says “United States.”13Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue. Tax Structure of the U.S. Virgin Islands Rates and rules track federal law closely, but revenue goes to the territorial government instead of the IRS.
A bona fide USVI resident files with the Virgin Islands Bureau of Internal Revenue and reports worldwide income, generally without filing a separate IRS return, as long as all income is reported and the full tax is paid to the USVI. A mainland U.S. citizen earning income from USVI sources files with both the IRS and the USVI bureau and uses IRS Form 8689 to allocate the tax between the two.14Internal Revenue Service. Publication 570 (2025), Tax Guide for Individuals With Income From U.S. Possessions