Hi there!
I'm a recent law graduate from Hong Kong and I've applied to several LLM programs in the US including Harvard, NYU, Penn and Chicago. I was born in the US and am a US citizen, though I attended high school and university in Hong Kong.
As I've noticed LLM programs in the US (or at least the ones I've applied to) generally seem to be geared towards international students, I was wondering if and how my US citizenship would affect my applications. In particular:

1. I've heard that schools have country/regional quotas due to diversity policies, such that there is a limit on the number of students accepted from a particular region or country in any given year. This would mean that someone applying from a country with many applicants would be disadvantaged when compared to someone with the same credentials applying from a country with fewer applicants.
So I was wondering what country the admissions committees would take into account for my case? Would they base it on my country of citizenship (US) or on the country that I obtained my first law degree (HK)?

2. I scored 115/120 on the TOEFL. But some universities did not require me to submit my TOEFL score on the basis that I am a US citizen / English is my first language / my undergraduate studies in HK were conducted entirely in English. In hindsight, I am now wondering whether I should have submitted my TOEFL score anyway and whether this would have been more advantageous for my application...

Of course at this point, I'm just asking out of curiosity since I've already submitted all my applications. Or maybe for a little peace of mind... Any thoughts / personal experiences on this matter would be greatly appreciated!

[quote]Hi there!
I'm a recent law graduate from Hong Kong and I've applied to several LLM programs in the US including Harvard, NYU, Penn and Chicago. I was born in the US and am a US citizen, though I attended high school and university in Hong Kong.
As I've noticed LLM programs in the US (or at least the ones I've applied to) generally seem to be geared towards international students, I was wondering if and how my US citizenship would affect my applications. In particular:

1. I've heard that schools have country/regional quotas due to diversity policies, such that there is a limit on the number of students accepted from a particular region or country in any given year. This would mean that someone applying from a country with many applicants would be disadvantaged when compared to someone with the same credentials applying from a country with fewer applicants.
So I was wondering what country the admissions committees would take into account for my case? Would they base it on my country of citizenship (US) or on the country that I obtained my first law degree (HK)?

2. I scored 115/120 on the TOEFL. But some universities did not require me to submit my TOEFL score on the basis that I am a US citizen / English is my first language / my undergraduate studies in HK were conducted entirely in English. In hindsight, I am now wondering whether I should have submitted my TOEFL score anyway and whether this would have been more advantageous for my application...

Of course at this point, I'm just asking out of curiosity since I've already submitted all my applications. Or maybe for a little peace of mind... Any thoughts / personal experiences on this matter would be greatly appreciated![/quote]

I was in a similar situation and it made no difference. They are mostly focused on where (which country) you studied. As a dual-national, you won't need to worry about a visa. Other than that, you are a foreign-educated applicant and they consider you an international student.

One thing that is really good with being a US citizen is that foreign students need to get their visas handled relatively early, that means that you can very easily get into a desirable LLM program if you are waitlisted.

As an example, I was not able to attend an LLM last year due to lack of financing so I had to say no to my spots. However, a lot of prestigious universities told me to get back to them in June/July if my financial situation changed.