A Samoan American is an American who is of ethnic Samoan descent and may be from either the independent nation Samoa or the American territory of American Samoa. Many Samoans live in Los Angeles, Carson, Long Beach, San Jose, Salt Lake City, Independence, Missouri, Houston, Seattle and in the state of Hawaii. Since the end of World War II, persons born in American Samoa are United States nationals, but not United States citizens. (This is the only circumstance under which an individual would be one and not the other.) For this reason, Samoans can move to Hawaii or the mainland United States and obtain citizenship comparatively easily.

Samoan Americans | Ethnic groups in the United States