Not necessarily. I could have gone that route (as several training partners did), but would have gotten absolutely smashed at the world/Olympic level. It wasn't worth the time or money investment, but also would have felt weird to rep another country. Additionally, Olympic qualification was becoming a thing and I wouldn't have made it out of the qualifier, though I'm not sure which cycle it went into place.
And I agree with Lleynor. I would never root for one of the Americans wearing another color vs. USA. Except maybe if Fix were involved.