THE NATURALIZATION PROCESS: HOW TO BECOME AN UNITED STATES CITIZEN

A citizen of the United States is a native-born, foreign-born, or naturalized person who owes allegiance to the United States and who is entitled to its protection.

As a citizen, you are entitled to unique rights and privileges which include the right to vote, having a United States passport, the U.S. government's protection while abroad and the right to petition for green cards for your children and close relatives.  As a U.S. citizen, you cannot be deported or lose your citizenship even if you commit a crime or choose to live elsewhere in the world, unless you misrepresented yourself to attain citizenship or were ineligible at the time.

Naturalization is the process by which United States citizenship is conferred upon a foreign citizen or national after he or she fulfills the requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).

A permanent resident alien can file for U.S. citizenship 4 years and 9 months after obtaining a green card. The one exception to the above is 3 years, if the permanent resident alien obtained the green card through marriage to a U.S. citizen and is still married to and resides with that US citizen.

     To become a citizen, the applicant must have filed federal and state income tax returns for the past 5 years, must not have been convicted of any crimes and must answer questions about U.S. government and history at the citizenship interview.  The applicant must also be able to read, write, and understand English.  However, there are some waivers to the requirement.  The approximate waiting period from the application for citizenship to interview is 12 to 15 months.

The general requirements for the naturalization process include: 

1)        Residency - An applicant must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence. Your time as a Permanent Resident begins on the date you were granted permanent resident status.

2)        Residence and Physical Presence  - An applicant is eligible to file if, immediately preceding the filing of the application, he or she:

a)    has been lawfully admitted for permanent residence;

b)    has resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;

c)    has been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months ( 2 ý years) out of the previous 60 months (five years);

d)    has resided within the United States territory for at least three months:

e)    is of Good Moral Character.  Generally, an applicant must show that he or she has been a person of good moral character for the statutory period (typically five years or three years if married to a U.S. citizen or one year for Armed Forces expedite) prior to filing for naturalization.  An applicant must disclose all relevant facts to the Service, including his or her entire criminal history, regardless of whether the criminal history disqualifies the applicant. Even if you have committed a minor crime, the Service may deny your application if you do not tell the Service officer about the incident.

3)        Language - Applicants for naturalization must be able to read, write, speak, and understand words in ordinary usage in the English language. Applicants exempt from this requirement are those who on the date of filing:

a)    have been residing in the United States subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 15 years or more and are over 55 years of age;

b)    have been residing in the United States subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for periods totaling 20 years or more and are over 50 years of age; or

c)    have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, where the impairment affects the applicant's ability to learn English.

4)        United States Government and History Knowledge - An applicant for naturalization must demonstrate a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of the history and of the principles and form of government of the United States. The only applicants that are exempt from this requirement are those who, on the date of filing, have a medically determinable physical or mental impairment, where the impairment affects the applicant's ability to learn U.S. History and Government

5)        Oath of Allegiance - To become a citizen, one must take the oath of allegiance. By doing so, an applicant swears to:

a)    support the Constitution and obey the laws of the U.S.;

b)    renounce any foreign allegiance and/or foreign title; and

c)    bear arms for the Armed Forces of the U.S. or perform services for the government of the U.S. when required.  In certain instances, where the applicant establishes that he or she is opposed to any type of service in armed forces based on religious teaching or belief, BCIS will permit these applicants to take a modified oath.

Due to both the complexity and the constant changes in immigration laws, one should consult an attorney before preparing the necessary documents for their naturalization processing.  If you are looking for advice on immigration, feel free to call.