ADVANTAGES OF BECOMING A
U.S. CITIZEN
United States citizens enjoy many benefits not
granted to lawful permanent residents. U.S. citizens have the right to vote and
to hold public office, and may qualify for various jobs from which permanent
residents are barred, including many aerospace and defense jobs, federal
government jobs and employment as a peace officer.
Furthermore, U.S.
citizens are able to petition for permanent residence for their spouses,
parents, brothers and sisters, and sons and daughters, whether single or
married. Permanent residents, on the other hand, are restricted to petitioning
for their spouses and unmarried sons and daughters. U.S. citizens also enjoy the
travel privileges made possible by a U.S. Passport. Most importantly, U.S.
citizenship, unlike permanent residence, is very difficult to revoke. For
example, while a permanent resident can be deported or removed from the United
States based on a criminal conviction (even a very old one), this severe penalty
cannot be applied to citizens.
REQUIREMENTS FOR
NATURALIZATION
One becomes a citizen by being born in the
U.S., by being born abroad to parents who are citizens, or by naturalization.
Obtaining citizenship through naturalization requires that the citizen meet the
following requirements:
1. Age
Applicants
for naturalization must be at least 18 years
old.
2. Residence/Physical Presence
In general,
applicants for naturalization must have been lawfully admitted to the United
States for permanent residents and must have resided in the U.S. as permanent
residents for a minimum of five years prior to filing, with no single absence
from the U.S. of more than one year. Furthermore, applicants must have been
physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the
previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year
shall disrupt the applicant's continuity of residence unless the applicant can
establish that he or she did not abandon his or residence during such
period). In addition, applicants must have resided within a state or district
for at least three months prior to applying for naturalization.
Those
who are married to U.S. citizens or have served in the armed forces of the U.S.
may, under certain conditions, qualify for naturalization after only three years
of residency. The residency requirement is waived altogether for certain members
of the armed forces who have served during period of hostilities, for spouses of
U.S. citizens working abroad for the government or other designated employers,
and for children who are petitioned by a parent. The law requires that an
applicant be physically present in the U.S. for at least half of the residency
period that applies to his or her case.
3.
Loyalty
The applicant must renounce his allegiance to his
country of birth and pledge loyalty to the U.S. Despite this renunciation,
however, many other countries, including Canada and Great Britain, recognize the
dual citizenship.
4. 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. However, the Service is not limited to the
statutory period in determining whether an applicant has established good moral
character. A person cannot be found to be a person of good moral character if,
during the last five years, he or she was convicted of an aggravated felony, a
crime involving moral turpitude, two or more offenses for which the total
sentence imposed was 5 years or more, any controlled substance offense (except
for a single offense of simple possession of 30 grams or less of marijuana), any
offenses resulting in an aggregate period of imprisonment of at least 180 days,
or two or more gambling offenses. In addition, anyone who earns his or her
principal income from illegal gambling, has been involved in prostitution or
smuggling illegal aliens into the United States, has been a habitual drunkard,
practiced polygamy, willfully failed or refused to support dependents, or has
given false testimony under oath in order to receive a benefit under the
Immigration and Nationality Act, cannot be considered a person of good moral
character.
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 under the enumerated provisions. Each
applicant is required to submit fingerprints and an application listing
biographical information. The fingerprints are sent to the FBI, which informs
the Service about whether the applicant has a criminal record. Since some
applicants with a criminal record and those who obtained their green cards
through false pretenses may be susceptible to deportation/removal, it is
critical for such individuals to consult with an attorney before applying for
naturalization.
5. English
All applicants
for naturalization must be able to speak, read, write and understand simple
words and phrases in the English language. Some longtime, elderly permanent
residents and applicants with certain disabilities are exempt from the English
requirement.
6. History and Government
Applicants are required to pass a short examination regarding the
history and government of the U.S. Applicants 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. Furthermore, applicants who have been residing in
the U.S. subsequent to a lawful admission for permanent residence for at least
20 years and are over the age of 65 will be afforded special consideration in
satisfying this requirement.