Becoming Legal Immigration Law and Mixed Status Families Ch 2

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Becoming a U.S. citizen is a dream for many, and there are different methods to reach that. Most people volition first utilize to become a legal permanent resident and then become a naturalized citizen. Withal, you can also gain citizenship through marriage, your parents, or armed services service. If you have questions about becoming a citizen, contact an chaser who specializes in U.S. immigration police.

1. 1

   Obtain a greenish menu. Before you tin can become a naturalized citizen, y'all need to get a legal permanent resident. This is called getting your "green card." You can get a green card in the following ways:^[one]

   • Green card through your family. A family member in the U.s.a. tin can sponsor you. If your family member is a U.S. denizen, then they can sponsor their spouse, unmarried children under twenty-one years of age, and parents. They can also sponsor siblings, married children, and unmarried children over xx-one years of age.
   • Greenish carte du jour through your task. If you have an offer of permanent employment, you are eligible to petition to get a green carte. Others with exceptional power tin petition themselves and don't need an employer to sponsor them.^[ii]
   • Green card as a refugee or aviary seeker. Refugees and aviary seekers in the Usa for one twelvemonth may petition for a green menu.

2. 2

   Satisfy residency requirements. You need to live in the The states for a certain amount of fourth dimension earlier you apply for naturalization. Check that yous satisfy the following:^[iii]

   • You lot must have been lawfully admitted into the U.Southward.
   • You must demonstrate continuous residence in the U.Due south. for at to the lowest degree five years immediately before you file for naturalization. For example, if you want to apply in January 2018, you lot must have been a resident since January 2013.
   • Yous must have been physically present in the U.S. for at least thirty months during those 5 years.
   • You lot must testify you have lived for at least 3 months in the state or USCIS district where you use.

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3. iii

   Meet personal requirements. You must also encounter certain personal requirements, such as the following:^[4]

   • You must be at least eighteen years sometime when y'all file your application to become naturalized.
   • You should be able to speak, write, and read in English language. You lot will have to pass an test to demonstrate your proficiency in the language.
   • Y'all must be a person of good moral character. Essentially, this means you are an upstanding fellow member of guild who works, pays their taxes, and doesn't intermission the police force.^[5]

4. 4

   Submit your naturalization application. Download Grade N-400, Awarding for Naturalization, and either blazon the requested data or print neatly in black ink. Be sure to download and read the instructions ahead of fourth dimension.^{[half dozen]}

   • You volition take to submit supporting documents along with your application. Read the instructions to find out what to supply. For example, you must supply a copy of your permanent resident card.
   • Every bit of June 2017, the filing fee is $640. You as well need to pay a biometric service fee of $85. Make your check or coin order payable to "U.S. Section of Homeland Security." Don't utilize other initials.
   • To observe out where to file, call 1-800-375-5283.

5. 5

   Give biometrics. Virtually applicants will need to give their fingerprints, photo, and signature. USCIS will notify you if you do. They volition ship a notice with the appointment, fourth dimension, and location of your appointment.^[7]

   • Your fingerprints will be sent to the FBI for a groundwork check.
   • Make certain to pick upwardly your study booklet to prepare for your English and civics tests.

6. six

   Prepare for your tests. You lot'll attend an interview, where a USCIS officer will question you nearly your background and application. You will as well take your English and civics test at the interview. You should prepare for the tests advisedly.

   • Retrieve almost attending an English language or citizenship training class. To find your nearest class, visit this website: https://my.uscis.gov/findaclass.
   • Y'all tin can as well take exercise civics tests, which are available online.^[8]

7. 7

   Attend your interview. You volition receive notice in the mail telling you the date and time for your interview. At the interview, you will take the English and citizenship tests. If you speak English well enough in the interview, y'all might non need to sit the English exam.^[ix]

   • Gather required documents alee of time. A checklist should be sent to yous (Class 477).^[10]

8. 8

   Swear an adjuration. The final stride is to swear the Oath of Allegiance. You'll receive Form 455, which will tell you where and when to take the oath. Yous must respond the questions on the dorsum of this form and review them with an officer when y'all attend your naturalization ceremony.

   • At the end of the ceremony, you will receive your certificate of naturalization.^[11]

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1. 1

   Obtain a green card through your spouse. Your spouse should submit Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative to USCIS. Your spouse will demand to submit proof of the matrimony, such equally a spousal relationship certificate.

   • If yous're already living in the U.S. afterward entering legally, and then you tin can adjust your status at the aforementioned fourth dimension. Consummate and submit Course I-485, Application to Annals Permanent Residency or Adjust Status. Your spouse can submit this form along with Form I-130.
   • If you're currently living outside the U.S., then yous'll need to wait for your visa to be approved. You'll attend an interview at the nearest embassy or consulate.^[12] Once admitted into the U.Southward., you can adjust your condition by filing Form I-485.

2. 2

   Talk about your union in an interview. The U.S. government is worried about sham marriages, then y'all can expect to attend an interview where an official will inquire personal questions. Mutual questions include the following:^[13]

   • Where did y'all meet your spouse?
   • How many people attended your wedding?
   • Who does the cooking and who pays the bills?
   • What did you do for your spouse's altogether?
   • What forms of nativity control do you apply?

3. 3

   Satisfy the residency requirements. You can't immediately apply for naturalization subsequently receiving your green menu. Instead, you must see the following residency requirements:^[14]

   • Yous must have been a green card holder for the three years immediately before you utilize for naturalization.
   • You must take been a continuous resident for the three years earlier yous apply and accept been physically present in the U.S. for at least eighteen months.
   • You must take lived in a marriage with your U.S. citizen spouse during the three years. Your spouse must have been a citizen during the unabridged time.
   • You must accept lived within the state or USCIS district for at least three months earlier you lot file your application.

4. 4

   Run into other personal requirements. In addition to residency, you need to show that y'all have other personal characteristics to exist eligible. Cheque that you lot satisfy the following:^[15]

   • You must be at least eighteen years of historic period.
   • You must be able to write, read, and speak English.
   • You lot demand to be a person of good moral character. More often than not, this means you haven't cleaved a serious law and that yous run across your legal obligations, such as paying taxes and child support.^[16]
   • Yous must accept entered the country legally. For example, you lot can't be in the United States illegally and get citizenship simply because yous married a citizen.

5. v

   Submit your naturalization awarding. Once you take satisfied the residency requirement, you tin submit Form 400, Awarding for Naturalization. Download and read the instructions earlier completing the application, bachelor here: https://www.uscis.gov/northward-400. When you are set up to file, telephone call 1-800-375-5283 to notice out the address.

   • Read the instructions to find out what documents y'all must submit along with your application.
   • Brand payment to "U.S. Department of Homeland Security." As of June 2017, the filing fee is $640 and the biometric fee is $85. You can pay using money order or cheque.

6. vi

   Give fingerprints. USCIS will send you a notice telling yous where to give your fingerprints and when.^[17] USCIS needs your fingerprints then that the FBI can run a background check.

7. 7

   Attend an interview. You'll need to run across with immigration officials to go over your application. USCIS is looking to confirm that your application is legitimate and that nothing has changed since you lot submitted information technology. Yous'll receive a checklist of documents to have with you to the interview, so assemble everything ahead of time.

8. 8

   Take your tests. You lot must laissez passer exams in civics and English. You will take them at your interview, and you should prepare as much as possible. For example, await to see if a grooming grade is offered most you for either test. You can find the nearest classes at this website: https://my.uscis.gov/findaclass. Enter your zip code.

   • Several exercise civics tests are available here: https://my.uscis.gov/prep/test/civics.

9. ix

   Attend your naturalization anniversary. The final step is to swear the Oath of Allegiance at your naturalization ceremony. Form 455 will tell you when and where the ceremony will take place. At the end of the ceremony, y'all'll receive your document of naturalization.^[eighteen]

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1. one

   Be born to U.S. citizens. You lot will automatically get a U.S. denizen even if you are born outside the Us if both of your parents are U.Southward. citizens at the time of birth and are married to each other. At least one parent must have lived in the U.S. or a territory before the child's birth.^[19]

2. 2

   Have i parent as a U.Due south. citizen. A child can besides automatically qualify as a U.S. denizen at nascence if ane parent is a U.South. citizen, provided the parents are both married to each other. This parent must take been present in a land or territory for at to the lowest degree five years in their life before the child is born.

   • The parent also must have spent at least 2 of those years in a state/territory after they were aged fourteen.^[20]
   • The child must have been born on or after Nov 14, 1986.
   • There are some other circumstances, which you tin read about at the USCIS website.

3. iii

   Authorize even if your parents are single. A child tin can automatically qualify as a denizen at birth if their parents are unmarried. Consider the following situations:^[21]

   • The mother is a U.S. citizen at the time of birth and the female parent has been physically present in the U.S. or an outlying territory for at least one year.
   • The genetic father is a U.S. citizen at the fourth dimension of birth. The kid's female parent can exist an alien. However, you must prove with clear and convincing show that the male parent is the kid's biological begetter, and he must agree in writing to provide financial support for the child until they are xviii years of age. The begetter too must accept been living in the United states of america for a certain amount of time.

4. iv

   Earn citizenship afterward nascency. A child can automatically qualify for citizenship if they were born later February 27, 2001 and meet the following requirements:^[22]

   • I parent must be a U.S. citizen.
   • The kid must be under eighteen years of historic period.
   • The child should reside in the United States.
   • The parent who is the U.S. citizen must have legal and physical custody of the child.
   • If the child was born before Feb 27, 2001, then different requirements employ.

5. v

   Become a citizen past adoption. A child living legally in the U.S. with parents who have legal and physical custody can get a citizen past virtue of their adoption. One of the following conditions must be met:^[23]

   • The parents adopted the child before the child's sixteenth birthday and reside with the child in the U.S. for at to the lowest degree two years.
   • Alternately, the kid was admitted into the U.S. every bit an orphan (IR-3) or Convention adoptee (IH-3) and the adoption was completed outside the U.S. The child must take been adopted before their eighteenth birthday.
   • The child was admitted into the land every bit an orphan (IR-4) or Convention adoptee (IH-four) who arrived to be adopted. The kid must take been adopted earlier their eighteenth altogether.

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1. 1

   Exercise good moral grapheme. Good moral character generally means that you don't intermission the law and you meet all of your legal obligations, such equally paying taxes and making child support payments. If you have a criminal conviction, consult with an immigration attorney.

2. two

   Show cognition of English and U.S. civics. Members of the armed forces must testify that they tin can read, write, and speak English language. They also must prove noesis of U.S. government and history, chosen civics.^[24]

   • Yous'll accept to pass exams in both English language and civics. You can find information about the exams online.

3. iii

   Serve in peacetime. If you served in peacetime, y'all tin use for naturalization if you meet the post-obit requirements:^[25]

   • Serve honorably for at to the lowest degree one yr.
   • Obtain a green card.
   • File an application while withal in service or within six months of separation.

4. 4

   Serve during wartime. The requirements are different if you are serving during a menstruation of hostilities. The U.South. has currently been in such a menses since 2002, and it volition last until the President designates that it is over. In this situation, all members of the armed forces can immediately apply to become naturalized.^[26]

5. five

   Utilise for citizenship. Every installation should accept a person to contact. They volition unremarkably exist in personnel or the Gauge Advocate General's Function. Yous will need to complete Form N-400 and Grade N-426.^[27] Contact them and receive a packet of information. Your filing fee is waived.

   • USCIS has client service specialists who can answer questions from military members and their families. Call ane-877-247-4645 Monday through Friday, viii:00 am to 4:00 pm.
   • Yous tin can also email militaryinfo.nsc@dhs.gov.

6. 6

   Swear an oath. Before you can become a citizen, you must evidence attachment to the U.South. Constitution by swearing an adjuration of fidelity.^[28]

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Add New Question

• Question

  Volition I automatically go a Us citizen if I ally a US citizen?

  

  No. You lot still need to utilize for US citizenship. Marrying a US citizen volition make the procedure easier, however.

• Question

  How long does it take to go citizenship?

  

  Assuming you are a permanent resident of the U.S. for at to the lowest degree five years, the process takes annihilation from three months to over a year. Cheque with your local USCIS office, since processing times vary considerably. If you lot are married to a denizen, so it only takes 3 years instead of 5.

• Question

  My child was built-in here. Do I go a denizen as well?

  

  No, yous do not automatically get a denizen.

• Question

  Can I join the Army before I become a The states citizen?

  

  Aye, you lot can join the ground forces before yous become a U.S. citizen, every bit long as yous accept a green card. Joining the army besides helps you become a denizen, as y'all only have to live one year in America instead of three.

• Question

  How many years tin can I live in the The states earlier I have to take the citizenship exam?

  

  You can alive at that place as long as you desire, as long every bit you renew your green card. You never take to get a citizen and take the test, unless you want to become a citizen.

• Question

  If my green menu is expired, can I use to be a U.Due south. citizen?

  

  No. If your green card has expired, y'all cannot. But if y'all apply vi months before the expiration, y'all can utilise for citizenship and no longer demand a green card.

• Question

  I was married to a U.South. denizen but am at present divorced. Tin I still go a citizen?

  

  This depends on when yous divorced. If you've been in the U.South. for v years, you still qualify. However, you might exist trying to qualify for early citizenship later three years based on your wedlock. In that situation, you must still exist married to your spouse before your naturalization ceremony.

• Question

  Tin my parents become citizens if I become eighteen or 21 and file for their papers?

  

  No, your parents must file their own papers.

• Question

  My green card doesn't accept an expiration date. Is it valid for citizenship?

  

  You don't have an expiration date because you take ane of the older green cards from the early on eighties. They don't expire, they are permanent, that'south why yous only have an event appointment.

• Question

  Exercise I need to be a US citizen if I want to become to higher in the US?

  

  No, but you will need to apply for a student visa. The higher yous want to attend should be able to requite you lot more information, so I would recommend contacting them.

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• If you lot have criminal convictions, consult with an clearing attorney to meet if yous can pursue becoming a citizen.

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Article Summary X

To get a US citizen, you must be 18 or older, proficient in English language, and a law-abiding person. If you lot run into those requirements, 1 fashion you can try to get a green card is past having a family member who's already a citizen sponsor you. Some other style to get a greenish card is through your job if y'all take an employment offer. You besides can petition for a greenish card if you take been in the US for 1 year as a refugee or asylum seeker. For more information on condign a US citizen, including by birth or spousal relationship, keep reading!

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