1. CITIZENSHIP THROUGH NATURALIZATION

 

A person can become a U.S. citizen: (1) by birth, i.e., by right of birth on U.S. territory or by right of birth to U.S. citizen parents; or (2) through naturalization.

​

If you are not a U.S. citizen by birth and did not automatically acquire U.S. citizenship after birth, you may be eligible to become a U.S. citizen through the regular naturalization process. For this purpose, individuals 18 years of age and older file the Application for Naturalization (Form N-400) with the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

How long does the naturalization application processing take?

The time varies depending on the location where the naturalization application is filed. Since October 2001, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has been processing naturalization applications, on average, from 6 to 9 months. However, there are exceptions in either direction.

​

What to do if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services delays the processing of my naturalization application?

In some cases, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services delays the processing of naturalization applications for many years. If you find yourself in such a situation, you have the right to file a lawsuit against the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and other government agencies, including the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), in the U.S. District Court to compel them to adjudicate your naturalization application in the shortest possible time.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may cite delays in the FBI name check as the reason for the delay in processing your naturalization application. Therefore, it is very important that your interests be represented by an experienced immigration attorney who will hold all involved government agencies accountable.

Under U.S. immigration law, a decision to approve or deny your naturalization application must be made by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services within 120 days after you complete your citizenship interview. If more than 120 days have passed since your citizenship interview and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has not made a decision on your naturalization application, or if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is unreasonably delaying the scheduling of your citizenship interview or the date of your citizenship ceremony, you can count on highly professional assistance from the attorneys of our firm.

​

What to do if the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services denies my naturalization application?

​

In the event of denial of your naturalization application, we strongly recommend seeking help from an experienced immigration attorney. Our firm successfully represents our clients’ cases before the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and is ready to provide you with highly professional assistance.

If your naturalization application is denied by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, you may request a hearing before a different immigration officer who will review your application anew and conduct an additional interview. The new immigration officer may either affirm the denial or reconsider the original denial and approve your naturalization application.

To do this, you must file a Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Form N-336) within 30 days of the denial of your naturalization application and pay the required filing fee. If you or your attorney properly file Form N-336, accompanied by your arguments and evidence, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will schedule a new interview within 180 days of the filing of your Request for a Hearing.

It is very important that your arguments be persuasive, summarize the immigration rules on naturalization, demonstrate why the original decision of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to deny your naturalization application is incorrect, and show why you are eligible for naturalization in the United States.

​

Review of Denial of Naturalization Application by the U.S. District Court

​

If your Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Form N-336) is denied, you have the right to ask the U.S. District Court to review your naturalization application anew. Our firm successfully represents our clients’ cases in U.S. District Courts and is ready to provide you with highly professional assistance.

To have your naturalization application reviewed by the U.S. District Court, you must file a Petition for Review in the U.S. District Court in your place of residence within 120 days of the denial of your Request for a Hearing on a Decision in Naturalization Proceedings (Form N-336) by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.

The U.S. District Court will review your naturalization application anew and make its own decision to either approve or deny your naturalization application.

​

What if I cannot attend the scheduled citizenship interview?

It is very important not to miss the interview. If you are unable to attend the interview, you should notify the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services office where your interview is scheduled as soon as possible by certified mail. In your letter, you should request to reschedule your interview. Rescheduling an interview may add several months to the naturalization process, so try not to change your original interview date. If a critical situation arises and you absolutely cannot attend the interview, call the National Customer Service Center at 1-800-375-5283 and request to reschedule the interview. If you miss your scheduled interview without notifying the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, your application will be denied.

​

If I successfully complete the citizenship interview and the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services approves my naturalization application, when can I become a U.S. citizen?

​

You will become a citizen as soon as you take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States. In some U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services offices, you may take the Oath on the same day as your interview. If this is not possible, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services will notify you of the date and location of the Oath ceremony.

Do I need to disclose in my naturalization application that I was arrested for a crime if the court proceedings against me were dismissed?

Yes. You must always be honest with the immigration service regarding all:

• arrests made by police, immigration authorities, or other federal authorities;

• convictions (even if they were expunged);

• crimes you committed but for which you were not arrested or convicted.

Even if you committed a minor offense, the immigration service may deny your naturalization application if you fail to disclose the incident to the immigration officer.

​

Can I reapply for naturalization?

​

In many cases, you can reapply for naturalization. However, this depends on the reasons for the denial of your previous naturalization application. The denial letter from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services may include a date when you may reapply for citizenship. If you were denied because you failed the English language test and/or the civics test on U.S. history and government, you may reapply for naturalization at any time of your choosing. You will need to complete and file a new Form N-400 and pay the filing fee again. You will also need to have your fingerprints taken again.

​

How to obtain a new Certificate of Naturalization in place of a lost one?

​

To obtain a new Certificate of Naturalization, you must file Form N-565 (Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document) with the Nebraska or Texas Service Center of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, depending on the state in which you reside.

2. CITIZENSHIP THROUGH RELATIONSHIP

 

How can I become a citizen of the United States?

​

A person can become a U.S. citizen:

(1) by birth; or

(2) through naturalization.

​

Who is born a citizen of the United States?

​

Individuals are considered U.S. citizens by birth if they were born in the United States or if they were born to U.S. citizen parents:

(1) Citizenship by birth in the United States

​

If you were born in the United States (including, in most cases, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the U.S. Virgin Islands), you are a U.S. citizen by birth, except in cases of birth to a foreign diplomat. Your birth certificate serves as proof of your U.S. citizenship.

​

(2) Citizenship in the case of birth abroad if both parents are U.S. citizens

In most cases, you are a U.S. citizen if ALL of the following are true:

• both of your parents were U.S. citizens at the time of your birth, and

• at least one of your parents resided in the United States for some period of time.

Registration of your birth abroad, if done by a U.S. consulate or embassy, serves as proof of your citizenship. You may also apply for a U.S. passport to have your citizenship recognized by the U.S. government. If you need additional proof of your citizenship, you may file Form N-600, Application for Certificate of Citizenship.

​

(3) Citizenship in the case of birth abroad if ONE parent is a U.S. citizen

In most cases, you are a U.S. citizen if ALL of the following are true:

• one of your parents was a U.S. citizen at the time of your birth;

• your U.S. citizen parent resided in the United States for at least 5 years prior to your birth; and

• at least 2 of those 5 years were spent in the United States after your U.S. citizen parent reached the age of 14;

• if you were born before November 14, 1986, you are a U.S. citizen if your U.S. citizen parent resided in the United States for at least 10 years, 5 of which were spent in the United States after your parent reached the age of 14.                                         

 

3. CITIZENSHIP THROUGH MILITARY SERVICE

​

The new law — the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2004 (H.R. 1588) — specifically provides new immigration benefits for U.S. military personnel and their families.

​

What new benefits does the new law provide directly to military personnel?

First, the law amends immigration legislation regarding the length of service required for military personnel to apply for U.S. citizenship. Under the new law, a military service member who is a lawful permanent resident of the United States may apply for citizenship after one (1) year of service. It should be noted that under prior law, a service member could apply for citizenship only after three (3) years of service in the United States.

​

Second, the law eliminates any government filing fees for military personnel related to the submission of immigration forms and petitions. Prior to the enactment of this law, military personnel were required to pay government fees for filing all types of immigration applications, such as applications for a Reentry Permit or an I-130 Immigrant Petition for Immediate Relative for a parent, spouse, and/or child. Now, military personnel are exempt from mandatory government fees not only for the above-mentioned applications and petitions but also for their applications for citizenship.

​

Third, a service member has the right to file a petition for citizenship, attend an interview, and take the Oath of Allegiance at U.S. embassies and consulates, as well as at U.S. military installations abroad.

​

Are there any restrictions on obtaining U.S. citizenship if a service member is discharged early from service?

Yes. If a service member obtains U.S. citizenship under the new law and is then discharged from military service before completing five (5) years of service for reasons other than “honorable discharge” (under other than honorable conditions), his/her U.S. citizenship will be revoked and annulled.

​

What new benefits does the new law provide directly to families of military personnel?

The new law allows preservation of immediate relative status for the spouse, child, and parent of a U.S. citizen service member who died or was killed in action or died of wounds received in battle. The immigration petition (Form I-130) may be filed independently by the above-mentioned family members within two (2) years of the service member’s death or, in the case of widows/widowers of service members, until the date of their subsequent remarriage.

​

If applications for adjustment of status (obtaining a Green Card) for immediate relatives were filed before the service member’s death, those applications will be processed according to the same procedure as if the service member were still alive.

If citizenship was granted posthumously to a service member in connection with service in the United States, his/her immediate relatives — spouse, child, and parents — may also independently file immigration petitions for themselves within two (2) years of the service member’s death or until the date of subsequent remarriage (applicable only to widows/widowers of service members).

​

Can a person who is illegally present in the country apply for citizenship based on military service?

The only case in which immigration law allows individuals who did not have lawful permanent residence permission to apply for naturalization is when he or she served honorably in the U.S. Armed Forces during a period of hostilities.

​

A service member who served honorably during any of the following periods of military conflict may file a petition for naturalization based on military service regardless of his/her immigration status:

• World War I — 4/16/17 to 11/11/18;

• World War II — 9/1/39 to 12/31/46;

• Korean Conflict — 6/25/50 to 7/1/55;

• Vietnam Conflict — 2/28/61 to 10/15/78;

• Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm — 8/29/90 to 4/11/91;

• Operation Enduring Freedom — 9/11/01 (ongoing); or

• any other period that the President, by Executive Order, designates as a period in which the Armed Forces of the United States were or are engaged in military operations involving armed conflict with hostile foreign forces.

 

DUAL CITIZENSHIP

​

Can a person have dual citizenship — of the United States and another country?

In many cases — yes. If you had dual citizenship from birth or childhood, or became a citizen of another country while already holding U.S. citizenship, and the other country has no laws or instructions requiring you to formally renounce your U.S. citizenship, U.S. law clearly permits you to hold both citizenship.

​

The U.S. Department of State, traditionally very aggressive in reviewing dual citizenship applications, has in recent years changed its approach to this issue, and it is now much easier to retain both citizenship.

​

The situation is somewhat less clear for those who become U.S. citizens through naturalization and still wish to retain their former citizenship. Individuals who have gone through the U.S. naturalization process are required to swear under oath that they renounce their former citizenship, and conduct contrary to this oath could theoretically lead to loss of U.S. citizenship status.

​

However, the U.S. Department of State no longer actively pursues such cases and generally does not object to a person using the passport of their former country of residence when traveling there.

​

Similarly, the U.S. Department of State no longer imposes any sanctions on individuals who renounce U.S. citizenship upon naturalization in a foreign country.

​

Does a person lose U.S. citizenship if they move to another country with the intention of residing there for a long period of time?

No. There was a single case in which a naturalized U.S. citizen could lose citizenship by remaining outside the United States for a prolonged period. However, this provision was struck down by the Supreme Court in Schneider v. Rusk (1964) and was repealed by Congress in 1978.

​

Later, a naturalized citizen could lose citizenship by establishing permanent residence abroad within one year after U.S. naturalization. However, this provision was repealed by the U.S. Congress in 1994 and no longer applies.

​