CITIZENSHP AND NATURALIZATION

Although the journey is long and tedious, the ultimate dream for many foreign nationals is to become U.S. citizens. There are many rights and benefits that come with U.S. citizenship, including the right to vote, serve on a jury, travel with a U.S. passport, bring family members to the U.S., obtain citizenship for children under 18, apply for federal jobs, and become an elected official. More than 840,000 foreign nationals were naturalized in 2019.

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If you are interested in applying for U.S. citizenship, you must first meet a few requirements. Depending on your situation, there are different requirements that may apply to you. However, generally, an applicant for naturalization must:

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• Be 18 years old or older at the time of filing Form N-400, Application for Naturalization.

• Be a lawful permanent resident (have a “Green Card”).

• Demonstrate continuous permanent residence in the United States for at least 5 years. (In some cases, this may be 3 years if you are married to a U.S. citizen.)

• Show that you have been physically present in the United States for 30 months. (In some cases, this may be 18 months if you are married to a U.S. citizen.)

• Show that you have lived for at least 3 months in the state or USCIS district where you claim residence.

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If you have a parent that was a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization, before you turned 18 years old, you may already have a claim to citizenship.

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These are general guidelines that do not apply to every applicant. Armstrong Law Offices PLLC can evaluate your case to determine whether you are eligible to apply for citizenship, or you have already acquired citizenship, and how best to proceed.

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