There are lakhs of people who want US citizenship. Much recently, The United States said that they are going to update their rules and regulations regarding how US citizenship will be acquired.
If you also dream of getting US citizenship and want to take the Oath of Allegiance at a naturalization ceremony, you should not wait for any more. If you qualify to apply for US citizenship, do it right now.
The United States government may make hard changes in the policies to obtain its citizenship both through legal and illegal immigration later. Once you or any other immigrants become a citizen of the US, you can apply for a US passport. Then have voting rights and obtain your social security number as well.
Applying for US citizenship is not a very easy process. It means that you have to go through some intensive interview sessions. You will be required to answer questionnaires and also to complete some of the other mandatory procedures.
Steps of Applying for US Citizenship
There are a few things that you should keep in mind before you are applying for US citizenship. It will help you from making a mistake and fail the process. Something that you should keep in mind is:
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1. Learn Basic English
It would be best if you were very comfortable with reading, speaking and writing basic English. Every question on the questionnaire will be in English.
In addition to it, your interview will also be conducted in English. Failing to learn English might hamper your process of obtaining US citizenship. So before you do anything else, learn English well.
2. Applying too Early
You should know if you are eligible to apply for the naturalization process or not. The US government has set specific criteria that you must fulfil before you go on filling the naturalization form.
The US government says that if you want to become a US citizen, you have to be living in the states for the last five years with a green card. In case you marry someone who has been a citizen of the US for the previous 3 years, then you can apply for the normalization process after only three years instead of 5.
You have to be a permanent resident in this case as well. You also have to mandatorily live in the same state for three months before the date you are applying for the normalization process.
In case you have been a permanent resident of the United States, but not for an adequate amount of time, then you are applying too early.
3. Taking Trips Outside the US
This is yet another mistake that you should not make. Don’t take long trips outside of the US. When you do that, you become temporarily ineligible for US citizenship.
Usually, if you are planning trips which are well below the time frame of 6 months works, but if your journey becomes more extended than that, then there can be severe issues.
You must live in the US for at least 2.5 years out of the five years of mandatory living. Rest of the time you can take trips to other parts of the world.
But you can still go on flights which are longer than six months in the period. Then when you come back to the US, you will have to prove to the authorities that you are still a permanent resident of the United States.
4. Records of Crimes, Back Taxes and Child Support
If you want to become a citizen of the United States, you must have a good moral background. The US doesn’t want criminals or irresponsible people becoming a part of its population. You also have to be up to date with your tax filings.
If you have been presented with a criminal notice in the last one year before applying for the normalization form, you automatically become ineligible to become a US citizen. Along with taxes, you should also be paying on time to the child support services in case you have to.
5. Don’t Forget to Provide Supporting Documents
One of the most common reasons for normalization forms being rejected in the process is due to the lack of supporting documents. You have to provide all the required documents.
Ensure that you have either checked with your immigration lawyer or with the government authorities about what kind of materials are needed. Your application won’t be processed in case you don’t provide the complete information.
6. Prepare for the Tests
Most applicants fail during the trials. You can submit all the documents necessary, be eligible for the interview, but if you fail the tests, what good does it do? It would help if you prepared for the test like you do for any other.
There is a series of questionnaires that you will have to answer and then there will be a personal interview as well. If you can, find someone who has been through the process already and ask them how you should prepare for it.
7. Pay the Right Fees
If you pay the wrong fees for your petition, your application will be rejected. The form must be submitted with $725 only. Don’t pay anything more or less than this. In the following times, the fees may increase or decrease. So make sure that you are up to date with the policies of the application process.
8. Double-Check the Form Before Submitting
There are times when we are filling our form, and due to distractions, we tend to make mistakes. So it is a good idea to double-check your application form before you finally submit it.
Anything wrong inside of it has the potential to get your application rejected. Check once with the online form filling process online and fill it in the exact way it says it should be filled in. Anything that you do differently may end up having repercussions that you won’t like.
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