VII. U.S. Citizenship

Legal permanent residents may apply for U.S. citizenship four years, nine months after receiving their status (two years, nine months for spouses of U.S. citizens and certain military veterans). An applicant must have been lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence and will have to produce an I-551, Alien Registration Receipt Card, as proof of their status.

Requirements

United States Government and History Knowledge
An applicant for naturalization must be familiar with the fundamentals of U.S. history and the principles and form of government in the U.S. A test may be given orally or in writing by USUSCIS.

Working Knowledge of English
Applicants must pass a written English test, unless they are exempted from the requirement due to age.

Physical Presence in the United States
A green card holder must have spent 2 1/2 of his qualifying 5 years in the USA (18 months out of 3 for spouses of U.S. citizens and veterans) unless the absence was pursuant to employment overseas with the U.S. government, military service, or other approved employer.

Good Moral Character
The applicant must not have criminal convictions of a serious nature during the qualifying five or three year period of time.

Oath of Allegiance
To become a citizen, one must take the oath of allegiance. Where the applicant establishes that he or she is opposed to any type of service in armed forces based on religious teaching or belief, USUSCIS may permit these applicants to take a modified oath.

Naturalization Through Parents

There are several ways foreign-born children of U.S. citizens may obtain evidence of citizenship:

Generally, U.S. citizen parents of children born abroad may file an Application for Certificate of Citizenship. This form should be completed in accordance with the instructions provided and should be accompanied by two photographs of the child, copies of any documents that verify eligibility, and the required filing fee to be considered complete and ready to process.

Important Note: Children born abroad of U.S. citizen parents derive citizenship from their parents. The Certificate of Citizenship is merely a record of citizenship -- it does not confer citizenship on an applicant. Adopted minor children of citizen parents acquire citizenship.

Child Citizenship Act of 2000

On February 27, 2001, the Child Citizenship Act of 2000 becomes effective. The aim of this law, which, among other things, amends Section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA), is to facilitate the automatic acquisition of U.S. citizenship for both biological and adopted children of U.S. citizens who are born abroad and who do not acquire U.S. citizenship at birth. We are pleased to note that, because of this law, U.S. citizenship will be conferred automatically upon thousands of children currently in the United States.

Requirements

The following are the Act's requirements:

At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, either by birth or naturalization.

The child is under the age of 18.

The child must be residing in the United States in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent after having been lawfully admitted into this country as an immigrant for lawful permanent residence.

If the child has been adopted, the adoption must be final.

The Act's Other Provisions

Another section of this new law provides that children (biological and adopted) of U.S. citizens who are born and reside abroad (that is, they do not enter the U.S. as permanent residents) and who don't become U.S. citizens at birth can apply to INS for a certificate of citizenship if the following conditions are met:

At least one parent of the child is a U.S. citizen, whether by birth or naturalization.

The U.S. citizen parent has been physically present in the U.S. for a total of at least five years, at least two of which are were after the age of 14. If the child's U.S. citizen parent cannot meet this requirement, it is enough if one of the child's U.S. citizen grandparents can meet it.

The child is under the age of eighteen.

The child resides abroad in the legal and physical custody of the U.S. citizen parent and has been lawfully admitted into the United States as a nonimmigrant.

Children who acquire citizenship under this new provision do not acquire citizenship automatically; rather, they must/must apply to INS for a certificate of citizenship and go through the naturalization process.

Veterans of U.S. Armed Forces

Certain applicants who have served in the U.S. Armed Forces are eligible to file for naturalization based on current or prior U.S. military service. Applicability depends on the length and characterization of service.
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Please contact Craig Trebilcock at Shumaker Williams for further details.