5 Overlooked Principles Needed to Succeed in Becoming a United States Citizen – When Green Card Residents Can Apply For Citizenship
Permanent Resident Green Card holders may apply for U.S Citizenship 90 days before the 5 year anniversary of being granted status. The exception is marriage. Marriage based Green Card holders are eligible to apply in 3 years.
The most popular misconception is that applying for U.S. Citizenship is easy. We want to dispel this myth and help non-Citizens avoid frequent landmines in the naturalization process.
In this article post we will give an overview of the U.S. Citizenship process, then we will provide 5 tips for successfully applying to naturalize and become a U.S. Citizen.
Government scrutiny has become more rigorous over the years. Filing for U.S. citizenship is akin to inviting U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services (‘USCIS’) to audit and review one’s entire immigration history from beginning to end. The N-400 is a ‘loaded’ form and checking even one box wrong could unravel one’s entire status in the United States.
The landscape of immigration to the United States generally looks like this:
A foreign national individual enters the United States with a temporary or permanent immigration visa issued by the Department of State (“DOS”). Next is the processing of being screened by U.S. Customs Border & Patrol (‘CBP’) at a Port of Entry before entering the country. Once an individual is granted entry to the United States, he or she is now under the jurisdiction of USCIS regarding maintaining immigration status.
When a non-citizen is ready to Naturalize, Immigration Officers will review the entire record across all agencies chronologically, even if an applicant has been a U.S. permanent resident for several years. Any errors, even if by a government actor, at no fault of the applicant can affect the outcome of the case.
In the case of employment based Green Cards, during Naturalization one is often asked detailed questions about the employer who sponsored them. Individuals rarely know much about the employment based I-140 petition filed by the sponsoring employer, because ‘they left’ all those details to his or her employer’s lawyer who sponsored them. Our immigration lawyers have had clients come to us after their entire status started to unravel, due to a ‘shaky’ U.S. employer. And when he or she applied to be naturalized in the United States, it triggered removal proceedings; and a Notice to Appear (NTA) in Immigration court.
Below are 5 essential principles to succeed in naturalizing to a United States Citizen:
First. – When filing for citizenship, review your passport and request a FOIA of your travel record from USCIS & U.S. CBP with an immigration lawyer. This essential for individuals who received their U.S. Permanent Resident Green Card through employment. FOIA is your entire immigration file, including your travel record, which is your right to request from the U.S. government. The calculations are tricky, and one must balance continuous residence in the United States vs. Physical presence. An applicant may meet the continuous residence requirement but not the physical presence and be denied citizenship.
Second, the most common reasons for denial of citizenship are the following:
Failure to pay 245i fees, criminal immigration consequences, character, not paying taxes; and previous suspected marriage fraud. Let’s briefly review these reasons: If an applicant is ‘grandfathered’ under 245i and receives his or her Permanent Resident Green card without paying fees, when applying for naturalization the fee request will be triggered and can result in denial of one’s citizenship.
Criminal charges even if vacated or dismissed may result in denial of citizenship based on two different grounds: 1) Character; and 2) The crime makes the applicant removable or inadmissible to the United States. Also, If you have not paid taxes discuss this with immigration counsel in addition to a CPA (accountant) regarding your options.
Another reason for denial is Marriage fraud. If suspected during the N-400 review processes, or prior to attending an interview, the consequences are severe. The issue of fraudulent marriage can be a permanent ban to any future U.S. immigration benefit and is grounds for removal from the United States.
Next essential tip is regarding Good Moral Character which is required for approval of the N-400 application. The typical period of review is a five-year window, with the period tolling when granted Permanent Resident status. However, USCIS in many circumstances extends its review well beyond a 5-year window and can question character going back decades. Putting together a good charter support plan with Immigration counsel is a must, especially if one has a history involving crime, tax payment issues, substance abuse (e.g. DUIs/DWIs), multiple traffic violations etc.
Fourth Pointer – If you have filed an I-751 removal of conditions application regarding your two year temporary Permanent Resident Status (applies to marriage based PR status only); and it has been pending with USCIS well outside of normal processing times, you may be eligible to file to naturalize. However, USCIS will combine both applications together (N-400 and I-751); and at the time of interview the Immigration officer will dive heavily into the authenticity of one’s marriage, especially if the marriage is terminated. Your immigration attorney representative should prepare you well in advance.
Fifth and Final Pointer: There many reasons an applicant may be found inadmissible to the United States after being granted Permanent Green card status. Inadmissibility issues are also reviewed when applying for Citizenship. Inadmissibility issues include a long list of bans not discussed here, but should be addressed with your immigration attorney.
If you apply the above principled approach to the naturalization process, the process can in fact be ‘easy’, as one will avoid surprise landmines; and can achieve Citizenship in the United States of America.
We have successfully processed these U.S. immigration matters for over 25 years. To schedule a consultation, you may email us at info@becapitallaw.com or call / text (703)966-0907. B&E Capital – Vassell Law Group, PC | http://www.vasselllaw.com | http://www.becapitallaw.com | Members of the American Immigration Lawyers (AILA).