U.S. armed forces may naturalize without even being lawful permanent residents. Such periods are designated by law or by Executive Order of the president and have included World War I, World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam police action, and the Gulf War. Most recently, the War on Terror was added, allowing all active-duty military personnel honorably serving on or after September 11, 2001, until a date to be determined, to be naturalized without regard to prior permanent resident status. For further information about eligibility based on military service, see www.uscis.gov/military/naturalization-through-military-service.
Don’t worry if this sounds like a lot. The purpose of this book is to help get you ready to successfully complete your immigration goals all the way to becoming a U.S. citizen. We go into greater detail on all these requirements later in the book.
Making Sense of the Immigration Process
If you bought this book, you’re obviously interested in being more than just a temporary visitor to the United States. You want to be a U.S. citizen. But first you must become a lawful permanent resident (with one exception — see the “Serving your way to citizenship” sidebar, earlier in this chapter).
Doing the paperwork
The type of application you file will depend on your path to immigration — in most cases, through family or through employment. (You can find more details on specific forms and paperwork in Chapter 4.)
After the USCIS approves your sponsor’s immigrant visa petition, the Department of State must determine if an immigrant visa number is immediately available to you or if you will be on a waiting list. When an immigrant visa becomes available to you, you can process your immigrant visa through a U.S. consulate.
Proving your identity
In order to gain your Permanent Resident Card, if you’re adjusting your status while in the United States, or to become a naturalized citizen, you’re going to have to prove your identity. Be prepared to be fingerprinted and provide the USCIS with at least two photographs, in addition to documents and paperwork that must be included with your application (you can find more information on this in Chapter 4).
IT’S NOT EASY BEING GREEN
A Permanent Resident Card is evidence of your status as a lawful permanent resident. Although in popular lingo it’s called a “green card,” the Permanent Resident Card is officially known as USCIS Form I-551. At one time in its history, the Permanent Resident Card was known as the Alien Registration Receipt Card. The cards used to actually be green, too. Even though today’s cards are no longer green, the name has worked its way into the slang, or popular language, and people still refer to Alien Registration Receipt Cards or Permanent Resident Cards as green cards.
Even if you have a Permanent Resident Card, you’ll have to be fingerprinted and photographed when applying to become a naturalized citizen. After you’ve filed an application with the USCIS, you will receive a fingerprinting appointment letter, usually advising you to go to a local application support center or police station. The USCIS will do a criminal background check, cross-referencing your fingerprints with the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). In some cases, the quality of the fingerprints is not sufficient for the FBI to read. If this happens, the USCIS will notify you of another fingerprinting appointment. Don’t worry — you’ll only have to pay a fingerprinting fee ($85 as of this writing) once.
Being Interviewed by the USCIS
Presuming you plan on following the immigration path all the way to the final step of naturalization, you can plan on interviewing with the USCIS at least twice: once to qualify for your permanent resident status or green card, and again when you become a naturalized U.S. citizen (unless your visa processing took place at an overseas consulate, in which case you’ll only interview with USCIS once — for naturalization).
The interviews fill many potential immigrants and citizens with terror. “How will I ever remember everything?” they worry. Relax. Passing the USCIS interview is easier (you are The Expert of your own life) and more difficult (uncommon vocabulary related to violent activities and war crimes) than you think. For some people, the biggest challenge is learning how to speak a new, crazy language, English. Don’t worry; study! In fact, you probably already have most, if not all, of the skills and information you need. And if you don’t, this book has you covered.
Interviewing for a green card
You need to live in the United States as a lawful permanent resident for at least three to five years before you can qualify for naturalization. Look at obtaining your green card as taking the first step toward citizenship.
For example, assume you’re a qualified applicant for permanent residence and you have a qualified sponsor — usually your employer or a spouse or other family member. You can prove these facts and have sent the USCIS all the necessary applications and documents covered in Chapter 4. You’ve prepared your case and have kept careful records of all the paperwork you’ve ever sent to the USCIS. Because immigration laws can be complicated, you’ve probably consulted an attorney or received other professional help in preparing your case up to this point. It’s been a long road, but you’ve done the work and now you’re ready to take the final step toward lawful permanent residence — interviewing with the USCIS (if you’re adjusting your status while in the United States) or interviewing with a consular officer (if you’re applying at an overseas consulate).
