The Houston Guide to Citizenship: Naturalization
The United States is regarded as the land of opportunities. Millions of immigrants from various countries around the world find their way into the United States every year. A considerable portion of the American population is composed of immigrants. Most of these immigrants opt to gain citizenship through naturalization to be able to stay legally and comfortably in the United States. Naturalization is how a person who is not a citizen of the United States gains citizen status of a U.S citizen voluntarily. The process is usually long and full of obstacles. It is, therefore, necessary for any immigrant looking to gain citizenship through this process to understand all that it entails since the process is long and strenuous. This Houston guide to naturalization by RunRex serves to give more insight into the process.
Eligibility for naturalization
Before you start the application to become naturalized, some requirements define your entitlement that you have to attain first. The general requirements include:
• You have to have reached the age of 18 when you are filing the application form, Form N-400.
• You must be a legal permanent resident of the United States for a minimum of 5 years. It means that you must be a Green Card Holder who is allowed to live and work in the U.S. Additionally, you are required to have lived in the U.S legally for at least five consecutive years.
• You must provide evidence that shows that you have lived for at least three straight months in the USCIS district or state from where you are filing your application.
• Show and prove that you have been present in the United States physically for a minimum of 30 months immediately preceding the date you will be filing the Form N-400.
• You should have a basic understanding of the history of the United States and the government.
• You must exhibit proficiency in English and be able to speak, read and write in English.
• Your moral character should be okay.
• You must demonstrate that you believe in the ideals and principles of the United States Constitution.
The application process
The naturalization process is quite long, but these are the necessary steps you can expect.
• The first stage is determining if you are a legal resident of the United States. You will then have to be verified and ensure that you have passed all the eligibility requirements to become a U.S citizen.
• Prepare Form N-400. Ensure you include all the information required to prove that you deserve to be a United States citizen then submit it.
• You will be called for a biometrics appointment where your biometric details will be taken for purposes of record keeping.
• You will later be scheduled for a naturalization interview.
• The Citizenship and Immigration Services will then give you their decision on your Form N-400.
• You will receive a notice to take an Oath of Allegiance and then followed by a brief of your rights and responsibilities as a citizenship of the United States.
The naturalization interview will involve an officer from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services officer asking you question about your background and some of the details in Form N-400. The applicant will take an English test to prove they are proficient in English. The English test is comprised of 3 parts a reading test, speaking, and writing. The speaking test is determined during the interview as the USCIS officer asks you questions. The reading test usually entails the applicant reading out at least one of three English sentences. One has to read the sentence correctly to demonstrate their ability to read English easily. It is advisable that if anyone is looking to apply for citizenship to get the “Reading Test Vocabulary List” and familiarize themselves with the terms and pronunciations.
The writing test, also, entails one having to write at least one of three sentences in English correctly. There is a “Writing Test Vocabulary List” that one can use to familiarize themselves with the naturalization vocabularies and their spellings. The topics given are usually centered on history and civic facts.
The civic test usually involves one being asked up to 10 civic questions. The ten questions are typically picked from a list of 100 questions and an applicant has to pass at least six out of the ten questions they will be asked. Again, there is a resource that you can use to familiarize yourself with the questions you can expect. You can look for the “100 Civic question for naturalization” on the internet to get a feel for these questions.
It is not a strange thing for a person to fail the test during their first interview. If one happens to fail a portion of the test during their first attempt, they can get a chance to retake the test after 60 days to 90 days after the initial interview.
The application process is usually long and gruesome. One has to be patient and ensure that you have all the knowledge and information needed when filing the application forms and when taking the tests.