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Citizenship FAQ United States
You may apply for naturalization if:
Absences of 6 Months but Less than 1 Year
If you are outside of the U.S. for 6 months or more you have interrupted your continuous residence. However, if you were out of the country for less than one year (12 months) you may be able to maintain your continuous residence status if you can demonstrate (with evidence) that you continued to live, work and/or keep close ties to the United States. Such evidence may include:
Absences of 1 Year or Longer
In almost all cases, if you leave the United States for 1 year or more, you have disrupted your "continuous residence." This is true even if you have a Re-entry Permit. If you leave the country for 1 year or longer, you may be eligible to re-enter as a Permanent Resident if you have a Re-entry Permit but none of the time you were in the United States before you left the country counts toward your time in "continuous residence." Fortunately, if you return within 2 years, some of your time out of the country does count. In fact, the last 364 days of your time out of the country (1 year minus 1 day) counts toward meeting your "continuous residence" requirement.
There are a few small groups of applicants who do not have any "continuous residence" requirement (for example, members of the U.S. Armed Forces). There are also a few small groups of people who can leave the country for over 1 year and not disrupt their "continuous residence". To maintain their "continuous residence" while out of the country, these people must file an Application to Preserve Residence for Naturalization Purposes (Form N-470). Individuals can use this form if they are a permanent resident who must leave the United States for certain employment purposes and they wish to preserve their status as an immigrant in order to pursue naturalization.
For more information on this form please contact your local or state USCIS Service Center.
If you are:
You may keep your "continuous residence" if you have had at least 1 year of unbroken "continuous residence" since becoming a Permanent Resident and you get an approved N-470 before you have been out of the United States for 1 year.
You can apply for citizenship on the basis of military service if you fall within any of the following classes.
If you are approved for naturalization, you will receive an N-445, Notice of Naturalization Oath Ceremony telling you when and where to attend your swearing in ceremony. On the back of the form will be several questions that you must answer before you check in at the ceremony.
In order to become a citizen, you will be required to take the Naturalization Oath of Allegiance to the United States during the ceremony. By taking the oath, you are agreeing to renounce foreign allegiances, to support the Constitution and to serve the United States.
The Oath of Allegiance is as follows:
I hereby declare, on oath, that I absolutely and entirely renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity to any foreign prince, potentate, state or sovereignty of whom or which I have heretofore been a subject or citizen; that I will support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States of America against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed forces of the United States when required by the law; that I will perform work of national importance under civilian direction when required by the law; and I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation or purpose or evasion; so help me God.
USCIS may allow the following clause to be omitted:
"...that I will bear arms on behalf of the United States when required by law; that I will perform noncombatant service in the Armed Forces of the United States when required by law..."
You must take and fully understand the Oath of Allegiance in order to become a naturalized citizen of the United States.
Replacement cards can be obtained for free. To get a replacement card you will need to fill out an Application for a Social Security Card (Form SS-5), provide a document verifying your identity, and show evidence of your current immigration status. The replacement card will have the same name and number as your previous card.
To obtain an Application for a Social Security Card, you can visit your local Social Security office, call 1-800-772-1213, or apply online at: http://www.ssa.gov/online/ss-5.html
You may already be a U.S. citizen if either or both of your parents are U.S. citizens. To be born a U.S. citizen you must fall into one of the following categories:
Your record of birth abroad, if registered with a U.S. consulate or embassy, is proof of your citizenship.
You may also apply for a passport to have your citizenship recognized. If you need additional proof of your citizenship, you may file an Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600) with USCIS to get a Certificate of Citizenship.
Note: If you were born before November 14, 1986, you are a citizen if your U.S. citizen parent lived in the United States for at least 10 years and 5 of those years in the United States were after your citizen parents' 14th birthday.
Annulment refers to a process whereby a court determines that your marriage never legally existed. There are two types of marriage that can be annulled in the United States.
According to USCIS, an individual is eligible for this waiver if he or she is unable to learn and/or demonstrate knowledge of English and/or U.S. history and civics because of a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment (or combination of impairments). These disability and/or impairment(s) must result from anatomical, physiological, or psychological abnormalities, which can be shown by medically acceptable clinical and laboratory diagnostic techniques. The disability and/or impairment(s) must result in functioning so impaired as to render an individual unable to demonstrate the required knowledge. Additionally, the impairment must have lasted (or is expected to last) at least 12 months. Furthermore, physical and mental impairments arising directly from illegal drug use will not be considered when assessing waiver eligibility.
The law requires that in order to be eligible for the disability exception, the applicant must be unable to fulfill the requirements for English proficiency and/or knowledge of U.S. history and civics. An applicant's difficulty in fulfilling the requirements is not sufficient to support a waiver. In addition, illiteracy in the applicant's native language is not sufficient, by itself, to support a finding of inability to learn and/or demonstrate knowledge.
NOTE This definition of disability is different from the definition used by the Social Security Administration, Department of Veterans Affairs, or worker's compensation programs.
If you are an elderly person, there may be special considerations available for you.
If you meet the following criteria, you do not have to write the English portion of the test but will still be required to write the government and history portion of the test.
If you meet the following criteria, you do not have to write the English portion of the test but will still be required to write the civics portion. However, your knowledge of history and government will be tested at a less demanding level.
The Hmong Veterans' Naturalization Act of 2000, which became law on May 26, 2000, provides an exemption from the English language requirement and special consideration for civics testing for certain refugees from Laos applying for naturalization
You may be eligible to apply for the exemption and special consideration if you can answer "yes" to any of the following questions:
Eligible applicants-including those who currently have pending naturalization applications-can request this benefit at the time of their naturalization interview. There are no additional forms to be completed and no additional fees if you qualify.
The following definitions of race have been issued by the United States Office of Management and Budget and was used in the 2000 U.S. Census.
A child who is:
can become a U.S. citizen by action of law on the date on which all of the following requirements have been met:
If you and your child meet all of these requirements, you may obtain a U.S. passport for the child as evidence of citizenship. If the child needs further evidence of citizenship, you may submit an Application for Certificate of Citizenship (Form N-600) to USCIS to obtain a Certificate of Citizenship. (Note: a child who meets these requirements before his or her 18th birthday may obtain a passport of Certificate of Citizenship at any time, even after he or she turns 18). If the child meets the requirements of Section 322 of the Immigration and Nationality Act as a child residing outside the United States, you may submit an Application for Citizenship and Issuance of Certificate under Section 322 (Form N-600K).
NOTE - Children who immigrated under the "IR-3" or "IR-4" categories must have had an immigrant petition filed on their behalf before their 16th birthday. All adoptions for any other type of immigration benefit, including naturalization, must be completed by the child's 16th birthday, with one exception: A child adopted while under the age of 18 years by the same parents who adopted a natural sibling who met the usual requirements.
NOTE - The "one U.S. citizen parent" rule applies only to children who first fulfilled the requirements for automatic citizenship (other than at birth abroad) on or after February 27, 2001. In order to qualify for automatic citizenship (other than at birth abroad) on or before February 26, 2001, all of the child's parents must have been United States citizens either at birth or through naturalization - both parents if the child had two parents; the surviving parent if a parent had died; the parent with legal custody if the parents were divorced or legally separated; or the mother only, if the child had been born out of wedlock and the child's paternity had not been established by legitimation.
U.S Department of State Current List of Designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations (as of March 23, 2005)
An applicant must show that he or she has been a person of good moral character for the statutory period (typically five years or three years if married to a U.S. citizen or one year for Armed Forces expedite) prior to filing for naturalization. However, USCIS is not limited to the statutory period in determining whether an applicant has established good moral character. An applicant is permanently barred from naturalization if he or she has ever been convicted of murder. An applicant is also permanently barred from naturalization if he or she has been convicted of an aggravated felony on or after November 29, 1990. A person also cannot be found to be a person of good moral character if during the last five years he or she:
An applicant must disclose all relevant facts to the Service, including his or her entire criminal history, regardless of whether the criminal history disqualifies the applicant under the enumerated provisions.
U. S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) provides the following definitions of deportation, removal and exclusion:
Deportation - The formal removal of an alien from the United States when the alien has been found removable for violating the immigration laws. Deportation is ordered by an immigration judge without any punishment being imposed or contemplated. Prior to April 1997 deportation and exclusion were separate removal procedures. The Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996 consolidated these procedures. After April 1, 1997, aliens in and admitted to the United States may be subject to removal based on deportability. Now called Removal, this function is managed by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement.
Exclusion - Prior to the Illegal Immigration Reform and Immigrant Responsibility Act of 1996, exclusion was the formal term for denial of an alien's entry into the United States. The decision to exclude an alien was made by an immigration judge after an exclusion hearing. Since April 1, 1997, the process of adjudicating inadmissibility may take place in either an expedited removal process or in removal proceedings before an immigration judge.
Removal - The expulsion of an alien from the United States. This expulsion may be based on grounds of inadmissibility or deportability.