Citizenship
When it comes to how to become a U.S. citizen, you can achieve citizenship through:
- Parents
- Marriage
- The military
- Naturalization
If you’re navigating the citizenship process, our immigration attorneys serving Bucks, Delaware, and Montgomery Counties can help guide you through United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) applications and avoid costly mistakes. The length of time required to become a citizen depends on the avenue you pursue. Most immigrants become U.S. citizens through naturalization.
When it comes to immigration laws, it’s always best to get the advice of an immigration lawyer near you or an immigration law firm like High Swartz. Immigration lawyers can help guide you through the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) process and applications to help you avoid mistakes.
Becoming a U.S. Citizen Through Your Parents
If you’re born in the United States, you automatically gain citizenship. In addition, U.S. territories, including Puerto Rico, Guam, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and the Northern Mariana Islands, also confer citizenship.
You can become a U.S. citizen when born outside of the country as long as your parent or parents were U.S. citizens at the time of your birth. If only a single parent owns U.S. citizenship, that parent must have been physically present in a state or territory for at least five years before your birth.
Under either of the conditions above, the Fourteenth Amendment of the Constitution grants your citizenship rights: “All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.”
How to Become a U.S. Citizen Through Marriage
If you’re married to a U.S. citizen, you can apply for a green card to establish lawful permanent residence in the United States. Doing so requires submission of Form I-130, Petition for Alien Relative. Again, it may be best to speak with an immigration lawyer to help you complete the form correctly.
You’ll need to speak with an interviewing officer to ensure the validity of your marriage. Afterward, you’ll need to meet these residency requirements:
- You must have a green card for at least three years before applying for naturalization.
- During those three years, you must be a continuous resident of the United States. You must also prove you were physically present in the country for at least a year and a half.
- Your spouse must have been a U.S. citizen for those three years, and you must have lived as a married couple the entire time.
- You must also live in the state or USCIS district handling your application for 3 months.
Once you’ve met the above conditions, you’ll become eligible to apply for naturalization.
How to Become a U.S. Citizen Through Military Service
If you served honorably in the military, your eligibility requirements vary depending on whether your service was during a hostile or peacetime period. With the former, eligibility requirements include:
- If you served during a hostile period, you might apply for naturalization immediately.
- You must have completed your military service honorably.
- Your residency requirements may not apply.
During peacetime, conditions include:
- Serving honorably for at least one year.
- Obtaining a green card.
- You applied while you were still in the service or within six months of separation.
Meeting the above requirements allows you to apply for naturalization. But first, talk to an immigration lawyer to confirm your eligibility.
Becoming a U.S. Citizen Through Naturalization
For foreign-born persons, naturalization presents the most common route for becoming a U.S. citizen. However, it requires meeting requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA).
You can see if you’re eligible to apply for U.S. citizenship by using this eligibility tool.
The starting point for applying is having a green card. You’ll also need to meet residency and personal requirements.
At the end of the fiscal year, tSCIS had 82,261 pending naturalization applications. So, as you might expect, the process itself can be extended 12-18 months. The number of applicants USCIS receives, the office you file with, and whether you completed the form correctly all affect timing.
You can avoid working with an immigration lawyer near you to complete your application correctly.
Get in Touch with an Experienced Immigration Lawyer
Immigration laws are complex and require meeting numerous requirements. That's why it pays to have an experienced immigration lawyer.
Our immigration lawyers can help you with your visa and green card applications, and with navigating the complexities of the naturalization process. They can also support you with various legal services, including family law, workers' compensation, employment discrimination, and much more.
Get the legal counsel you deserve. Talk with our lawyers in our nearby Doylestown and Norristown law offices.
