LEGAL LANGUAGE SERVICES

US Immigration Guide

Becoming a United States citizen

You become a United States citizen in two ways: by birth or through naturalization. If you were born in the US (including, in most cases, Puerto Rico, Guam, and the US Virgin Islands) or born to a US citizen, you are a US citizen. Your birth certificate is (usually) proof of your citizenship. This is pretty simple, and, if you have a valid birth certificate, you are well on your way to enjoying the life long rights and obligations of being a US citizen. 

The other way to become a US citizen is through naturalization. This gets a little (or a lot) trickier. People who are 18 years and older can use the "Application for Naturalization" (Form N-400) to become naturalized.

Check the law -- there are several qualifying criteria for applying for naturalization depending on number of years you have been a permanent resident.

You may apply for naturalization if:

1. You have been a lawful permanent resident for five years,
   
2. You have been a lawful permanent resident for three years, have ben married to a US citizen for those three years, and continue to be married to that US citizen,
   
3. You are a lawful permanent resident child of United States citizen parents, or
   
4. You have qualifying military service.

Children under 18 may automatically become citizens when their parents naturalize.

Now what about your child, after you have become naturalized? Usually, if children are permanent residents, they derive citizenship from their naturalized parents by law. Children who are getting citizenship from their naturalized parents use the "Application for a Certificate of citizenship" ( Form N-600).  Are they automatically a citizen? In most cases they are if any of the following are true:

1. The other parent is also naturalized,
   
2. You are the only surviving parent (if the other parent is dead),
   
3. You have legal custody (if you and the other parent are legally separated or divorced.), or
   
4. The child was under 18 when the parent(s) naturalized, the child was not married when the parent(s) naturalized; and the child was a permanent resident before his or her 18th birthday.

The naturalization process is a long one, taking at least two years to complete in most cases. But this does not mean you should be patient or complacent. Time requirements for the process are deceptive -- everything takes much, much longer than you might expect. This has more to do with complex paperwork flowing through understaffed government offices, than any conscious government policy. But the result is the same. 

Therefore, the best advice is to be PROACTIVE. This means be diligent and pushy in moving the process, and if you do not feel it is moving fast enough, speak up and speak out to an appropriate person (whether that is your attorney or an immigration official). Otherwise, an error may take months to catch and correct, and -- meanwhile -- the clock is running on your application.