Jennifer Gagliardi - U.S. Citizenship For Dummies

This book will help you get through this often confusing process, from determining how best to qualify to live permanently in the United States to gaining a green card to become a naturalized citizen of the U.S. Along the way, we point out the important requirements you need to meet and give tips and insights into dealing with USCIS, as well as other government agencies you’ll come into contact with while attempting to immigrate to the U.S. or become a citizen.

We wish we could tell you the immigration process is always simple, but each case is different and there are many special circumstances and exceptions to the rules that can come into play. In the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the complications have only increased. The U.S. immigration system has been under unprecedented public scrutiny. In most immigration cases, the services of a competent immigration attorney are highly recommended. Sometimes an attorney’s help is absolutely necessary in order to protect your immigration chances and help you through the process. Often, you can get free or low-cost help from nonprofit immigration services, designed to help immigrants legally live in the United States.

In this book, we let you know things you can do to make the immigration and naturalization process easier and less stressful, as well as where to find additional help in case you need it. You’ll discover how to be proactive and stay a step ahead of the USCIS by anticipating which forms and paperwork you’ll need in advance. We also alert you to important points that can help you protect your immigration case throughout the proceedings.

If you plan on becoming a citizen, we also get you ready to pass the English, civics, reading, and writing portions of the naturalization interview. This part, more than any other, seems to fill potential citizens with fear. But you really shouldn’t worry. The USCIS is not expecting you to be an expert. In this book, we show you how to find out what you need to know. In fact, you’ll probably find practicing for the tests enjoyable, if not fun.

Why does a book on citizenship spend a fair amount of space on how to immigrate to the United States? Because you must first be a lawful permanent resident for a designated amount of time before you even qualify to try to become a naturalized citizen. So lawful immigration truly is the first step to naturalization.

Still, you will note this book is not called U.S. Immigration For Dummies. We’ll help you identify potential ways to immigrate, but this book isn’t long enough to cover actual petitioning and visa processing. We also avoid detailed discussion of nonimmigrant visas.

In all cases, we’ve kept the chapters modular, meaning you’ll find all the information you’ll need on a given subject, or we’ll refer you to other chapters in the book for further detail, and you don’t have to read the book from start to finish to understand the topic at hand.

Because you bought this book, we assume you are interested in living permanently in the U.S. or are a friend or relative of someone else who does. You (or your friend or relative) probably want to take the immigration process all the way to the end — naturalization — but regardless of your immigration goals, this book can help.

We don’t assume that you have a legal background or any familiarity with U.S. immigration. As such, we have made every attempt to explain the complicated legal process of immigration and naturalization in simple, easy-to-understand language. Nonetheless, we still strongly urge you to seek the advice of a competent attorney or immigration service to help you pursue your goals. Don’t worry, we also tell you how to find reliable help.

Icons are the pictures you’ll see in the margins throughout this book. Although they’re mighty fun to look at, they’re there to serve a purpose: flagging your attention to key pieces of information. Here’s what the various icons mean:

This icons calls your attention to information we cover elsewhere but that’s so important we think it’s worth repeating (and worth remembering).

The Tip icon points out practical advice that will make your naturalization and immigration process easier.

This icon highlights key points that can save you trouble, money, or in the worst-case scenario, forced removal from the country.

This icon points out more information than you technically need, but provides interesting facts that explain the hows and whys of immigration.

For quick tips about immigrating to the United States and taking the first steps toward citizenship, go to www.dummies.com and type “U.S. Citizenship For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the search box. You can find information on determining your eligibility for citizenship along with advice on how to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Depending on your goals and where you are in the immigration process, you can dive right into Chapter 1and read the entire book or skip to the chapters that best apply to your unique situation.

If you already hold an alien registration card and are now interested in gaining U.S. citizenship, you can easily skip over the chapters that deal with visas and gaining lawful permanent residence — although if you have friends or family members who also want to immigrate, you can certainly help them with this information.

If you’re just beginning the process, you won’t need to concern yourself with studying for the naturalization interview yet. But when that time comes, the information will be waiting for you in Parts 2, 3, and, 4.

Part 1

IN THIS PART …

Plan your immigration and path to U.S. Citizenship

Find out about U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of State, and other agencies that affect immigration and citizenship.

Safeguard your future immigration plans with the appropriate visa.

Fill out the USCIS Form N-400 Application for Naturalization.

Chapter 1

IN THIS CHAPTER

Planning your way to citizenship

Understanding the immigration process

Preparing to prove your case

The decision to become a U.S. citizen is one of the most important choices you can ever make. Before you can become a U.S. citizen, however, you first must be a lawful permanent resident of the United States. For this reason, before you begin the process, you need to know what you want to achieve — legal immigration or naturalization — and whether you can expect to qualify for it.