American Citizenship - Requirements & Benefits

After a long wait... New Year: new paperwork project! 

Today we start looking at what do we need to become an American citizen, aka the naturalization process.

First of all, there are several ways to obtain citizenship: at birth, or after birth. To know more you can visit the government website. Here I will focus on how to obtain citizenship through naturalization, after birth.

Start this process by reading the guide to naturalization (full PDF here) where you will be able to get an idea of the whole process, the requirements and the benefits. 
Following there is a copy of the requirements and benefits from the American Immigration Center website (which is a commercial web, not from the government) in which I marked in bold the key elements:

"Lawful Permanent residents (Green Card holders) whose Green Card has been valid during the 5 years prior can file for US citizenship. [...] If you are married to a US citizen, you may apply for US citizenship after 3 years with a valid Green Card. There are exceptions. If an applicant has served in the United States Armed Forces during war, that individual may obtain citizenship without first becoming a permanent resident if he or she was in the United States upon enlistment into the US military. A completed Form N-400 (US Citizenship Application) is the required form; it must be filed along with photos and supporting documents. Becoming a US citizen has many advantages. File today for US Citizenship, and don't wait to process your naturalization and immigration forms.

Advantages of U.S. Citizenship

• Right to vote: The ability to elect the leaders of this nation is an exclusive right of US citizens. Becoming one of them gives you the right to vote in federal elections. Get a voice!
• Reunite your family in the United States: To promote family unity, US citizens and legal residents are allowed to petition for certain qualified relatives to come and live permanently in the United States. Usually, only US citizens get priority when petitioning for loved ones. Bring your family to the US!
• Obtain citizenship for children born abroad: If you are a US citizen and your child was born outside of the country, he or she could become a US citizen automatically.
• Ability to travel freely across US borders: Enjoy all the benefits of overseas travel with a US passport! Get assistance from the US government and feel protected during your trips! Remember that as a US citizen the amount of time you spend outside the country is not restricted. Permanent Residents, on the other hand, may lose their status if they leave the country for a certain period of time.
• Collect benefits: Take advantage of US benefits like social security and Medicare.
• Become a federal employee: To be eligible for most federal jobs you need to be a US citizen. You can apply and enjoy the benefits of being a federal worker!
• Become an elected official: Most elected posts in this country require US citizenship. Get the right to participate!"

If you want to know if you qualify to obtain American citizenship you can read the requirements on the guide to naturalization or fill a free quiz here (also part of the comercial website). Now, as you finish the quiz do NOT start the application with this company, you will have to pay $199 for their services, which are not necessary. You may opt to pay for their help, but as seen on the online reviews they do not seem to be of much help at all. Also, you can do the whole process on your own without having to pay that amount. 

Summing up, to qualify for American citizenship this way you have to be 18 years old or older and have a Green Card valid for at least 5 years, or 3 if you are married to an American citizen (**The process can be started 3 months before the 5 or the 3 years are met).

What is needed is to fill the N-400 form, pay the fees (680$ in January of 2016), 2 passport pictures, copies of the marriage certificate/divorce/widowe, green card, background check, tax returns... biometrics, an interview, a test, and an oath.

The next post will focus on how to start the application process with the N-400 form

See you soon!

Updated on January 2016

Removing Conditional 2 year Permanent Residence - Finalization

Alright, so I got started with the paperwork in September, sent it and got an appointment for biometrics for November. The process was just like when applying for the Green Card for the first time: fill in papers with eye color, hair color, height, weight... take finger prints, do a photo, and out of the door!

The following thing I received was just straight the Green Card. No interview, no more paperwork. This new Green Card has a 10 year validity.

Now, with the I-751 and the payment we sent a few documents to prove we are a valid marriage. Having no doubts about our marriage, that made our lives (and theirs) easier and we did not need the interview (they may get you in for an interview again if they see the need).

Alright! Here is the list of documents we sent:
-A copy of the car title where both (my husband and I) are owners (make sure at least one thing you buy has both of you as owners for this purpose)-A copy of our credit cards to prove we share them
-A letter from the bank directed to us to prove that we share bank accounts
-An IRS Tax Return that we filled together
-Pictures of our last 2 years that show we do things together
-A copy of our expenses' record from the last 2 years approximately
-Will and testament
-2 affidavits of known persons declaring that we are a legitimate marriage
-And lastly, a cover letter with a list of all the sent documents

I hope this is helpful for when you have to deal with this process. Good luck!

And then you can wait to renew the Green Card in 10 years, or get your American Citizenship as I will do in about a year!

Removing Conditional 2 year Permanent Residence - Getting started

Why do we need to do this? Because this Green Card as a condition, a 2 year validity linked to the veracity of the marriage (a lot of people get married to obtain the Green Card and divorce afterwards).

Therefore, if you need to get rid of the 2 year condition we have to do a different process than the renewal one (for which you could start the process up to 6 months before it expires). Let's get into it!

For this process you can start the process up to 90 days before the Green Card expires (basically we have half of the time we would if renewing). And for this process we only need 1 document, I-751, or Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence. Quite simple

Besides the I-751 there is of course a fee (are we used to this yet?): $505 to cover the paperwork process and $85 to cover the biometrics process (yes, again). So a total of $590 as of January 2017.

Here you can find some tips about how to fill the documents and how to do the payments.

Otherwise, the paperwork process is pretty much the same as the Green Card application. Once you send the documents and the money you receive a receipt letter that informs you that the application has been approved. Then you get another letter informing you of the following step: the biometrics appointment (click here for more information on biometrics).


Well then, I hope that was useful. Good luck!

SSN

Luckily, you do not need much to request the Social Security Card.

First, you have to fill in a form, which you can fill once at the office while waiting to be called, or bring it filled from home.
Second, you need a document that proves where you were born. I brought both my Green Card and my Spanish birth certificate together with the official translation. It ended up being that with the Green Card it was enough. 
Lastly, but not least, the passport (any nationality).

NOTE: Instead of the Green Card you can use the Employment Authorization / Advance Parole Card. That way you may get your SSN before your Green Card! 

The office normally opens its doors about 30 minutes before the official opening, so you can go and get a number. Be ready to wait, depending on how busy it is you may be there a long time, or not.

The number of the Social Security Card will be assigned a couple of days after you apply, and the card itself will take about 2 weeks to make it to your house. In case you want to know your number (which you may need for a job contract or to register in university classes), you will need to go back to the office and wait on line (they do not give it to you through the phone). However, if you do not need to know it, just wait until it gets to your house!

Well, I hope this was helpful!

Green Card - Green Card

This is the look of the Green Card, of course it was going to be green.
It took a week and a half to arrive, with the Christmas holidays in between,
thus it was quite fast!

Green Card - Interview

Finally, the last step of immigration.

For this step we had to bring many documents that we had already been asked for. Its purpose was in case they misplace something. Also, they ask for documents that prove you are a legitimate couple. For instance, pictures, house title, car title, bank accounts, and in a nutshell, anything that could have both names (yours and your spouse's). It's used to demonstrate that the marriage is not a fraud just to obtain legal residence. 

We didn't have much official paperwork yet, only the bank account, so we brought printed pictures of our last 4.5 years of our relationship.

To enter at the interview place you will have to stand in line and pass controls like the ones in the airport, they even made me take the shoes off. Once passed the control, you get a number and wait your turn. They then call you to start the interview (you and your spouse will go in together).

Both of you will be asked for identification documents, and both will have to swear to tell the truth and only the truth while raising the right hand. Time to start the interview. We were interviewed by a woman that at first seemed cold and kind of mean, but once she got the feeling that we were legitimate, she happened to be really nice and even told us a story that she had never told anyone.

As you know, it's better to be safe than sorry! Thus, we previously looked online at possible questions they may ask on these interviews, and luckily for us it wasn't as long as some of the ones we read about. They barely asked anything from what we read online. Initially, they asked some of the personal information reflected in the documents (names, dates of birth, affiliations, etc), and to the "alien" (the foreign spouse) they repeated the typical "Are you a terrorist, do you intend to help terrorists, are you a spy, do you consume drugs..." questions.

Then, they asked about how and where we met and some other details of how our relationship moved forward. We just told them the truth and all the truth. They also asked some questions repeatedly as to make sure we didn't make the answers up. Later, as she looked through our pictures she asked some more questions about them and as far as I remember, that was all.

After the questions, they told us that we passed and I would be getting a Green Card, which is only valid for 2 years, in the mail. It is our responsibility to remember to do the corresponding paperwork at the 2-year point. If we don't remember to do it and it expires, then I will be called to court and then they would potentially deport me back to my home country. The process to renew it can be started 90 days before the expiration date, and the paperwork is quite similar to what you just did but shorter and presenting more proofs of the validity of your marriage.

Another thing you may need to do during these 2 years is to inform USCIS of certain changes such as change of address, husband's name change... if they were to occur.

And lastly, they keep the Advance Parole card and the I-94 immigration document, both documents that identify you as immigrant; however, if you passed, you are a legal resident and not an immigrant anymore. Thus, there is no longer need for them. At the same time, for the next 2 to 3 weeks, as you wait for the Green card to arrive... You will only have your passport as ID (unless you got your license in the meanwhile).

Stay posted!

I hope all this was helpful

Green Card - Employment authorization + Advance Parole

Another step moving forward in the legalization process.
Do you remember the picture they took on the Biometrics? well, it shows also in this document.

Today in the mail I got a letter and a card document. Le letter explains that the document is my work permit and in case of being a combo card (such is my case) it allows me to leave the country and re-enter without abandoning the legalization process. Ready for a trip home? Yes I am!

This is an example of the card mentioned, this is just the plain one, not the combo like mine.
If you would get the combo it would say "Serves as I-512 Advance Parole"

NOTE: With this document, regardless of being employment authorization only or combo, you can request a Social Security Number (SSN) and start studying or working. For more information about how to request SSN click here.