{"id":3666,"date":"2019-06-14T15:15:59","date_gmt":"2019-06-14T19:15:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/?p=3666"},"modified":"2019-06-14T15:16:42","modified_gmt":"2019-06-14T19:16:42","slug":"naturalization-information-how-to-become-a-us-citizen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/naturalization-information-how-to-become-a-us-citizen\/","title":{"rendered":"Naturalization Information: How to Become a US Citizen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Every year, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.uscis.gov\/news\/fact-sheets\/naturalization-fact-sheet\">more than 750,000<\/a> people become United States citizens. Are you interested in becoming a citizen yourself?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The US citizenship process is known for being challenging. You don&#8217;t have to try and navigate things alone, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you want to know&nbsp;how to become a US citizen and aren&#8217;t sure where to begin, keep reading. Everything you need to know is explained below.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Ways to Become a US Citizen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>There are several different ways in which one can become a US citizen. The following are some of the most common approaches:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Citizenship through birth<\/strong>: If you&#8217;re born in the United States, you are automatically considered a citizen<\/li><li><strong>Citizenship through derivation<\/strong>: If a child was born abroad but their parents become citizens, those children can &#8220;derive&#8221; citizenship from their parents<\/li><li><strong>Citizenship through naturalization<\/strong>: This involves a lengthy application process and is the most common approach people take to become citizens<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The remainder of this post will focus on citizenship through naturalization since it is the approach most immigrants are likely to take.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Basic Naturalization Requirements<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>In order to attain US citizenship through naturalization, you&#8217;ll have to start by meeting some basic requirements. You&#8217;ll first need to fall into one of these categories:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>Have lived in the US as a permanent resident for at least five years<\/li><li>Have lived in the US for at least three years and have been married to a US citizen for the same length of time<\/li><li>Have served in the US Armed Forces<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition to falling into a qualifying eligibility category, you must also be at least 18 years of age and able to speak, read, and write basic English.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You must also be able to prove that you&#8217;re a person of good moral character (i.e., you have not committed any severe crimes).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Becoming a US Citizen: Step by Step<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>If you are not already a US citizen and meet the basic requirements listed above, you&#8217;ve already completed the first two steps in the ten-step naturalization process.&nbsp;Listed below are the remaining eight steps you&#8217;ll have to take to become a citizen:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Prepare Form N-400<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Form N-400 is your naturalization application. You can find this form online. Print it out and read through the instructions carefully to make sure you complete it correctly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Be sure to follow the document checklist, too, to make sure you attach all necessary documentation to the application.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Submit Form N-400<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After you&#8217;ve filled everything out and gone over it with a fine tooth comb, it&#8217;s time to submit your Form N-400.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Once it&#8217;s submitted, you&#8217;ll receive a receipt notice from USCIS (the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services). You can also check online to keep up with your case status.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Attend&nbsp;the Biometrics Appointment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>USCIS may send you an appointment notice letting you know that you need to take biometrics. A biometrics appointment involves having your fingerprints and photo taken, as well as obtaining a copy of your signature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Complete the Interview<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, USCIS will contact you to schedule an interview. You&#8217;ll take your English and civics tests at this time, as well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You&#8217;ll need to complete your interview at the USCIS office at the date and time specified. Bring your appointment notice with you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Receive a Decision<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>After the interview and test, you&#8217;ll receive a written notice from USCIS. The notice will let you know which of these three decisions they&#8217;ve made for you:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li><strong>Granted<\/strong>: This means your Form-400 has been approved<\/li><li><strong>Continued<\/strong>: This means&nbsp;USCIS needs more documentation\/evidence for your case or that you need to retake the English and civics tests<\/li><li><strong>Denied<\/strong>: This means USCIS has denied your Form-400 and you&#8217;re not eligible to become a US citizen<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>If USCIS does deny your application, they&#8217;ll let you know in the letter when you can reapply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Receive a Notice to Take the&nbsp;Oath<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If your application is approved, you&#8217;ll get to participate in a naturalization ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sometimes, you can participate in this ceremony and take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States on the same day that your interview takes place.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If this isn&#8217;t the case for you, you&#8217;ll receive a notification from USCIS letting you know&nbsp;the date and time of&nbsp;your ceremony.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Take the&nbsp;Oath<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>During the ceremony, you&#8217;ll take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States and officially become a US citizen. You&#8217;ll receive a certificate of naturalization, too.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Review What&nbsp;U.S. Citizenship Means<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>At this point, you&#8217;ll need to review what it means to be a US citizen and the rights and responsibilities you now have.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This includes the right to vote, the responsibility to serve on a jury if you&#8217;re called, and the ability to bring family members from your home country into the United States.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Do You Need to Hire an Immigration Lawyer?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>A lot of people wonder if they need to hire an immigration lawyer to help them through the process. As a general rule, you can complete the naturalization process without the help of a lawyer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are some&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.usavisacounsel.com\/articles\/the-top-6-reasons-to-hire-an-immigration-lawyer.htm\">good reasons<\/a>&nbsp;to consider hiring a lawyer, though.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>An immigration lawyer has a thorough understanding of the naturalization process. He or she will help you avoid making mistakes that could slow down the process or cause your application to get denied<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A lawyer can also be helpful if you do have a criminal record or there are other issues that might preclude you from becoming a citizen. They can help with other issues, too. For example, if you were married to a US citizen and are now separated or have had tax problems in the past.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#8217;t&nbsp;<em>have&nbsp;<\/em>to have an immigration lawyer, but it certainly helps and will give you peace of mind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">You Know How to Become a US Citizen: Now What?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The process of becoming a US citizen is challenging. There&#8217;s no doubt about it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you keep this information in mind, though, you&#8217;ll have a much easier time navigating the citizenship process.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Now that you know how to become a US citizen, are you ready to start the process? Do you need to hire an immigration lawyer to help you?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you need help finding the right lawyer for the job, check out our business directory today. We&#8217;ll help you find a qualified, reputable immigration lawyer in your area.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Every year, more than 750,000 people become United States citizens. Are you interested in becoming a citizen yourself?&nbsp; The US citizenship process is known for being challenging. You don&#8217;t have to try and navigate things alone, though. If you want to know&nbsp;how to become a US citizen and aren&#8217;t sure where to begin, keep reading. [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3666"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3668,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3666\/revisions\/3668"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3666"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3666"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.atyourbusiness.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3666"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}