Things You Must Know Before Applying for Citizenship

If you want to apply for a citizenship in some foreign country, trust me it is going to be a tough nut to crack. Immigration department give you a really hard time and in such a situation only a skilled and professional citizenship lawyer can help you.

Well, in this article I will list down the things that you must know before filing for citizenship.

You must be the lawful permanent resident of that country for the required period of time

If you want to say apply for the citizenship of USA, you need to be a lawful permanent resident of USA for a specific time period. The period of time that you must wait before filing for the citizenship depends on how you acquired your permanent residence.

If you have gone the most common route and got your permanent residence based on marriage to a person in USA, and you are still married to that individual, you can apply for the citizenship once you have reached 3 years period of continuous residence as a legal permanent residence.

However, if you are no longer married to the USA citizen, or if you did not gain your permanent residence based on marriage, then you can apply for citizenship after 5 years period of continuous residence as a legal permanent resident.

You need to prove that you were physically present in USA for the required time

In order to gain the citizenship, you need to prove that you were physically present in USA all the while during the time being for 3 to 5 years. Apart from that, you also need to prove that you have maintained continuous residence in USA for 3 to 5 years. It means that you must not take trips outside USA that lasts more than 6 months in 5 years preceding your citizenship application.

If you were outside of USA for more than 6 months, it may disqualify you from applying for citizenship. The citizenship lawyers are well aware of all these legal conditions and they can help you out if you are looking forward to apply for citizenship.

You need to provide your character certificate

At the time of your citizenship interview, the immigration officer will make a determination regarding your moral character. If you have ever been arrested or convicted of some serious crime then you will not qualify for the citizenship. Especially if the offence has occurred within the 5 years preceding citizenship application, then it is most likely that you will be rejected of your citizenship claim.

Selective service requirement

If you are someone that has gained permanent residence between the ages of 18 to 26 years, you must provide proof for your registration with the selective service. If you had some reason failed to register for selective service, you must provide in written statement explaining why you did not register and provide a status information letter for selective service.

These are some of the important things that will be very important when applying for citizenship. Sure, it can be difficult for an average person to know this and that is why citizenship lawyers can help you out with all the legal formalities. Good Luck!

Sidman Law Group is an immigration law firm with over 25 years of experience in the field. The firm specializes in obtaining immigrant and non-immigrant visas for prominent entertainers, models, high tech professionals, journalists, investors, and in