Citizenship and Naturalization
Byrd & Associates: Delivering Successful Citizenship and Naturalization Solutions
Are you a legal permanent resident seeking to become a U.S. citizen? Do you have prior criminal convictions or IRS tax payment issues? We specialize in complicated cases that involve criminal convictions, but also routinely help permanent residents who have cases with no issues. Many permanent residents choose to further formalize their relationship to the United States each year by filing for naturalization. When a naturalization application is approved, a permanent resident is granted U.S. citizenship. Our attorneys have helped hundreds of permanent residents become U.S. citizens for nearly a decade.
Did you file your naturalization application on your own and now it has been denied? Has your naturalization application been pending for an unreasonable amount of time?
Are you a person who was born abroad to a U.S. citizen parent? Do you want to claim U.S. citizenship through your birth to your U.S. citizen parent?
The naturalization and citizenship immigration attorneys at Byrd & Associates can help you.
Requirements for Naturalization
To become a naturalized citizen of the United States, a permanent resident first must meet several requirements:
Entry, residence, and physical presence: The naturalization applicant must lawfully enter the country and gain legal permanent resident status. After becoming a legal permanent resident, a foreign national must reside in the United States continuously for five years, or three years for spouses of American citizens. During that period, he or she must be physically present in the country for at least fifty percent of the time.
Age: A naturalization applicant must be at least eighteen years old. Parents or adoptive parents can file applications on behalf of children under this age with their petitions. Most children receive derivative citizenship with their parents, and need not satisfy the five-year residence requirement.
Literacy and education: The applicant must possess the ability to understand, speak, read, and write basic English. Certain older applicants may receive an exemption from this requirement if they have been permanent residents for at least 15 years and are over 50 years old. Applicants must also demonstrate knowledge of U.S. history, politics, and government. The Citizenship and Immigration Service (CIS) administers an examination to applicants that they must pass to qualify for naturalization. Applicants may take the exam more than once if required.
Moral character: Applicants must show their good moral character, and that they sustained this standard throughout their residence in the United States. This requirement can cause issues for those who have criminal convictions, IRS tax issues or those who owe child support, among others. If you have any of these issues, you should contact a naturalization immigration attorney at Byrd & Associates to analyze your case.
Attachment to constitutional principles: Applicants must show they are attached to the principles of the Constitution of the United States, and well-disposed to the good order and happiness of the United States. This requirement ensures that new citizens generally agree with the philosophical foundation of the community. Attachment to the Constitution includes a commitment to the Bill of Rights and a belief in representative democracy. Individuals well disposed to good order and happiness can show they like the United States and believe in its political systems.
Oath of allegiance to the United States: The applicant must pledge allegiance to the United States, renouncing other national allegiances. The pledge includes an obligation to support the Constitution and to bear arms on behalf of the United States if required.
Benefits of U.S. Citizenship
A U.S. citizen enjoys many rights and privileges that are not available to non-citizens. Included among these rights and privileges are:
Voting: The privilege to participate in government by electing those who create, debate, and enforce the law.
Holding public office: The privilege to be elected and to serve in any public office (except that of the Vice-President or the President of the United States).
Traveling: The privilege of having a U.S. passport allowing the freedom to travel, as well as to receive government protection and assistance when traveling abroad.
Extending citizenship to your children: Permanent resident children under the age of eighteen, who are in the legal and physical custody of the naturalizing parents automatically become U.S. citizens when their parents become naturalized. Children born after naturalization also receive citizenship through jus sanguinis.
Reuniting families: The privilege of helping immediate relatives (spouses, parents, minor and unmarried children) obtain their visas without extended delay.
Responsibilities of U.S. Citizenship
Along with the rights and privileges of citizenship come certain responsibilities, including:
Give up prior allegiances to other countries.
Support and defend the Constitution and the laws of the United States.
Swear allegiance to the United States.
Serve the United States (e.g., in military service) when required.
Contact Us to Start Your Naturalization or Citizenship Application
For a confidential consultation with a naturalization and citizenship immigration attorney at Byrd & Associates, please telephone us in our San Jose office at (408) 995-3268, or in our San Francisco office at (415) 362-2285. We will carefully analyze the facts in your case to find your successful citizenship solution.