There are three (3) basic ways that a person can become a U.S. Citizen.  The first and most obvious is by Birth (Jus Soli).   Anyone who is born within the United States within the territories of its jurisdiction is considered a U.S. citizen, regardless of parents’ statuses.  That is, even if the parent is an undocumented person, a child that is born in the United States and/or its territories is a U.S. citizen.  The exception to this rule is if a person is born on an Indian reservation; in this case, the person must take the oath of allegiance before he/she can become a U.S. citizen.  An alien can also become and U.S. citizen if he/she is naturalized.  Naturalization is the process where a permanent resident becomes a U.S. citizen. In order for an permanent resident to be naturalized, he/she must be at least 18 years of age, have continuous residency for at least 5 years and must meet the physical presence requirement (residing at least ½ of 5 years inside the U.S.).  In addition, the person must have good moral character, must be able to speak and write basic English, and must understand the history and the government of the United States.  The naturalization process can be cumbersome and may be difficult to traverse, especially if one as a criminal background.  Therefore, an immigration attorney should be contacted if you decide to file your application to be naturalized.  The third way a person can become a U.S. citizen is if he or she was under the age of 18 at the time his/her parent became naturalized, an adopted child of a U.S. citizen, or if he/she is a child of a U.S. citizen and permanent resident parent.  Before the enactment of the Child Citizenship Protection Act in 2000, both parents must be naturalized (or are U.S. citizen), or in case of a divorced or single parents, then the parent who has custody must be a U.S. citizen, before the child can be a derivative citizen.  Now, After the enactment of the Child Citizenship protection Act of 2000, only one parent needs to be a U.S. citizen for the child to obtain derivative citizenship.  For more information, please click on “Derivative Citizen” and “The Child Citizenship Act.”

 

Contact the Immigration Lawyers at Smith & Garg today for more on how to become a US Citizen!