I always thought about emigrating to another country but never felt I would have the opportunity. However, while working in England, I was asked to go to the States for six months to help an American company. That’s now nearly ten years ago, and I’ve been in America pretty much ever since.
When I last wrote about my Green Card process, I completed a Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence form, or I-751. This form would grant me a standard ten-year Green Card since I only had a two-year Green Card due to L and I being married only two years instead of three when I applied. In November 2023, I received a confirmation letter from the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, or USCIS, that they received my application and placed me in the queue to be processed and, because of this timeframe, USCIS granted me a two-year Green Card extension while this happened.
While we waited for USCIS’s review, I also started the process to apply for citizenship in America. Through this whole process, I thought about citizenship and its benefits: I could vote, we have protection to be together, and I no longer have to worry about renewing a Green Card every ten years.
The citizenship process can be different for different people. Because I received my Green Card through marriage in November 2020, I became a Legal Permanent Resident, or LPR, at that time. For me, I could apply for citizenship ninety days after I have been a permanent resident for at least three years since I married an American. (For other people, they would have to be a permanent resident for at least five years if they did not marry a US citizen.) This meant I could apply for citizenship in August 2024.
For this, my immigration attorney sent me Form N-400, or a Naturalization Application if you were born outside of the United States of America. This form is fourteen pages and covered all aspects of L’s and my life, including:
- overview questions, such as if I have a physical or developmental disability or mental impairment preventing me from showing my knowledge and understanding of the English language, what my past and present home addresses in the last five years were, if L and I were still married, how many times L had been married, where I have worked in the last five years, what trips have we taken outside of the US in the past five years were, and how much money L and I make
- less extreme questions, such as if I have ever claimed to be a US citizen and if I owe any taxes to government
- more extreme questions, such as if I have associated with a Communist party, if I want to overthrow the United States government and/or its laws, if I have assaulted or killed any officer, if I have kidnapped anyone, if I have ever started genocide, if I have ever engaged in prostitution or trafficked someone, if I have ever been married to more than one person at the same time, and if I married someone to get an immigration benefit
- citizenship questions, such as if I support the Constitution and if I am willing to take the full Oath of Allegiance to the United States
The form ended, saying the last step in citizenship was taking the Oath of Allegiance at citizenship ceremony, if my application was approved.
Along with the Oath of Allegiance, I would also have to take the Pledge of Allegiance.
From the moment of knowing this, L began testing me, making me recite the pledge at the most random times, including while shopping, while walking home from pubs (slightly inebriated), when eating tea—sorry dinner—in front of L’s parents.
The cost for submitting this fourteen-page form is $710.00, and once I completed it, I returned the form to my immigration attorney for review.
Enter my first citizenship speed bump: I incorrectly answered two questions about taxes, which raised eyebrows at my attorney’s office—the questions said something like “Do you owe taxes?” and I incorrectly read it, so I answered “Yes.” My attorney emailed me basically saying, “This is an issue if you are not paying taxes, so confirm if your answers right or wrong.” After clarifying, this accident was quickly resolved and didn’t cause further issues. Again, I say how important it is to get an attorney to help with the immigration process—it is tricky to understand for everyone but especially tricky if English is not your first language. I feel this would have become a major issue if I had submitted the form myself.
Speaking of taxes, I have to include this American phase: “No taxation without Representation!” This phrase originated during the American Revolution where colonists were taxed by the British government in order to reduce the UK’s debt after the Seven Years’ War. Obviously, the colonists found this tax unfair as they had no representation in the British Parliament. Basically, if you’re not represented by an official in government, it is unjust that you should pay taxes to that government.
Well, as a LPR, I pay taxes but have no say in who or what is done in power as I am unable to vote.
I have always said this in a joking way, mainly to L, because I find it rather humorous.
Obviously at this present time, the idea of non-U.S. citizens (legal or otherwise) being able to vote is an area of contention with many people—Washington, D.C. license plates even have this phrase printed on them—so let’s leave it there.
I was then told I needed to complete the Notice of Entry of Appearance as Attorney or Accredited Representative, or G-28 form. This basically assigns my attorney to my N-400 filing.
Last, I needed to submit more documentation regarding our marriage (marriage license) and our apartment (lease).
Although the process to start citizenship was only two official forms and documentation, this process actually took about five months to complete before it was submitted in January 2025.
After this, it was a case of waiting, again, for USCIS to add the N-400 filing to the ongoing N-751 case. Luckily, I got confirmation that this happened through the receipt of a letter four months later.
The letter also included more forms for me to complete that I must bring with me to my citizenship interview. Meantime, my attorney said I needed to prepare for this interview by studying civics, which made me a little bit anxious.
To find out more on what I had to do to prepare and how my naturalization interview went, you will have to wait for my next post …
Disclaimer
I believe what is included within this post is correct; however, if you are aware of errors, please comment, and I will update where applicable. None of the above should be considered legal advice and an immigration attorney is highly suggested to discuss immigration plans.
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