Welcome to my regularly scheduled post about U.S. citizenship and how it works. I am keenly aware that I have been unable to visit/visit/travel to/visit one of my (alleged) favorite countries, at least until Monday, April 22. After I become a U.S. citizen, I can go where I want.
How about you? Many of you are getting active in voting and possible changes to the system. So, what’s the latest status? I started at the bottom, and I hope you will now drop in.
Step 1: Find the U.S. Embassy near you. The U.S. Ambassador’s website (as always, read it before doing anything) contains a plethora of resources for new U.S. citizens.
Keep in mind that for this process, there are two U.S. citizenships to choose from. Some places will do a “passport green card” program, which I, for one, have already experienced. Here is one example, the same time at two different locations.
To qualify, you should be a U.S. citizen at the time of naturalization and present a passport when you visit the country (see the photo above for a recent example). You can visit either embassy. (This may or may not be the case for our posts on Monday).
How Does the Process Work?
What is a permanent resident? The center of the screen is a green card, and there are arrows pointing toward a date of birth. Clicking anywhere near the date of birth brings up the date of naturalization with a symbol and a number.
Step 2: Fill out the form. The site does a very nice job of illustrating and explaining each question. Go to the Question and answer drop-down box to choose “answer ‘yes’ to all questions” (answers do count toward citizenship). The deadline is mid-May, which is a Friday, for the Section VI, 111x. I recommend putting more than one answer into the field of “yes.” For what it’s worth, I filled out 26 questions — the amount of questions I answered is in the first paragraph.
As far as appearances go, this may or may not result in a “yes.” I suggest you really think about this when you click “no.” Clicking “yes” may or may not lead to citizenship (in my experience, it did). The directions have a button to click to review the logic of each question. Clicking “no” may lead to a referral.
I wanted to take time to explain that once the official certifies a person as a U.S. citizen, they do not have to give you a stamp. They can either write a thank you note (or send it in your own snail mail) or they can mail you a stamp. It’s up to them. What you do know is they will send you a very nice welcome note in the mail.
Then, you will receive the letter in the mail letting you know you are a U.S. citizen, and that you can apply for citizenship. It takes about three weeks to process.
I began at the bottom, where I am today. If anyone is interested in more about U.S. citizenship, that would be great. I have been working hard, getting my son prepared to take over parenting the family of three. I’ve lived here since the early 2000s. Many of you have known me longer. I’ve been hoping to visit my childhood home in India for over a year, and now I can’t. I never thought this could happen to me, and what does it mean for me?
To read previous posts, go to:
University of Virginia
University of Kansas
University of Tennessee