Nov
6

A Few of the Many Reasons to Become a U.S. Citizen

Citizenship offers substantially more benefits than permanent residency.  Here are a few of the many reasons to naturalize:

Risk of abandonment

Permanent residents can travel internationally, but must be cautious about spending too much time outside of the U.S.  If you spend a year outside of the U.S., you will be presumed to have abandoned your permanent residency, and you risk being placed in removal proceedings and possibly deported.

Even those permanent residents who have spent less than a year outside the U.S. might be accused of abandoning residency.  Unfortunately, there is no...

Jan
18

When Is a Person a Good Person? USCIS' Evolving Character Standard

When is a person a good person?   The law is rather clear.  However, USCIS continues to engage in a campaign to rewrite the law to get it getter authority to deny otherwise qualified applicants for naturalization.    This is part of the administration's vigorous effort to slant the law against approving an application instead of toward approving an application.   The latest twist ignores years of litigation that established clear boundaries for who can and cannot prove whether they are a person of good moral character.   

When making the decision to apply for naturalization, there...

Mar
14

May I Go? Traveling While Naturalizing

Many people ask whether they may travel internationally once they have filed their applications for naturalization. The answer is that, generally, yes, a lawful permanent resident may travel outside the United States while their naturalization application is pending. 

However, there are very clear limitations.  First, if a lawful permanent resident is absent from the US for more than 180 days in a single trip at any time, it can restart the clock that runs toward eligibility for naturalization.  This applies whether a person has already or not yet applied for naturalization.  A person...