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Introduction

So you want to live in America? You’re in good company. Between 2015 and 2019, approximately 1.1 million people per year became permanent legal residents of the United States. Sixty percent of these new immigrants came to reunite with family members who had already made the move to the unparalleled freedom and opportunity the United States offers her people. Fourteen percent specifically came here to offer their skills to help keep the U.S. workforce strong. Still others came to escape persecution and tyranny in their homelands.

Many permanent residents choose to take living in the United States a step further by becoming naturalized United States citizens. By becoming a naturalized citizen, these immigrants will experience nearly all the benefits granted to citizens born in the U.S. (the only exception is that they can’t become president or vice president of the United States).

Despite pandemic-related closures, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) welcomed 625,400 new citizens in fiscal year (FY) 2020 during naturalization ceremonies held across the United States and around the world. Among the top five countries of birth for people naturalizing in FY 2020, Mexico was the lead country, with 13.3% of all naturalizations, followed by India (7.7%), the Philippines (5.3%), Cuba (5%), and the People’s Republic of China (3.7%). The top five countries of birth comprised 35% of the naturalized citizens in FY 2020. For some, the process of immigrating to the U.S. and becoming a citizen was simple and straightforward. For others, the journey through the immigration and naturalization process became an endless parade of obstacles, delays, forms, and paperwork.

This book will help you get through this often confusing process, from determining how best to qualify to live permanently in the United States to gaining a green card to become a naturalized citizen of the U.S. Along the way, we point out the important requirements you need to meet and give tips and insights into dealing with USCIS, as well as other government agencies you’ll come into contact with while attempting to immigrate to the U.S. or become a citizen.

We wish we could tell you the immigration process is always simple, but each case is different and there are many special circumstances and exceptions to the rules that can come into play. In the aftermath of the tragic events of September 11, 2001, the complications have only increased. The U.S. immigration system has been under unprecedented public scrutiny. In most immigration cases, the services of a competent immigration attorney are highly recommended. Sometimes an attorney’s help is absolutely necessary in order to protect your immigration chances and help you through the process. Often, you can get free or low-cost help from nonprofit immigration services, designed to help immigrants legally live in the United States.

About This Book

In this book, we let you know things you can do to make the immigration and naturalization process easier and less stressful, as well as where to find additional help in case you need it. You’ll discover how to be proactive and stay a step ahead of the USCIS by anticipating which forms and paperwork you’ll need in advance. We also alert you to important points that can help you protect your immigration case throughout the proceedings.

If you plan on becoming a citizen, we also get you ready to pass the English, civics, reading, and writing portions of the naturalization interview. This part, more than any other, seems to fill potential citizens with fear. But you really shouldn’t worry. The USCIS is not expecting you to be an expert. In this book, we show you how to find out what you need to know. In fact, you’ll probably find practicing for the tests enjoyable, if not fun.

Why does a book on citizenship spend a fair amount of space on how to immigrate to the United States? Because you must first be a lawful permanent resident for a designated amount of time before you even qualify to try to become a naturalized citizen. So lawful immigration truly is the first step to naturalization.

Still, you will note this book is not called U.S. Immigration For Dummies. We’ll help you identify potential ways to immigrate, but this book isn’t long enough to cover actual petitioning and visa processing. We also avoid detailed discussion of nonimmigrant visas.

In all cases, we’ve kept the chapters modular, meaning you’ll find all the information you’ll need on a given subject, or we’ll refer you to other chapters in the book for further detail, and you don’t have to read the book from start to finish to understand the topic at hand.

Foolish Assumptions

Because you bought this book, we assume you are interested in living permanently in the U.S. or are a friend or relative of someone else who does. You (or your friend or relative) probably want to take the immigration process all the way to the end — naturalization — but regardless of your immigration goals, this book can help.

We don’t assume that you have a legal background or any familiarity with U.S. immigration. As such, we have made every attempt to explain the complicated legal process of immigration and naturalization in simple, easy-to-understand language. Nonetheless, we still strongly urge you to seek the advice of a competent attorney or immigration service to help you pursue your goals. Don’t worry, we also tell you how to find reliable help.

Icons Used in This Book

Icons are the pictures you’ll see in the margins throughout this book. Although they’re mighty fun to look at, they’re there to serve a purpose: flagging your attention to key pieces of information. Here’s what the various icons mean:

This icons calls your attention to information we cover elsewhere but that’s so important we think it’s worth repeating (and worth remembering).

The Tip icon points out practical advice that will make your naturalization and immigration process easier.

This icon highlights key points that can save you trouble, money, or in the worst-case scenario, forced removal from the country.

This icon points out more information than you technically need, but provides interesting facts that explain the hows and whys of immigration.

Beyond the Book

For quick tips about immigrating to the United States and taking the first steps toward citizenship, go to www.dummies.com and type “U.S. Citizenship For Dummies Cheat Sheet” in the search box. You can find information on determining your eligibility for citizenship along with advice on how to become a lawful permanent resident of the United States.

Where to Go from Here

Depending on your goals and where you are in the immigration process, you can dive right into Chapter 1 and read the entire book or skip to the chapters that best apply to your unique situation.

If you already hold an alien registration card and are now interested in gaining U.S. citizenship, you can easily skip over the chapters that deal with visas and gaining lawful permanent residence — although if you have friends or family members who also want to immigrate, you can certainly help them with this information.

If you’re just beginning the process, you won’t need to concern yourself with studying for the naturalization interview yet. But when that time comes, the information will be waiting for you in Parts 2, 3, and, 4.