Traditional Culture Encyclopedia - Travel guide - How to become an American citizen?

How to become an American citizen?

1. You must live in the United States continuously for five years after obtaining permanent residency. This is the minimum residence period for naturalization (except for those married to American citizens). Within five years, you can't leave the United States for more than six months in a row. If it is more than half a year, you must provide proof that you have no intention of giving up your right of abode in the United States. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the naturalization application time accordingly and recalculate the residence time in the United States. When applying for naturalization, you must have lived in the United States for five consecutive years in the last six months and lived in the local state or city for at least six months;

2. A foreign citizen who marries an American citizen must remain married for three consecutive years (the party who marries an American citizen must remain married for three consecutive years after obtaining permanent residency). Note: Immigration law enforcement agencies will conduct on-the-spot investigation on the applicant's residence, and will also investigate and verify whether the applicant exists and maintain the authenticity of the marriage relationship by asking neighbors, relatives and colleagues. Only in this way can both husband and wife apply for naturalization with Citizenship and Immigration. According to the relevant laws of the United States, foreign citizens who are married to American citizens or permanent residents of the United States should apply for naturalization as soon as possible as long as they meet the conditions for applying for American citizenship, and become American citizens as soon as possible, enjoying all the rights as American citizens. But the premise is that there must be a marriage relationship that lasts for more than three years;

3. Applicants for naturalization must be at least 18 years old. Foreigners under the age of 16 who have the right of permanent residence in the United States and whose parents have acquired American citizenship can automatically acquire American citizenship with their parents. However, children aged between 16 and 18 must apply for naturalization independently. If the child is under the age of 18, one of the parents is an American citizen and the other is a foreigner, before the child is under the age of 18, the parent with American citizenship will apply for naturalization on his behalf;

You must have basic English reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. Must have a certain understanding of American history, constitution and immigration law. When examining the eligibility for naturalization, immigration officials will conduct an oral test (interview), and naturalization applicants will answer in English about American history and American government, mainly about important events, people, government organizations and rights in American history, as well as the principles and important amendments of the US Constitution (such as the names of the first president and the current president). ).

Test the actual English expression ability of naturalization applicants through oral examination. This kind of test questions is printed and sold by the American government. If the applicant fails to pass the first oral exam, the applicant is allowed to take two make-up exams within one year. If the applicant is over 50 years old and has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, he can be exempted from taking the English test and can use his own language instead. The new immigration law also exempts applicants who have obtained permanent residence in the United States over the age of 55 and have stayed for more than 15 years, and replaces them with their own languages;

You must behave well during your five years in America. According to the relevant laws of the United States, adultery, prostitution, bigamy, or failure to perform maintenance obligations, as well as alcoholism and drug abuse, are all bad behaviors and cannot be naturalized;

6. Applicants for citizenship must give up their original nationality. If they want to retain their original nationality, they must not become American citizens, which means that the United States does not recognize dual nationality.