N-400 (Citizenship)

Acquiring The American Dream

N-400 (Citizenship)

US Citizenship is the dream and goal of many of our clients once they obtain green cards. We are excited and honored to have been a part of your immigration journey and look forward to helping you reach the last goalpost – your US Citizenship

Learn more about how we help below, and please don't hesitate to contact us with any questions.

Filing For Citizenship

How Immigration Desk Helps

Besides the obvious – that you now live in the US and fully intend to continue living here, there are some practical reasons why we recommend that clients file for US citizenship once they are eligible.

  • If you own a business, as a US citizen, you may qualify to bid on government projects.
  • As a US Citizen, you can apply for green card for close family members, your children, spouse, elderly parents. Green card holders cannot apply for some of these. And it is much faster if you are a US citizen.
  • Your children are automatically US citizens, even if they are born abroad.
  • You can vote and also run for political office.
  • A US passport facilitates travel. If you travel overseas a lot, you are already aware of the shorter queues and processing times for US citizens at almost every airport in the world.
  • US citizen services abroad. If you are overseas and ever run into any problems, be it your belongings getting stolen, you get stranded, or are accused of a crime, you want the might of the US and its consular services supporting you.
  • And, also, if you have a green card and get into legal trouble, there is a possibility that you might be deported to your country of birth. With a US citizenship, there are very few chances of deportation.

In the past few decades, applying for citizenship has become complex, with many requirements that need to be met. Below are general guidelines. Please reach out to us to discuss how we can help make the process easy for you.

Read MoreLess

Eligibility Criteria

You can apply for US citizenship if

  • You have been a green card holder for 5 years; or
  • You have been a green card holder for 3 years and obtained your green card through your US citizen spouse; or
  • You are a member of the US armed forces

If you meet one of these 3 requirements, you must also

  • Have been living in the US over half the time
  • Have a good moral character
  • Be willing to take an oath of loyalty to the US
  • Understand, speak, read and write in English
  • And pass a US history and government test

To read additional details about the government’s filing process and fees for the N-400 (Citizenship), please visit the USCIS website here.

Read MoreLess

What can stop you from filing

When you ask us to help with your citizenship application, we will first go over the general criteria to determine whether you qualify. If you do, we next discuss any conditions that will stop you from obtaining citizenship. Some of these can include

  • Having a criminal or arrest record
  • Not paying US taxes
  • Not paying court ordered child support
  • Not having a good moral character
  • Forgetting to register for the Selective Services

There may be other criteria as well, which we can discuss to make sure you will qualify

How to file for citizenship

Once we are able to review your information and determine that you qualify, we will have you sign our Fee Agreement. In almost all cases, we will charge a flat fee for our services, which we let you know upfront.

Once you are a client, we help you collect all the needed documents and file for the citizenship application for you.

A few weeks later the Immigration Service will schedule for you to go to their center for fingerprinting. This process is called “biometrics”.

Several months later, depending on where you live and how busy your local US CIS office is, you will be called in for an in-person interview. At the interview, you will go over the petition with the officer, and also take the Citizenship exam. Before you go, we will prepare you for the interview and provide materials for you to study for the citizenship exam. You can also hire us to attend the interview with you, if there is need.

If the officer who is interviewing you finds something missing, or incomplete, he will send out a Request asking for more evidence. If everything is complete, the officer will let you know that your application is approved.

Once the application is approved, you will get sworn in before a judge, hand in your green card, and be issued a “Certificate of Naturalization”. With this, you can go down to the local post office and apply for your US passport.

Read MoreLess

How We Can Help

Most clients come to us because they do not want to deal with the paperwork and the USCIS, are either concerned that they do not meet the criteria, or that they have done something that will stop them from becoming citizens. Some just need to be able to continue international travel or have income outside the US and are concerned that becoming a US citizen will cause a problem to these needs. While these are the most common concerns, our clients sometimes have other issues as well. Whatever your reason, please know that in our decades of practice we have come probably across a situation similar to yours and will guide you each step of the way.

To talk with one of our attorneys, please contact us today.

Read MoreLess
Please contact us to discuss your case
To explore other visas, or for a listing of our services, please click on buttons below.

Awards & Memberships

Testimonials

Read More Testimonials >

NEWSLETTER SIGNUP

Stay up to date on the latest immigration news. Sign up for our newsletter.
go to top