To obtain U.S. citizenship, you need to know history and pass an FBI check
To be eligible to apply for citizenship, you need to get a green card and, as a rule, live with it for at least five years as a law-abiding person, pay taxes regularly, know basic English, and have basic knowledge of U.S. history and government. Getting a green card that provides permanent residence in the United States and the right to work is difficult. To do so, the applicant must be a close relative of a U.S. citizen, or a refugee from their country, or legally present in the United States on a work or student visa for the past three years, or if they win a green card in the lottery.
You will need to pay $680 for submitting one package of documents and provide biometric data. The processing of the case usually takes four to five months, but there have been cases where everything dragged on for years. This is explained by the applicant's involvement in court proceedings, changes of names and addresses, an FBI check for participation in terrorist or totalitarian groups, or even a simple accidental name match on the Internet.
"I have been living in the United States for 10 years," says Ukrainian Sergey Dzyuba, "but only now I was able to become an American. When I immigrated, I got into a car accident. An elevated level of alcohol was found in my blood, and because of that, I was not eligible to apply for citizenship for 5 years." It turns out that the more actively a person behaves in the United States (participates in public events and organizations, owns a business, hangs out on the Internet), the greater the chances that the consideration of their application will be delayed.
After submitting the citizenship application and providing fingerprints, the applicant receives a booklet with 100 questions about American history and government to prepare for the interview with an immigration officer. The date of the interview is usually notified by mail within the following three to four months.
The interviewee can be spotted immediately: by their formal attire and anxious appearance. This procedure was described by Carmelia Rodriguez from Colombia, who recently obtained citizenship, to Segodnya. She was primarily surprised by the huge volume of her personal file: "I never thought there was so much information about me... I was very nervous and did not understand the questions in English well. I thought the officer would tell me, 'Go and study English.' But he was patient, just asked me not to worry too much."
To pass the exam, you need to answer 6 out of 10 questions. For example: "List several Indian tribes that live in the United States," "What posed the greatest danger to the United States during the Cold War?" (answer: communism), "How many amendments does the U.S. Constitution have?"
Additionally, you need to read and write one of three simple sentences without errors, and most importantly, the applicant's answers must match the officer's knowledge. In case of a dispute, you can always go to court. Next, you will have a ceremony of swearing allegiance to the American nation and receiving a certificate confirming your new citizenship. At the ceremony, it is customary to list the countries from which the "newbies" arrived.
Up to 80% are born in Latin or South American countries, so in many southern states it is hard to hear English speech: Spanish is in everyday use. Even in official bodies such as the immigration service, all signs and forms are in three languages: English, Spanish, and Creole. Creoles arrive in the United States from Haiti as refugees, which provides them with a number of benefits that even native-born Americans do not have. "Tomorrow I can start processing documents to bring my entire family to the United States," Haitian Vantu Robatas told me after the ceremony. "And today I am the happiest person in the world."
Permanent residency for half a million
There is an option to speed up obtaining U.S. citizenship for money. By making an investment of half a million dollars, a person receives an EB-5 visa and a temporary green card for two years, after which they can apply for permanent residency. Do not think that by paying $0.5 million even a terrorist can become an American – the potential investor goes through the same checks as a regular citizenship applicant. Only after the application is approved will the money be spent on investments in the United States, from which you are entitled to receive income. For example, among the options offered by immigration lawyers (their services cost from $20,000 to $40,000) for such investments is the purchase of a house that can be rented out. You can exit the immigration investment project only after 5 years.
Juliana GREY.
Segodnya