My Goals Are to Maintain My Green Card or Become a Citizen
We recognize the profound impact of obtaining a green card, and we are committed to safeguarding your status. While lawful permanent resident status is indefinite, green cards must be renewed and certain actions may even jeopardize this status. Our firm provides expert guidance on renewing and protecting green card status, taking proactive measures when necessary and helping avoid any inadvertent consequences.
We also represent lawful permanent clients from all over the world in applying to become U.S. citizens. We carefully review your application and ensure you feel confident and prepared for your naturalization interview. Clients also turn to us for analysis and legal counsel regarding automatic and derivative citizenship for individuals born abroad. Whatever your green card or citizenship needs, we are ready to assist you with personalized and effective representation.
Preserving Your Green Card
A Green Card is a permit to live and work in the United States on an indefinite basis. However, it can be lost or taken away from you. While you are free to travel outside the U.S., if you spend too much time away, and not enough time in the country, you may be deemed to have “abandoned” your status.
Generally, any absence of less than six months will not be considered an abandonment. Absences of between six but less than 12 months raise issues and concerns about your intent, and may result in you being pulled into secondary inspection upon return to determine what your intent was in being out of the U.S. for so long. Absences of 12 months or more without a good explanation, such as, “I had a stroke and was hospitalized for an extended period,” or “I was attending university abroad,” will likely put your status in jeopardy.
If you get to the point where USCIS is examining your intent, be prepared to provide your tax returns, because as a green card holder you are required to report your worldwide taxable income each year. Other indicators of retained residence here in the U.S., such as a lease, home ownership, bank accounts, children, etc. may also help in defending your status.
You may also have your Green Card taken away from you, even if you never step foot outside of the U.S. If you commit certain crimes you may lose your right to remain and work in the U.S. Always obey the law. For example, pay and file your taxes as required and on time and don’t drive over the speed limit in states where 10 miles per hour or more over the posted speed can land you in jail.
Remember, if you eventually want to become a citizen, you must prove that you are a person of good moral character who obeys the law and pays your taxes.
Gaining Travel Permission
If you are planning to go abroad for an extended period, which you think may extend beyond one year, the safest thing to do is to file for a re-entry permit. A re-entry permit allows you to be outside the U.S. for up to two years at a time and can be extended for longer periods as well. This must be filed before you leave the U.S., so contact us in advance of your travel plans if you wish to obtain a re-entry permit.
Updating Your Address with USCIS
All foreign nationals in the United States, with the exception of diplomats, employees of foreign governments and Visa Waiver holders, are required to update USCIS of their address every time they move. This obligation to update the government continues even once you have obtained Green Card status, and continues thereafter until you become a U.S. citizen. If you have filed a petition for a relative, you have even more reason to update USCIS about your change of address, as you will want to know when your petition has been acted upon, or when your family member’s priority date becomes current, so that you are able to take the next step in your case.
Failure to update your address within the requisite 10-day period could make you removable (deportable) unless you convince USCIS that you had a reasonable excuse or did not willfully fail to update your address. At first glance, it may appear straightforward to claim that you forgot or were unaware of the deadline, etc. However, note the burden of convincing USCIS falls on you.
If you’ve never changed your address, but are planning to file for citizenship, be aware that your failure to file a timely address change may come up at the time of your Naturalization interview. You may update your address online at the USCIS website at the following link: https://www.uscis.gov/addresschange
The system will prompt you to enter the necessary information and will generate a final change of address confirmation. Make sure to print this confirmation page and save a copy for your records. If you have a pending case with USCIS, the online system will also give you the option to update your address for all pending applications or petitions.
Filing for Citizenship
In order to file for citizenship you must have a Green Card for a minimum of five years; three years if you are married to a U.S. citizen. That date is measured from the date of admission listed on your Green Card. You are permitted to file up to 90 days in advance of your 5/3-year anniversary – so you do not need to wait until the end of the period. During the required period, you must be physically present in the United States, and you cannot have been outside the U.S. for more than 364 consecutive days, otherwise the clock starts over again!
In addition to the minimum residence requirement, you must also demonstrate that you are a person of good moral character, that you can read and write English, and pass a history and government exam based on 100 questions (only 10 will be asked out of the 100 – but you need to get at least six correct). Click here to see 100 questions (available in various languages). There are exceptions to these requirements for long-term residents and those with disabilities who present a physician’s certificate attesting to their inability to pass such an exam.
The good moral character requirement is not a given, and USCIS will want to see confirmation of selective service registration for any male subject to registration between the ages of 17 and 26. Your tax history will be checked to see if you owe any money. Don’t even think of filing for naturalization if you have a criminal record (of any type, including a sealed or juvenile record) without first consulting with a qualified immigration attorney.
Automatic Citizenship
Any child born within the United States (other than to a foreign diplomat) is automatically a citizen and entitled to have a U.S. passport issued. A child born outside the U.S. to a U.S. citizen parent is also automatically a citizen, and the parent should arrange to register the child’s birth with the U.S. Consul in their home country. A child born outside the U.S. whose parent becomes a naturalized citizen while the child is under the age of 18 and is present in the U.S. on a Green Card, also obtains automatic citizenship.
Registering My Child’s Birth Abroad
If you are a U.S. citizen and have a child overseas, you should report their birth at the nearest U.S. embassy or consulate as soon as possible so that a passport and/or Consular Report of Birth Abroad (CRBA) can be issued as an official record of the child’s claim to U.S. citizenship or nationality. The U.S. embassy or consulate will provide you one original copy of an eligible child’s CRBA. A CRBA documents your child was a U.S. citizen at birth. The CRBA does not serve as proof of the identity of the child’s legal parents. DOS issue CRBAs to children born abroad who acquired U.S. citizenship or nationality at birth and are under the age of 18 at the time of the application.
Go to your U.S. embassy or consulate webpage to learn if it is accepting online applications. To apply online, go to MyTravelGov page. If you cannot apply online, visit the U.S. embassy or consulate webpage for more information about completing Form DS-2029. The application must be signed in front of a consular officer, notary public, or other person qualified to administer oaths.
