U.S Citizenship

There are many invaluable advantages to becoming a United States Citizen. A U.S. Citizen has the right to obtain Citizenship for children born abroad, vote, travel across U.S. borders, and become an elected official or a federal employee. A Citizen may also take advantage of U.S. benefits such as Medicare and Social Security.

Lawful Permanent Residents whose Green Card has been valid for at least 5 years may file for United States Citizenship. An applicant who is married to a U.S. Citizen is eligible to apply for U.S. Citizenship after 3 years of having a valid Green Card.

Some of the eligibility requirements to petition for United States Citizenship include the following:

• Be 18 years old or older at the time of filing;
• Be a Green Card holder for at least 5 years immediately preceding the filing date, or three years if the green card was based on marriage to a U.S Citizen;
• Have resided in the state, or USCIS district, for at least 3 months prior to the date of filing for naturalization;
• Have continuous residence in the United States for at least five years immediately preceding the date of filing;
• Be physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the 5 years immediately preceding the date of filing;
• Be able to pass a civics exam which includes knowledge of U.S history and government, as well as write and read English;
• Be a person of good moral character (such as show that you have paid taxes to the United States government and had no criminal record).

It is highly advisable to retain an immigration lawyer who is particularly a citizenship and naturalization attorney.  At Law Offices of Inna Vernikov, PLLC, citizenship and naturalization is one of our major focus areas, and we have successfully petitioned for hundreds of citizenship applications in New York and other states. For legal advice and expert assistance with filing New York Citizenship petitions, contact the Law Offices of Inna Vernikov at (212) 729-3497.