A citizen is said to be the legal member of that country. A citizen of the United States is a native-born, foreign-born, or naturalized person who owes allegiance to the United States and who is entitled to its protection. The United States recognizes the U.S. citizenship of individuals according to two fundamental principles which is the right of birthplace and right of blood which is deriving citizenship through parent’s citizenship. Apart from this a foreign individual may obtain citizenship through Naturalization.

The United States gives many rights to both citizens and non – citizens. However US Citizens are given the most rights. The US Citizens are given the right to Vote, bring their family members to United States, obtain citizenship for children who are born abroad, travel with a US passport, they are eligible to work in the federal jobs, enjoy international recognition, and they may become an elected official and show patriotism towards the country.

Form N-400 to Apply for US Citizenship

Naturalization is a process where a non- US citizen becomes a citizen of United States . A non – US citizen who wishes to obtain US Citizenship through Naturalization must file the form N400 (Application for Naturalization). There are many eligibility requirements to be met when applying for US Citizenship through Naturalization. The applicant must:

be at least 18 years of age
be a permanent resident for at least 5 years and meet all other eligibility requirements.
meet the required time within the USCIS district or State and possess good moral character.

If the permanent resident is married to a US Citizen, then he/she may apply for US Citizenship after 3 years if the individual has been living with the same US Citizen spouse for those 3 years.

When applying for US Citizenship through naturalization, one of the requirement is that the individual must maintain “continuous residence”. Continuous residence means that the person has not left the United States for a long period of time. If the person leaves the United States for too long, he/she may interrupt the continuous residence.

Another requirement to become a citizen is that the applicants must demonstrate an understanding of the English language and a knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals of US history as the law requires the applicants to be able to read, write and speak basic English and also have a basic knowledge about US history and government.

After the US Citizenship application is accepted by the USCIS, the applicant will be required to attend an interview and take the Civics and English Language tests. After the US Citizenship application is approved by USCIS, the applicant will be requested to take the oath of allegiance. This oath includes swearing allegiance to the United States, supporting and defending the Constitution and the laws of the United States, giving up all prior allegiance to any other nation or sovereignty and serving the country when required. The applicants will then be required to return the Permanent Resident card to USCIS as they will be provided with Naturalization Certificate after the Oath Ceremony. USCIS will then declare the applicant is a Citizen of United States.