What Are the Requirements for Applying For U.S Citizenship?

US citizenship is the highest privilege offered by the US constitution to its people. Although this status matters a great deal to the people, it is not easy to become a US citizen. The easiest path to become a US citizen is by the birthright citizenship (i.e.) getting automatic citizenship status by being born on the US soil. As per the US law on citizenship, anybody who is born in the US or in its outlying islands will automatically become US citizen. This is the main reason for illegal alien mothers to deliver their babies on US soil. The US Federal Government is still at a loss to find a solution for this so called ‘anchor baby’ problem.

Pre-requisites in Applying for US Citizenship

Apart from those who become citizens by birth or acquire citizenship though their parents, there is also a category of immigrants who get naturalized as US citizens. Although the first two categories have already become citizens in their own way, they need to get a proper documentation of that status. It is the third category that needs to undergo a long and a tedious process to get that coveted status. The very first thing, which applicants need to do before applying for US citizenship, is to learn about the citizenship application process. The eligibility conditions and the processing time may be different for each category which makes it necessary for the applicants to know about the process beforehand.

Basic Eligibility Criteria

• Should be at least 18 yrs of age
• Should be in possession of a valid Green card.
• Should have lived in the US as a permanent resident for minimum 5yrs ( 3 yrs for a conditional resident)
• Should have accumulated the stipulated years of continuous residence in the US
• Should not have made any longer trips which are greater than 6 months out of the US.
• Should have maintained 30 months of physical presence in the country, out of which 3 months should have been definitely present in the state or district from which he/she is applying for US citizenship

Being a person of good moral character with the natural urge to serve the country when called upon to do so and showing a great attachment to the constitution is also a must for applicants. Since clearing the citizenship test is mandatory, knowledge about the US constitution is also a must.

Requirements for Military Personnel

There is no better and direct way of serving one’s country than being a part of the Armed forces. And the US Government makes sure that it acknowledges the selfless service of the military personnel by granting then citizenship very easily. Although they need to qualify to become eligible, they do not have to follow the general, long route for applying for US citizenship. If the service members had served in the major wars like the World Wars, then they are exempted from the permanent resident and continuous residence criteria. They can also get naturalized fast (Expedited naturalization) and while they are commissioned abroad (Overseas naturalization)

Getting a clear idea of the application process will help the applicants to complete their forms without errors and submit them quickly. In general, a person who is thinking of applying for US citizenship should ensure that he/she satisfies all the following conditions on the qualifications checklist.

Acquisition of U.S. Citizenship by Birth in the United States

By being born in the US, a person automatically becomes a citizen of US. All that they need to do is to document this distinguished status so as to enjoy the various rights. This can be in the form of a US passport which is entitled only to US citizens. This will serve as a perfect and adequate proof of identification for any purposes.

In order to become a citizen at birth, a person should have either

• been born in the US  or its territories or any of its outlying possessions
• Had US citizen parent/parents, who were citizens at the time of their birth, if they were born outside the US, besides satisfying other requirements.

Facts about Citizenship

There are several occasions when people do not even realize that they have become US citizens. There are people who are born in the United States, but have spent most of their lives outside the US. These people believe that they have lost their citizenship status but what they tend to forget is that they have automatically acquired it by their birth in the US. Children who were not born in the US but have US citizen parents or grandparents can very easily acquire the citizenship status from their ancestors.  Children who are born to diplomats and other government officials (citizens of some other country) from foreign countries cannot become US citizens automatically even if they are born on US soil.

US Citizenship by Birth

Birth in the US is considered a great privilege as it makes that person a US citizen automatically. This is the reason why many immigrant mothers prefer to deliver their babies inside the US, even if they do not have the status of a citizen. Even if they are not able to enjoy the rights and other opportunities, they ensure that their children get it. This acquisition of the US citizenship by virtue of birth is referred to as birthright citizenship.

US citizenship is a matter of federal law and is governed by the US Constitution. The citizenship clause (after the adoption of the fourteenth amendment) states that ‘All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the State wherein they reside.’

Who can acquire this citizenship?

The US Federal Law defines the following 10 categories of people who automatically become US citizens by their birth in the US.

• A person born in the US and subject to its jurisdiction
• A person born in the US to a member of any of these tribes - Indian, Eskimo, Aleutian, or any other aboriginal tribe. This is a result of the Indian Citizenship Act of 1924
• A person, who is found in the US with unknown parentage, while still under the age of 5 until proved to have been born elsewhere before his/her 21years
• A person born in any outlying possessions of the US, with one of the  parents as a US citizen and who has been physically present in the US or the outlying possessions for a continuous period of time prior to the birth of that person.

Once a person has become a US citizen by birth, they continue to do so till their entire lifetime until and unless they get naturalized as a citizen of some other nation or voluntarily renounce it.

Documenting the Acquired Citizenship Status

Claiming citizenship through US citizen parents

A child who is born abroad automatically becomes a U.S. citizen when both his/her parents are U.S. citizens and one of them has resided in the U.S.A. before the birth of the child. In case one of the child’s parents is only a U.S. citizen then that parent should have been in the U.S. for at least 5 years (not less than that) and two years should have been before the parent was 14 yrs of age.  

Any child who is born outside the U.S. and who has claims over U.S. citizenship through his/her parents can file form N-600 (Application for certificate of citizenship). In that aspect, any child born outside the U.S. to U.S. citizen parent/parents and who meet the other eligibility criteria before their 18th birthday can file in N-600 at any point of time in their life. In case the child is under 18years of age, then the N-600 has to file on behalf of them by the child’s U.S. citizenship parent.

Claiming U.S. citizenship through action of law

A person should satisfy the following conditions in order to get citizenship by action of law if they are born outside the U.S. to U.S. citizen parents.

• At least one parent should have been a U.S. Citizen either by birth or through naturalization
• The applying individual should be currently living in the U.S. with his/her U.S. citizen parents.  
• The applying individual should be the biological child and in the legal custody of the U.S. citizen before becoming a 16 yr. old
• The person should have been born out of wedlock that was not legitimated and whose mother has got naturalized as a U.S. citizen.

Citizenship Application Process

The applicant should file in Form N-600 with all the necessary documents for proof and submit it in a USCIS office that has jurisdiction over his/her area of residence.