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.