Medicaid/unemployment and citizenship

M

Mia_ny

Registered Users (C)
Hello,

I have a question about citizenship.
I have had a green card for 5 years now and that means that now I can apply for citizenship.
My problem is that I lost my job more than a year ago and I have been on unemployment for 1.5 years - my unemployment exhausted and I have no income at this time as I haven't found a new job yet.
On the other hand I am trying to get medicare because I don't have health insurance.
Is Immigration going to do a cross check? Will they check my unemployment status and my medicare? Can that be a reason for them to deny me citizenship?

Hope someone can help me answer these questions as I am scared to apply.

Obviously I am actively looking for a job but I am having a very hard time.

Thanks
 
I am not sure why unemployment will be an issue. This is something out of your control i guess. Why would any one blame you for it. It is the economy who should be blamed.
Can you work as a taxi driver or any low income job?
I do not recall that n400 ever asks about gov assistance I know the green card does. But if you need treatment then u just got to get it. I see no fault in your part but I think you should be open to all types of jobs to better your position on the interview
 
Hi, thank for your reply.
I am not on unemployment anymore so that shouldn't be an issue if they don't go and check it out.
 
Collecting unemployment benefits (assuming without fraud) does not count towards deeming you as a public charge, and is not a barrier to citizenship. But if you lie and say you weren't on unemployment, that could put you in big trouble.
 
You just need to enter your employment history as is up until 1.5 years ago and that takes care of that. Nothing more, nothing less and nothing about unemployment and medical benefits need to be entered into the N400 application since there is no question that inquires about them. If they need to know how you have been surviving since then they can ask you at the interview.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
public charge is not a criterion for citizenship. For green card yes. The form also does not ask any information on this aspect.
 
Mia_ny said:
Hello,

I have a question about citizenship.
I have had a green card for 5 years now and that means that now I can apply for citizenship.
My problem is that I lost my job more than a year ago and I have been on unemployment for 1.5 years - my unemployment exhausted and I have no income at this time as I haven't found a new job yet.
On the other hand I am trying to get medicare because I don't have health insurance.
Is Immigration going to do a cross check? Will they check my unemployment status and my medicare? Can that be a reason for them to deny me citizenship?

Hope someone can help me answer these questions as I am scared to apply.

Obviously I am actively looking for a job but I am having a very hard time.

Thanks
Click to expand...

You would likely qualify for a fee waiver for the N-400. See form I-912.
 
Hi BigJoe, thank you for your advice but wouldn't that compromise my chances of getting the citizenship?
someone although mentioned that they check income for the green card applicants ... so I guess once you have the green card and you are applying for citizenship your economical status might have changed and they are fine with it?

I am nervous about it.

Also, I am trying to track down how many time I traveled in the past 5 month, I went through my passport and I only see some stamps with dates, although I know I traveled more than that .... what happened if I put that I traveled to mexico (for example) but there is no stamp on my passport?
Just to clarify, I have been using the same passport for more than 5 years and I haven't spend more than 30 months out of the US.

Thank you all for your help and advices, I really appreciate it.
 
Applying for the fee waiver will delay your case and will usually result in rejection. So pay the fee unless you absolutely cannot afford it.

You don't have to list trips that were under 24 hours in length.
 
That's what I thought.

About the trips, they were all from 3 to 20 days max.
I have been out of the Country for maybe 2 months (all trips together) in 5 years.
 
Mia_ny said:
Hi BigJoe, thank you for your advice but wouldn't that compromise my chances of getting the citizenship? Absolutely NOT! A fee waiver is available and the fee waiver determination is based on an income up to 150% of the poverty line as opposed to the 125% for the affidavit of support to get the greencard. USCIS wants you to do better after you get the greencard but does not want you to go deeply in debt over the N-400. Read the form and instruction--I-912.
someone although mentioned that they check income for the green card applicants ... so I guess once you have the green card and you are applying for citizenship your economical status might have changed and they are fine with it?

I am nervous about it.

Also, I am trying to track down how many time I traveled in the past 5 month, I went through my passport and I only see some stamps with dates, although I know I traveled more than that .... what happened if I put that I traveled to mexico (for example) but there is no stamp on my passport?
Just to clarify, I have been using the same passport for more than 5 years and I haven't spend more than 30 months out of the US. These short trips across the border are no big deal for your situation. If you still live on the border, the USCIS Officer across the desk also lives on that same border. They probably do it, too. LONG TRIPS and EXTREMELT FREQUENT TRIPS are the problems to worry about, not what you describe.

Thank you all for your help and advices, I really appreciate it.
Click to expand...

x
 
Mia_ny said:
Hi BigJoe, thank you for your advice but wouldn't that compromise my chances of getting the citizenship?
Click to expand...

"Delay" your chances is a more accurate word than "compromise". If you apply for the waiver, they'll take some time to decide whether to grant the waiver before moving forward with your case. If the waiver is approved, your case is delayed somewhat because of the waiver approval process. If the waiver is denied, you can reapply with the fee, but you would have wasted the weeks or months it took for them to decide against the waiver.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top