Are there any benefits specific to when you become a citizen-now or a year later-does it matter?

[Aakash28]

I have seen on this forum many n-400 applicants applying for citizenship as soon as they complete 4 years 9 months.

I would like to know are there any time specific benefits like - you have to be a US citizen for atleast 5 years and so on... to get ceratin citizenship related benefits

US citizenship is definately great to have but why are n-400 applicants are in such a haste, as long as they are getting citizenship?? Just curious to know as I have had a laid back attitude towards applying for citizenship. With Visas and GC it was a very different scenario where you have to make sure you're always in status, and accidentally not get into any police trouble.

Experts please suggest

 

[rjackal]

no rush for me ...

I've had my GC for 16 years and am now just getting around to obtaining USC!
The main thing that got me thinking about obtaining USC was a border patrol agent, wondering why I wasn't USC yet after such a long time. (He was a little bit rude) I didn't really have a good reason. He asked, "Do you know the main difference between GC and USC? GC can be taken away, and USC can't."
Now that I have a wife and kids in the US, it got me thinking about ensuring that I can stay in the US, no matter what. Also, renewing GC every 10 years becomes expensive!

 

[baikal3]

I have seen on this forum many n-400 applicants applying for citizenship as soon as they complete 4 years 9 months.

I would like to know are there any time specific benefits like - you have to be a US citizen for atleast 5 years and so on... to get ceratin citizenship related benefits

US citizenship is definately great to have but why are n-400 applicants are in such a haste, as long as they are getting citizenship?? Just curious to know as I have had a laid back attitude towards applying for citizenship. With Visas and GC it was a very different scenario where you have to make sure you're always in status, and accidentally not get into any police trouble.

Experts please suggest

With one exception, I am not aware of any particular benefits where you have to be a U.S. citizen for X number of years before you are eligible for that benefit. The only exception I am aware of is being a member of the U.S. Congress. As I remember, you have to be a U.S. citizen for at least 9 years before you are eligible to become a U.S. Senator and you have to be a U.S. citizen for at least 7 years to be a member of the U.S House of Representatives (there are also age and residency qualifications for both).

I think for most of us the reasons for filing N-400 as soon as you are eligible have to do with immediate rather than delayed benefits of being a U.S. citizen.

For example, for some of us (myself included) it is important to be able to vote in the U.S. elections.

Also, depending on which country you are from originally, visa-free travel is an important consideration. For example, I am originally from Russia and I have to travel to Europe quite a lot for work-related reasons. Even with a green card, I still needed to obtain entry visas first for most European countries, which was a huge hassle. With a U.S. passport I no longer have to worry about that, at least for short-term travel.

There are also some immigration benefits that are much more substantial if you are a U.S. citizen compared to if you are just an LPR. For example, if you get married to a foreigner and want to sponsor your spouse for a green card, if you are a U.S. citizen, your spouse would come under the unlimited category (immediate relatives of U.S. citizens), with no annual quotas and no waiting time for an immigrant visa number to become available. By contrast, GC applications by spouses of LPRs are subject to annual quotas and even after the I-130 is approved, you may still have to wait quite a long time (right now about 2.5 years) before the spouse can file I-485 or start consular processing for an immigrant visa.

There are some government jobs that actually require you to be a U.S. citizen in order to qualify for those jobs.

Finally, the LPR status is somewhat fragile and may fairly easily be lost or revoked if you travel too much or commit certain criminal offenses (not necessarily serious ones). By contrast, revoking U.S. citizenship is quite difficult, can only be done by a federal court and in general happens rather infrequently.

 

[isitanylonger]

why wait?

I have seen on this forum many n-400 applicants applying for citizenship as soon as they complete 4 years 9 months.

I would like to know are there any time specific benefits like - you have to be a US citizen for atleast 5 years and so on... to get ceratin citizenship related benefits

US citizenship is definately great to have but why are n-400 applicants are in such a haste, as long as they are getting citizenship?? Just curious to know as I have had a laid back attitude towards applying for citizenship. With Visas and GC it was a very different scenario where you have to make sure you're always in status, and accidentally not get into any police trouble.

Experts please suggest

Let me ask you this...what do you see as the benefit of waiting?

 

[Jackolantern]

Let me ask you this...what do you see as the benefit of waiting?

There are several reasons to wait, depending on the circumstances.

1. Money. Finding over $800 for naturalization + US passport is not easy for some people, and with 5+ years left on the GC they don't want to strain their finances right now to apply for naturalization.

2. Time. For somebody involved in certain time-consuming activities like finishing a medical degree or taking care of a dying relative or working on a business project out of state, making the time (and the travel, if necessary) to go for fingerprinting, interview and oath could be very inconvenient. And there is the possibility of being summoned for jury duty shortly after naturalization, which could be much more time consuming.

3. Loss of original citizenship. Some people will lose their original citizenship if they become a US citizen, and they're not ready for that yet; they may need to make various financial and legal arrangements back in their country first. Or they're just not emotionally ready to lose that citizenship.

 

[ohwellwhatever]

There are several reasons to wait, depending on the circumstances.

1. Money. Finding over $800 for naturalization + US passport is not easy for some people, and with 5+ years left on the GC they don't want to strain their finances right now to apply for naturalization.

"over $800" ? Nobody told me. I paid $580.

 

[nkm-oct23]

"over $800" ? Nobody told me. I paid $580.

$680 for N-400, $165 for a passport totals to $845.

 

[Aakash28]

Jackolantern is very right...

Time... When you are raising kids and both you and your wife are working one can easily see that there is never enough time...

and

Loosing my original citizenship... kind of wondering where US economy will be 10-15 years from now with so many downs lately.

The only thing drawing me towards the citizenship at this stage is the fear of the risk of getting into some kind of trouble... and loosing your GC.

I however have already applied for citizenship... and I hope that I get it soon and the US Economy remains on top forever.

Voting... not so interested in politics... whether republicans or democrats... nobody cares about the middle class... it is always rich and poor. Middle class keeps paying for bills and taxes, will keep working hard throughout their life, will never get enough time to enjoy life, and will never get benefits from goverment like rich or poor people do..

Hoping that someday, one of these political parties are going to start paying more attention towards hard working middle class people... that will be the day I will think about voting..

Thanks everone for your input..

 

[USER2345]

While you are GC holder, you are literally on probation like a criminal! One little misdemeanor or God forbid you get arrested, you can be deported!
Another benefit is a US passport - you can travel freely to more countries.

 

[X3-T]

Interesting thread....In my case, I just decided to wait until my GC expired, then go through the hassle once. I was eligible to apply for N400 in January 2007.

My Country accepts dual citizenship, so I get to keep both. The only thing I regret of not doing it earlier is that I would have paid the previous fee which I think it was like $300 and change.

 

[Triple Citizen]

If eligible to apply today, do so, you might be able to vote in November. I naturalised in 2006, which was a mid-term election year. I applied three days after I was eligible. For me, visa free travel was not my primary reason. My Canadian passport is great for such travel. I applied in July hoping to vote in November. Those days, Chicago was averaging just 3-4 months for N-400 cases. Sadly I missed out by a fortnight!!! Elections were held November 7th and I took my oath on November 21st!!!

Just curious to know as I have had a laid back attitude towards applying for citizenship.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

One little misdemeanor or God forbid you get arrested, you can be deported!

You can't get deported merely for being arrested or "little misdemeanors".

 

[baikal3]

You can't get deported merely for being arrested or "little misdemeanors".

Well, it still does not take that much to become deportable, according to the relevant federal regulations,
http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/8/1227

E.g. having two minor convictions for marijuana possession, or having a single conviction for possession of more than 30 grams of marijuana makes one deportable.

A single conviction for any offense that qualifies as a domestic violence offense makes one deportable.

The federal law's definition of an "aggravated felony" is also quite broad and covers a number of offenses that state laws classify as misdemeanors - and an alien convicted of an "aggravated felony" is deportable.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

E.g. having two minor convictions for marijuana possession, or having a single conviction for possession of more than 30 grams of marijuana makes one deportable.

It's pretty difficult to possess marijuana by accident.

A single conviction for any offense that qualifies as a domestic violence offense makes one deportable.

It's difficult to beat your spouse or children by accident. Millions of people can restrain themselves.

The federal law's definition of an "aggravated felony" is also quite broad and covers a number of offenses that state laws classify as misdemeanors - and an alien convicted of an "aggravated felony" is deportable.

Look at the definition of aggravated felonies. These aren't jaywalking.

 

[baikal3]

It's pretty difficult to possess marijuana by accident.

I am not saying that it has to have been by accident. My impression is that the overwhelming majority of the adult U.S. population experimented with marijuana in high school and college, most likely more than once.
While I personally do not approve of that, I don't think marijuana use is or should be viewed as a serious offense. In fact, I find it hard to justify criminalizing marijuana possession at all.

It's difficult to beat your spouse or children by accident. Millions of people can restrain themselves.

You don't have to beat anyone up at all to get convicted of a DV offense. Fairly frequently, if a family argument gets particularly loud, the neighbors call the police, one or both spouses get arrested and somebody pleads guilty or no contest to something just to make the case go away. This is more likely if the people involved are poor/low income and don't realize the possible immigration consequences of a guilty or no contest plea in a case of this kind.

Look at the definition of aggravated felonies. These aren't jaywalking.

For most crimes on the list yes, they are pretty serious. But the courts have been expanding the applicability of the aggravated felony definition to include more and more offenses and situations that do not involve serious crimes.
E.g. here http://trac.syr.edu/immigration/reports/155/ there is a mention of such an example: "A good example of this concerns Carlos Pacheco who entered the US with a green card as a 6-year old child. In 2000 a federal appeals court agreed that he was an aggravated felon based on his misdemeanor conviction in Rhode Island for stealing some Tylenol and cigarettes. " There are quite a few similar stories in the news-media.

My main point is that the immigration law as it is currently in place imposes rather draconian and out of proportion penalties for offenses that may be fairly minor.

 

[Jackolantern]

It's pretty difficult to possess marijuana by accident.

Not true. A passenger in your car can leave a small packet of marijuana in your car, and you don't see it because it fell under the seat or in the seat's crevice. Or if you rent a car the prior renter could have left a bit of marijuana in it. If the cops don't believe your story and the real owner of the drugs doesn't confess, you could find yourself with a marijuana conviction.

It's difficult to beat your spouse or children by accident. Millions of people can restrain themselves.

Actual beating? Sure, that doesn't happen by accident. But it's possible to get a misdemeanor conviction for DV without any physical violence. Neighbors can call the cops about a noisy argument or your spouse lies about being hit. Lots of DV cases are he-said/she-said and if the cops and jury don't believe you, you end up with a misdemeanor conviction.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

Not true. A passenger in your car can leave a small packet of marijuana in your car, and you don't see it because it fell under the seat or in the seat's crevice. Or if you rent a car the prior renter could have left a bit of marijuana in it. If the cops don't believe your story and the real owner of the drugs doesn't confess, you could find yourself with a marijuana conviction.

You'd have better odds playing the lottery. You could also have the same thing happen with child pornography, Al-Qaeda terrorist manuals or heavens knows what else. I've yet to have a single immigrant in a decade and a half encounter this problem. Tens of millions of Americans have no difficulty obeying the laws, even if they don't necessarily agree with them. I fail to see how immigrants are less capable of this.

Neighbors can call the cops about a noisy argument or your spouse lies about being hit. Lots of DV cases are he-said/she-said and if the cops and jury don't believe you, you end up with a misdemeanor conviction.

Again, millions of Americans and immigrants can avoid this problem. There seem to be way too many people worried about problems that a little common sense can avoid.

 

[Jackolantern]

You'd have better odds playing the lottery.

No, that marijuana stuff happens more often than people winning the lottery. Watch Cops and other shows like it. It happened to an NBA player not long ago -- fortunately for him his friend confessed to it and the NBA player was released.

You could also have the same thing happen with child pornography, Al-Qaeda terrorist manuals or heavens knows what else.

Those are much harder to end up in your car or house without your knowledge and have police find out about it. A packet of marijuana is the size of postage stamp; harder for you to detect than something like a terrorist manual, but easier for police dogs to smell. Granted, electronic versions of child pr0n or a terrorist manual could unknowingly end up on your hard drive due to malware, but cops don't search homes and hard drives anywhere nearly as often as they search cars.

I've yet to have a single immigrant in a decade and a half encounter this problem.

Just because it didn't happen to you and your friends in your sheltered life, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other unfortunate individuals.

 

[TheRealCanadian]

No, that marijuana stuff happens more often than people winning the lottery. Watch Cops and other shows like it.

If you watch Cops, you'll be convinced that the streets of America are populated by nothing more than drunken morons and you can't get on the Interstate without witnessing a half-dozen high-speed chases.

I've been on these forums for over a decade; and on other forums prior to this. I've seen much bleating and whining about how Green Card holders are on the knife edge away from deportation. Yet I've yet to see a single case of an immigrant (or non-immigrant) get accused, never mind convicted or deported of a crime that they didn't commit. If it was such a worry, we'd see a regular stream of posts here. We see plenty about illegal presence, overstay and a variety of other immigration problems. yet not this. Why?

Just because it didn't happen to you and your friends in your sheltered life, that doesn't mean it doesn't happen to other unfortunate individuals.

My life is "sheltered" because I don't associate with deadbeats and criminals. That's a conscious choice, and not a matter of luck.

 

[Jackolantern]

Yet I've yet to see a single case of an immigrant (or non-immigrant) get accused, never mind convicted or deported of a crime that they didn't commit.

You haven't seen any? There are arrests and false accusations galore (if the posters are telling the truth).

Here are a few:

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?317718

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?177394

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?271341

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?318986

http://forums.immigration.com/showthread.php?269249