How hard is it to get Citizenship?

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free73k

Registered Users (C)
hi guys,

new to the forum.


i just my PR Card.

just curious how hard is the actual citizenship process? Does one wait 5 years and apply? Pretty easy?

or do i have to worry certain things like tax returns, working for certain employers, keeping certain records etc?

The green card process for me was pretty tough, i wasn't very organized, i was always scrambling to find old records.

thanks guys.
 
Keep track of your trips of more than 24 hours outside of US (departure date, return date and destination)
Keep track of your address changes, and remember to notify USCIS with form AR-11 if you move to a new place.
Pay your taxes.
Track traffic tickets and their resolution. Although a traffic ticket for speeding is most likely no problem for naturalization the IO might want to see that you paid the ticket, or what was the end of it.

If you don't have tickets, or arrests naturalization process is really easy.
 
And if you are male between 18 - 27 make sure your a$$ registered with Selective Service. Don't drink and drive or don't drink while you diving. Don't kill people unless you're U.S military. Be a nice guy, go to church every Sunday. Don't tell anybody that you're US Citizen, Don't vote. Pay Taxe$.
and you should be fine!
 
Yes, absolutely don't register to vote, or let a department of motor vehicle or some other agency to register to vote. Don't vote and don't tell anyone you are a US citizen until you naturalize.
 
free73k said:
The green card process for me was pretty tough, i wasn't very organized, i was always scrambling to find old records.
Click to expand...

If you are lucky (no bad things on your part, and no mishaps on the part of CIS), you will sail through. If you are not, they can ask for anything. In the last 5 months of monitoring this board, I just saw someone get asked for a canceled check. That was new, and there could be other new things in future.

Read "the guide to naturalization" and the form N-400. These will clarify the bunch of things you must do (like stay in US for so long, pay taxes), and must not do (like vote, too many traffic tickets) and you can interpret the record-keeping from there.
 
Thanks guys, some really good tips!



i learned the hard way that you really got to be involved in your case. You can't just let the lawyers do everything for you!
 
Just do the following:

1) Monitor all your trips for the next 5 years ( even if its for just a day !).
2) Pay taxes , if you are on a payment plan- Have receipts
3) DO NOT VOTE
4) Never Call yourself a CITIZEN

And after 5 years, you will turn into a citizen just fine without any issues!

Wishing you all the very best.:)
 
For Documentation Like bank statements:

what do you guys suggest to keep?

keep all my bank statements? should i also grab a copy of the cancelled checks?

for proof a residence, can i just use bank statements and credit card recpt? i am living in my parents home? so i dont have utility bills.
 
I bet you are not going to sleep for next 5 years without thinking about the utility bill requirement.

Don't worry if you can explain it as living with your parents.

If living with parents, there will be tax records either in your name, OR in parent name with you as dependent. There should be insurance (as in car and medical) records.

Canceled checks are not required. There was one example where they asked for a canceled check, but it was ANY canceled check rather than all or a specific canceled check.

Bank statements - dunno. Won't your bank give you a quarterly or annual summary - monthly statements will be too much. Actually, if you get soft copies easily, just archive them somewhere rather than having paper.
 
> I bet you are not going to sleep for next 5 years without thinking about the utility bill requirement.

your right! A year before getting a PR Card. I discovered the scanner!

Let me tell you it made my life a lot easier! If you spend some time up front scanning all your relevant documents to your computer.

5 years later you wont be scrambling to find out where all that stuff is...

With the help of you guys i'll know what i need to keep!
 
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