Please sign this petition

[BigJoe5]

In the case of: Luria v. United States, 231 U.S. 9, 34 S. Ct. 10, 58 L. Ed. 101 (1913), it was
recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court that a grant of naturalization is a mutual agreement
between the naturalization applicant and the United States of America.


".......................................................................................These requirements
plainly contemplated that the applicant, if admitted, should be a citizen in fact as well
as in name,—that he should assume and bear the obligations and duties of that status
as well as enjoy its rights and privileges. In other words, it was contemplated that his
admission should be mutually beneficial to the government and himself, the proof in
respect of his established residence, moral character, and attachment to the principles
of the Constitution being exacted because of what they promised for the future, rather
than for what they told of the past.”

This Supreme Court case is found at: http://openjurist.org/231/us/9/george-luria-v-united-states

Yesterday 10-05-2011, a House Subcommittee held yet another hearing. That one was on increasing visas for foreign students who graduate with a degree in a STEM field. http://judiciary.house.gov/hearings/hear_10052011_2.html

There appear to be plenty of folks who actually want to stay and make the U.S, their home and contribute to its economic and technological advancement as well as enrich its cultural diversity. When faced with that onslaught, why lessen rather than strengthen the requirements for naturalization?

 

[CalGreenCard]

The same would be true if a parent's health went down hill and one needed to relocate to provide care.

A parent getting ill IS a very forseeable situation IMHO. If someone sees themselves as the potential primary caregiver for an aging parent (as opposed to, say, a sibling with a closer day-to-day relationship to the parent in the country of birth), then their naturalization does weaken the USA in just the ways that your petition seeks to avoid.

Job situations are hard to predict. OTOH the fact that parents will get weaker as they age is a perfectly foreseeable situation. Naturalization should be for people with no significant remaining obligations in the country of birth. If someone sees themselves as still having a significant obligation to their family in their country of birth, then the better way to handle it IMHO would be to make it easier for them to keep their GC. But leave naturalization until later--until, perhaps, the parents have finally passed on--when the person is fully ready to commit themselves to the USA (if, in fact, they still want to do so).

It's not the only situation where a person's adult responsibilities sometimes require that aging parents take a back seat. Members of religious orders are often expected to remain in that order regardless of the parent's health. Someone serving the USA in Iraq or Afghanistan can't just fly home the moment their parent becomes ill.

Naturalization should require a similar level of commitment. I initially agreed with your poll but your apparent view that the commitment of naturalization lasts only until a parent becomes ill significantly weakens your poll IMHO.