The Road to U.S. Citizenship

Were you born in the United States? If you answered yes, then you are a United States citizen. Anyone born in the United States is a citizen of the United States.

Every country has rules about how people gain the privilege of citizenship in that country. In the United States, those rules are established in the U.S. Constitution.

Today, millions of people live in the United States without having official citizenship status. People travel from all over the world to visit, go to school, or work.  There is a government department devoted to enforcing laws about immigration and citizenship. You can learn more by visiting the Web site for the office of United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

So, let’s say your mother is an immigrant and wants to become a naturalized U.S. citizen.  The process begins with applying for a green card. A green card is a type of visa that allows your mom to live and work in the U.S. over an extended period. A family member or a company can sponsor her, or she can apply on her own. It’s easier to get a green card if you have a sponsor.

Once your mom receives her green card, she may begin working and living in the United States. After five years of residing in the United States, she can apply for citizenship. Once the process starts, it can take a year or more to complete and could cost more than $1000.

What can your mom expect during this process? She will have an interview with a U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officer to answer questions about her resident status and why she wants to be a citizen. The interview will be the first step in proving she can speak and understand elementary English.

She’ll also have to show she can read and write in English by taking an English test. Remember when you took vocabulary tests in elementary school and the teacher would read a sentence and you’d have to write it exactly? Your mom will have to do the same thing. In fact, she will have to study vocabulary words that might be used on the test. She’ll need to know words she may not be familiar with, like “Bill of Rights” or “capital.” She’ll also have to make sure she can conjugate verbs like “pay,” “vote,” or “do.”

And there’s more. Your mom must also take a civics test to demonstrate that she knows some U.S. history too, and the basic workings of our government. She’ll have to study for this because the questions can be challenging. She’ll have to correctly answer 6 out of 10.

Your mom will also need a medical exam by a USCIS-approved physician.

Once your mom submits all applications and passes all required tests, the USCIS will make a decision about whether to approve her as a U.S. citizen. If the application is granted, the whole process is completed at a swearing-in ceremony, where she will take an Oath of Allegiance to the United States. During the solemn ceremony, she’ll also pledge allegiance to the flag and sing the “National Anthem of the United States.” She’ll receive her certificate of naturalization and sign it in cursive. Her citizenship is now official.

Even though becoming a U.S. citizen takes time and money, for the thousands of new citizens every year it is worth the sacrifice.

What Do You Think? Could you pass the civics test by getting at least 6 of the following questions correct?

1)  What are the colors of our flag?

2)  What do the stars on the flag mean?

3)  How many states are there in the Union (the United States)?

4)  What are the first 10 amendments to the Constitution called?

5)  What was the 50th state to be added to our Union (the United States)?

6)  Who makes the federal laws in the United States?

7)  What is the supreme law of the United States?

8)  How many senators are there in Congress?

9)  Name the U.S. war between the North and the South.

10) Who becomes president if both the president and vice president are unable to serve?

Did You Know?

September 17th is designated as Constitution and Citizenship Day. Read more about the law at the Library of Congress or visit the National Constitution Center online to learn more about the signing of the U.S. Constitution.

Learn more about the process of becoming a citizen:

Visit U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services for complete information about naturalization. While you are there, check out the sample test questions and see how much you know.

ANSWERS: 1) red, white and blue; 2) one star for each state; 3) 50; 4) the Bill of Rights; 5) Hawaii; 6) Congress; 7) The Constitution; 8) 100; 9) The Civil War; 10) Speaker of the House