The specific form of permanent residency in the United States is to obtain a permanent resident card in the United States through legal channels.
The American permanent resident card, also known as the green card, is an identity card used to prove that foreigners have the status of permanent residents in the United States of America. "Getting a green card" refers to the immigration process of becoming a permanent resident. The legal permanent residency of green card holders is an official immigration benefit, including conditional permission to stay in the United States and get a job. The holder must maintain his permanent resident status, and if he no longer meets certain conditions required by the status, the holder may lose his status.
1. Introduction to applying for American citizenship:
According to the relevant laws of the United States, there are three main ways to obtain American citizenship:
1. Obtain American citizenship according to the principle of birthplace. According to the birthright principle, a person can acquire American citizenship as long as he is born in the United States, regardless of his parents' nationality. However, children born to families of foreign embassies and consulates in the United States cannot obtain American citizenship according to this principle.
2. automatically acquire American citizenship according to the principle of descent. That is, as long as American citizens have lived in the United States for 65,438+00 years, and among them, they have lived in the United States for 5 years after the age of 65,438+04, their children born in foreign countries also become American citizens at birth. Therefore, the original nationality of American citizens is actually a mixed principle, that is, the principle of birthplace and the principle of descent are adopted, and the principle of birthplace is the main one.
3. Obtaining American citizenship after applying for American citizenship for naturalization and other reasons is approved. Both of them are commonly referred to as native Americans, and both of them automatically acquire American citizenship because of their birth, that is, their original citizenship. But the United States is an immigrant country, with a large number of naturalized people, that is, foreign-born "Americans." According to the relevant laws of the US Congress, the basic conditions for naturalization in the United States are: at least 65,438+08 years old, must be a non-enemy national and legally enter the United States, obtain permanent residency and live in the United States for more than 5 years, and live in a state for at least 6 months. Those who meet the above requirements and wish to become American citizens should apply to the Citizenship and Immigration Bureau, which will examine them to prove that they have good moral character, reliable credit, basic English reading, listening, speaking and writing skills, and basic knowledge of American history, government structure and constitution, mainly important events, figures, government organizations and rights in American history, as well as the principles of the American Constitution and important amendments. It does not belong to any totalitarianism, extremism, terrorism or underworld organization. Naturalized citizens must swear allegiance to the United States, fulfill their obligations as American citizens, and give up their original nationality and loyalty to their original country (the swearing-in procedure is generally held irregularly, and people from different countries, nationalities and religious beliefs in the world will swear at the same time). After the swearing-in procedure, they can formally obtain a written document approved by the US government on the same day, which is also commonly known as "citizen paper".
Application conditions for American citizens
According to the relevant laws of the United States, all foreign immigrants with legal residency can apply for American citizenship, but they must meet the following main conditions before they can be approved. Details are as follows:
1. You must live in the United States continuously for five years after obtaining permanent residency. This is the minimum residence period for naturalization (except for those married to American citizens). Within five years, you can't leave the United States for more than six months in a row. If it is more than half a year, you must provide proof that you have no intention of giving up your right of abode in the United States. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the naturalization application time accordingly and recalculate the residence time in the United States. When applying for naturalization, you must have lived in the United States for five consecutive years in the last six months and lived in the local state or city for at least six months;
2. A foreign citizen who marries an American citizen must remain married for three consecutive years (the party who marries an American citizen must remain married for three consecutive years after obtaining permanent residency). Note: Immigration law enforcement agencies will conduct on-the-spot investigation on the applicant's residence, and will also investigate and verify whether the applicant exists and maintain the authenticity of the marriage relationship by asking neighbors, relatives and colleagues. Only in this way can both husband and wife apply for naturalization with Citizenship and Immigration. According to the relevant laws of the United States, foreign citizens who are married to American citizens or permanent residents of the United States should apply for naturalization as soon as possible as long as they meet the conditions for applying for American citizenship, and become American citizens as soon as possible, enjoying all the rights as American citizens. But the premise is that there must be a marriage relationship that lasts for more than three years;
3. Applicants for naturalization must be at least 18 years old. Foreigners under the age of 16 who have the right of permanent residence in the United States and whose parents have acquired American citizenship can automatically acquire American citizenship with their parents. However, children aged between 16 and 18 must apply for naturalization independently. If the child is under the age of 18, one of the parents is an American citizen and the other is a foreigner, before the child is under the age of 18, the parent with American citizenship will apply for naturalization on his behalf;
You must have basic English reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. Must have a certain understanding of American history, constitution and immigration law. When examining the eligibility for naturalization, immigration officials will conduct an oral test (interview), and naturalization applicants will answer in English about American history and American government, mainly about important events, people, government organizations and rights in American history, as well as the principles and important amendments of the US Constitution (such as the names of the first president and the current president). ).
Test the actual English expression ability of naturalization applicants through oral examination. This kind of test questions is printed and sold by the American government. If the applicant fails to pass the first oral exam, the applicant is allowed to take two make-up exams within one year. If the applicant is over 50 years old and has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, he can be exempted from taking the English test and can use his own language instead. The new immigration law also exempts applicants over the age of 55 who have obtained permanent residency in the United States for more than 15 years and replaces them with their mother tongue.
You must behave well during your five years in America. According to the relevant laws of the United States, adultery, prostitution, bigamy, or failure to perform maintenance obligations, as well as alcoholism and drug abuse, are all bad behaviors and cannot be naturalized;
6. Applicants for citizenship must give up their original nationality. If they still want to keep their original nationality, they may not become American citizens. In other words, the United States does not recognize dual citizenship;
Note: Applications for naturalization in the United States can mainly be made through the following types: immediate family members, civil spouse relations (this method gives priority to applications, and the number of successful naturalization is large, and the waiting time for approval is short), family relations, professional relations, and political asylum status. After legally obtaining permanent residency through investment immigration, you can apply for American citizenship (but compared with countries such as Canada, it takes longer and the conditions are more stringent).
American citizens enjoy rights.
1, you can apply for permanent residency in the United States for parents, spouses, children and siblings as American citizens;
2. You can enjoy all aspects of American citizens' treatment, such as medical insurance, various subsidies, citizens' right to vote and stand for election, etc.
3. Because the United States and many countries in the world have visa-free agreements, they can enjoy visa-free treatment, saving visa fees and many cumbersome procedures, and it will be more convenient and fast to travel, visit relatives and do business in other countries;
4. When living or traveling in the United States or abroad, they are protected by American embassies and consulates. In case of political instability or major disasters, American citizens can leave the country and return to China under the protection of the US government.
These rights also bring corresponding obligations to naturalized citizens. Applicants for naturalization must swear to renounce all loyalty to their country of origin; Support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States; Swear allegiance to the United States; Actively serve the United States when necessary. At the same time, citizens also have the obligation to serve as jurors, register and vote.
On March 1 2003, the Immigration Department of the United States Department of Justice, which had been established for 69 years, was merged into the Department of Homeland Security and divided into three agencies: (Citizenship and Immigration Services), (Customs and Border Protection) and (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Officials pointed out that except for the official name of the newly established institution, all the affairs handled by all local offices and the former immigration bureau will not change greatly.
American nationality related data
1. China has the second largest number of immigrants to the United States. In 2009, the United States issued a 1 1308 18 green card (permanent residency in the United States). Among them, 64,238 people in Chinese mainland, 8,038 people in Taiwan Province Province and 265/kloc-0 people in Hong Kong Special Administrative Region were granted permanent residency. In 2008, 802,765,438+0 people in China were granted permanent residency; In 2007, 76,655 people in China were granted permanent residency. In 2009, the number of people in China who obtained permanent residence status in the United States accounted for 5.7% of the total number of people who obtained American green cards that year.
In 2009, new immigrants from China113 obtained green cards according to the priority of relatives, 1 1295 were professional immigrants, 23,244 were immediate family members and spouses of American citizens, and 28 were lottery immigrants. 18486. China still has the second largest number of immigrants to the United States, second only to Mexico (164920), among which Mexican immigrants account for 15% of the total number. The Philippines ranked third with 60,029 people and India ranked fourth with 57,304 people. Of the new immigrants, 20% live in California, 13% in new york, 1 1% in Florida, 8.4% in Texas and 5.2% in New Jersey.
2. In 2009, more than 743,000 18-year-old foreigners were naturalized in the United States, among which 307 13 China citizens were naturalized in the United States, ranking fourth in the world. The number of Mexicans, Indians, Filipinos and China naturalized in the United States ranks in the top four, and this ranking order has not changed for many years. The decrease in the number of naturalized China people is not obvious. In 2009, there were nearly 3,000 fewer people than in 2008, but there were still 4,000 more people than in 2007. Since the late 1970s, foreigners naturalized in the United States have turned from Europe to Asia. In recent years, the number of citizens from North America and Caribbean countries has suddenly increased, especially Mexicans. In 2009, Asians were the most naturalized in the United States, reaching 276,000; The number of naturalized Americans in North America and the Caribbean is 250,000.
In 2009, the average waiting time for foreigners to become naturalized in the United States was seven years, which was two years shorter than that in 2008, with Asians having the shortest waiting time, with an average of six years; North America and the Caribbean have the longest waiting time, with an average of 1 1 year. Among the foreigners naturalized in the United States, 53% are women, two-thirds are married, two-thirds are1young people aged between 8 and 44, and only 8% are elderly people over 65. The state with the largest number of foreigners naturalized in the United States is California, followed by New York, Florida, Texas, New Jersey and Virginia. The most naturalized American cities are new york, Los Angeles, Miami, Washington, Chicago and San Francisco.
3. If you are registered in China to marry an American citizen, and then your husband submits a marriage visa application for you in the United States, you can get a visa to the United States in about 14 months, and you can get a temporary green card for two years a few weeks after entering the United States. After 265,438+0 months, it will be converted into a permanent green card of 65,438+00 years, and you can apply for naturalization after holding a green card for three years. There is not much difference between a temporary green card and a permanent green card, but.
4. According to the relevant provisions of the Constitution of the United States, no one can be elected president except a citizen born in the United States of America or an American citizen at the time of the adoption of this Constitution. People under the age of 35 who have lived in the United States of America for less than 14 years may not be elected president.
In other words, people who are not born in the United States or who have obtained American citizenship after the adoption of the constitution cannot run for president, but can only participate in the election of the Secretary of State and the following government officials. (For example, Arnold Schwarzenegger, a famous American movie star, once starred in the Terminator series, True Lies and other classic films. In June 2003165438+/kloc-0 was sworn in as the 38th governor of California, and in June 2006165438+/kloc-0 was re-elected as the governor of California. He was born in Austria, moved to the United States in 1968, and obtained American citizenship in 1983. Although he has American citizenship, he cannot participate in the presidential election. )
Special provisions on American citizenship
1, age limit. According to the immigration law, a citizen applicant must be at least 18 years old. However, there are two exceptions to this clause. First of all, the naturalization applicant must reach the legal age. There is no age limit for soldiers who serve in wars between the United States and foreign countries. Second, if one or both parents of minor children are American citizens, they can apply for naturalization through their parents;
2. Legally obtain permanent resident status. Applicants must obtain a green card through legal channels. Non-citizens are not eligible to apply for citizenship if the way or means of obtaining a green card is illegal. Some people were found to have problems and illegitimacy in their green card status after obtaining citizenship, which led to the loss of citizenship;
We must recognize the principles of the American Constitution and promote good order and happiness in America. American courts interpret "recognition" as "no hostility". Therefore, people who are hostile to the Constitution or advocate overthrowing the government are not considered to have "good moral character". At the same time, when the United States is in a state of war, deserters or people who evade military service in the army will also be considered immoral;
4. When applying for American green card or citizenship, if the immigration authorities find that they have submitted false materials and other illegal situations during the application process, they will be fined heavily and deported.