U.S. Legal Permanent Residents may elect to become U.S. citizens and naturalize. This process allows eligible green card holders to apply for naturalization and undergo testing and an interview before swearing-in as a U.S. citizen. Becoming a United States citizen is an exciting event. But the naturalization process can be very complicated. That is why it is a good idea to work with an immigration lawyer who can help you file the application correctly, saving you time and money. Millar & Smith Immigration Attorneys has helped many people to reach their goal of U.S. citizenship.

Before you apply for U.S. naturalization, you must have lawful permanent resident status: a 'green card'. You may apply for naturalization five years after you receive your green card — the wait is only three years if you are married to a U.S. citizen. You must also maintain a continuous physical presence in the U.S. If you spend more than 180 days per year out of the country, you may not qualify. You should contact an immigration attorney before filing to ensure that you meet all of the requirements for naturalization. We may also be able to assist foreign-born children of U.S. citizens in acquiring U.S. citizenship. There are many criteria you must meet in order to qualify for naturalization. One is that you must demonstrate that you have good moral character. Other factors that can delay or disqualify you from citizenship include:

• Criminal charges or convictions
• Failure to pay taxes
• Failure to pay child support or alimony
• Claims to being a U.S. Citizen
• Affiliations with terrorist organizations, smugglers, prostitution or gambling.

It is very important to ensure that you qualify. In certain cases, such as committing more than two crimes, it may be possible to be deported. Another requirement that must be met is registering for selective service. Men with lawful permanent resident status between the ages of 18 to 26 are required to register for selective service. If they do not, their application for naturalization may be delayed.

Once it has been determined that the individual meets the citizenship requirements, they can apply for citizenship with USCIS by submitting form N-400, US citizenship application, along with the required documentation and fees. However, one should take care in ensuring that they are not subject to deportation for prior immigration or criminal violations before sending anything to immigration officials. Occasionally, an individual will discover that they are deportable or no longer a permanent resident only after placing themselves on immigration’s radar. Having your citizenship application prepared by a qualified naturalization attorney can help prevent such a potentially devastating outcome and reduce delays caused by improperly or incompletely prepared packages.

Once USCIS deems the citizenship application to be complete, the applicant will be asked to submit fingerprints for a background check. If the background check comes back clean, a citizenship interview will be scheduled. At the citizenship interview, the applicant will likely undergo a basic English and U.S. civics exam (certain elderly or disabled applicants may be able to waive some or all of these requirements). A citizenship lawyer is permitted to attend the citizenship interview with the applicant and is often helpful in advocating for the applicant, especially when there are things in the applicant’s background that could prevent him or her from being found to possess good moral character.

Our Services

A naturalization attorney can assist in filing out the somewhat confusing citizenship application forms. Failure to properly complete the application form could result in immigration officials believing that you have misrepresented yourself or lied to them. However, the naturalization application process consists of more than just filing out the N400 form. Some applicants do not realize that they do not possess the good moral character required of naturalization & citizenship applicants and that, by filing the application for citizenship, they will place themselves in danger of being deported and/or losing their green card. A qualified naturalization attorney will interview their client thoroughly prior to preparation of the naturalization application package in order to minimize the chances that the client will either be found to not possess good moral character or be deemed deportable and lose their green card. Further, a naturalization attorney can accompany an applicant to the citizenship interview and address any issues that may arise concerning residency, physical presence, or moral character.

Millar & Smith Immigration Attorneys provide full service representation for filing, test and interview preparation, and defending against actions and requests for evidence from the government. Our immigration attorneys guide the case through the processing to ensure it is handled properly. Due to the federal nature of immigration law, we serve clients in all U.S. states and throughout the world. we help many immigrants through the naturalization process. Instead of worrying that you might make a mistake on your application, call us. We understand what you need to file for naturalization and we can help make sure you qualify for filing for naturalization.