CitizenshipYes

Most applicants for citizenship need to read, write and speak English. However, you do not need to be fluent. You can see examples of the kinds of short sentences you will have to write on our English, civics test page. It is common for examiners to ask you to read a sentence or two from your citizenship application (especially the last page, where the oath is) or your appointment notice. Try these out with a family member or friend who has good English. While it is important to study and practice, don’t be intimidated if your English is not perfect. The citizenship process requires basic English, not fluency.

However some applicants – especially those who came to the United States as adults and have had limited opportunities to go to school here – will have trouble learning English. There are exceptions to the basic rule for older applicants who have had their green cards for a long time. If you are over fifty-five years old and have had a green card for at least fifteen years or are over fifty and have had a green card for at least twenty years, you can be interviewed and answer the civics and US history questions in your own language and you do not have to demonstrate your ability to read and write English.

Finally, applicants who have a disability that significantly hinders their ability to learn, or to read, write, or speak can be exempted from all or part of the English and civics requirements. Unfortunately, this is not a broad exemption covering old age. It requires detailed proof of medical disability, and most USCIS offices are very strict in how how they interpret the disability exemption. We’ll be adding detailed information on disability naturalization to our site soon.

Long delays persist in USCIS processing of citizenship cases according to new figures published yesterday by USCIS. Many major offices, including Los Angeles, Miami, Baltimore, Washington, DC, Dallas, Phoenix, San Jose, and Orlando, now have processing times of close to or above 14 months. Some major offices are doing better: New York, Newark, Boston, Seattle and Atlanta are taking around 10 months; and Chicago, San Francisco and San Diego are taking less than nine months.

USCIS’s target processing time is 6 months, but processing times ballooned last year after USCIS announced a huge price increase and was flooded with applications just before the increase took effect. USCIS has taken steps like authorizing overtime, transferring officers and training new officers in order to reduce the backlog. Unfortunately, many of last year’s applicants will not have their applications processed in time to vote in the November presidential election.

The processing times on the list are typical times, not a guarantee. Hundreds of thousands of applications are held up because of slow processing of seurity checks by the FBI.

By becoming a citizen you can provide an important benefit to your children. Permanent resident children, under eighteen and in the custody of their naturalizing parent, automatically acquire citizenship when the parent does. This applies to children already in the US, and also to newly-sponsored children, who will acquire citizenship on the day they arrive in the US as permanent residents. Remember the key conditions to qualify: the child must be a permanent resident, under eighteen and in the custody of the naturalizing parent. Citizenship is a great gift you can give you children.

Saturday, April 12’s New York Times gives timely reinforcement to our warnings about the potential dangers of making a citizenship application – especially making an application yourself without the advice of an attorney. The article describes a series of cases where obscure problems with long-ago green card applications, old convictions, or failure (or inability) to come to a fingerprint appointment have resulted in denials and sometimes deportation proceedings for long-time green card holders. Read the article, Legal Immigrants, Until They Applied for Citizenship.

As April 15 approaches, remember that it filing your taxes on time is very important if you want to become a US citizen. USCIS will normally consider filing late to be sign of bad moral character. Even if you cannot pay everything you owe, file on time.

If you cannot pay what you owe in full with your return, call the IRS asap to set up a payment plan and adhere to your agreement. If you file on time, make an agreement promptly to pay what you owe, and live up to your agreement, you will still have a good chance of showing that you are a person of good moral character.