Category: US Citizenship

Naturalization is the process by which U.S. citizenship is granted to a lawful permanent resident (“LPR”) after meeting certain requirements established by Congress in the Immigration and Nationality Act (“INA”). The most common path to U.S. citizenship through naturalization is being an LPR for at least five years. However, there is a special provision in […]

On January 28, 2021, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), once again, extended the flexibilities it announced on March 30, 2020, to assist applicants, petitioners, and requestors who are responding to certain agency requests. Specifically, USCIS is granting applicants, petitioners, and requestors an additional sixty days to submit their responses to the following: Requests for Evidence; Continuations to […]

The outbreak of the coronavirus has presented several challenges for applicants seeking to enter U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) field offices for interviews. For instance, it has become a norm for USCIS to reschedule interviews if any party physically present at an interview states they have traveled outside the U.S. in the last 14 days. […]

President-elect Joe Biden has pledged to make several changes regarding U.S. immigration, many of which seek to reverse President Trump’s previous initiatives while in office. Specifically, Biden plans to:  “Take urgent action to undo Trump’s damage and reclaim America’s values;” “Modernize America’s immigration system;” “Welcome immigrants in our communities;” “Reassert America’s commitment to asylum-seekers and […]

Our Managing Partner, Rosanna Berardi, recently wrote about changes to US and Canadian immigration in The Lawyer’s Daily: U.S. President-elect Joe Biden’s plans for employment-based immigration will primarily focus on reversing what President Donald Trump has done since 2017. This includes turning back all of Trump’s executive actions restricting travel, limiting green cards and guest […]

On November 18, 2020, U.S. Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS) updated its policy manual to reflect new guidance on when applicants would be ineligible for naturalization based on their lawful permanent resident (LPR) status. All naturalization applicants must establish that they were lawfully admitted to the U.S. for permanent residence at the time of filing […]

USCIS announced last week that it plans to implement a revised version of the civics test for naturalization applications. The agency first made this announcement in July of 2019. USCIS stated that it revised the civics test as part of an update that it performs every 10 years to ensure that it continues to comprehensively […]

With the 2020 Presidential Election quickly approaching on November 3, 2020, and early and absentee voting already underway in several states, it is important to know who is eligible to vote in the election. Ensuring you are eligible to vote prior to voting is essential, because unlawfully voting in an election is a violation of […]

Last week, USCIS updated policy guidance concerning residency requirements under section 320 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA) to comply with the requirements of the recently enacted Citizenship for Children of Military Members and Civil Servants Act.  Under the new law, a child born outside of the U.S. acquires automatic citizenship under INA 320, […]

Last week, USCIS announced that military personnel and veterans can now file Form N-400, Application for Naturalization, online. Online filing will allow individuals to submit the forms, check the status of their case, and receive notices from USCIS all electronically.  Individuals currently serving or who have served in the armed forces may also be eligible […]