Experienced Denver Citizenship & Naturalization Lawyer
There are generally four ways that someone becomes a citizen of the United States: 1) at birth in the United States; 2) at birth “acquiring” citizenship abroad; 3) after birth”deriving” citizenship, and; 4) through the naturalization process.
At the Law Office of Michael J. McCarroll, we have extensive experience handling complex naturalization cases, applying for proof of citizenship with the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (“USCIS”), and fighting citizenship claims in immigration court to stop deportation.
N-400 APPLICATIONS FOR NATURALIZATION
USCIS takes applications for naturalization very seriously. It it their one chance to prevent someone who they determine to be undesirable from becoming a permanent member of society. Good moral character assessments, background checks, and a complete file review are conducted.
The entire life of the immigrant is reassessed from the beginning of the A-file. Therefore, many times USCIS will issue a “Notice to Appear” placing an individual with permanent residence in removal proceedings based on information learned during the naturalization interview.
Example One
An individual applies for naturalization after having been a permanent resident for five years. The person obtained permanent residence through an ex-spouse. The date of the separation from the ex-spouse was soon after the individual obtained residency. Therefore, USCIS becomes suspicious about the marital relationship. USCIS then asks detailed questions about the marriage and separation – now having occurred more than five years ago. The memory of the immigrant is spotty, and when the immigrant provides answers contrasting information in the A-file (such as wrong dates, etc.), USCIS accuses the individual of marriage fraud, conducts an investigation and places the individual in removal proceedings after pressuring the ex-spouse to admit the marriage was arranged.
Example Two
An individual applies for naturalization after having been a permanent resident for three years. The person obtained permanent residence through their current spouse after having entered the United States on a tourist visa and adjusting status. At that time, USCIS did not ask the immigrant questions about any prior entries. However, at the naturalization interview, USCIS inquires into entries to the United States prior to the last entry with a tourist visa. USCIS discovers that the immigrant had been in the United States prior to the last entry without authorization, having crossed the border various times without documents. Therefore, USCIS determines that at the time of adjustment, the immigrant was actually inadmissible under Section 212(a)(9)(C)(i) of the Immigration and Nationality Act and the green card was granted in error. USCIS places the individual in removal proceedings.
At the Law Office of Michael J. McCarroll, we help identify potential issues, carefully prepare you for the naturalization interview, and do our best to ensure that the naturalization process goes smoothly every step of the way.