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.

Secure Release from Detention with a Denver Citizenship Lawyer

Foreign and domestic born individuals with prima facia claims to US citizenship based on birth in the United States, or having acquired citizenship at birth, must assert their rights. As a general practice, ICE takes claims to US citizenship very seriously. Even those individuals who are otherwise subjected to mandatory, statutory based, incarceration during the duration of their immigration cases are often released if ICE determines they have a possibility of establishing citizenship in court.

Denver Citizenship Lawyer Michael J. McCarroll – “The government takes claims to citizenship seriously!”

We can help you file a Form N-600; Application for Certificate of Citizenship or a N- 400; Application for Naturalization, with USCIS. We also work with the US Department of State regarding foreign citizenship matters.

Many individuals underestimate the amount of evidence required to succeed on an application for certificate of citizenship. Once a citizenship application fails, it may be difficult, if not impossible to fix the problem. It is important that you have an experienced Denver citizenship lawyer on your side from the beginning.