The benefits of citizenship

"This Nation was founded by men of many nations and backgrounds.  It was founded on the principle that all men are created equal, and that the rights of every man are diminished when the rights of one man are threatened."

- J.F.K.

This post is for those of you that have been legal residents of the U.S. for several years, or were born in American Samoa and are currently US Nationals.  I cannot stress enough the importance of becoming a citizen, especially for those of you who are only green card holders because, while your green card gives you a certain amount of rights in this country, at the end of the day - it can be taken away.  You are never completely secure of your place in the United States unless you are a citizen.  Obviously, there are other benefits to becoming a citizen: (1) you can vote in state and federal elections and personally, I believe there is no greater responsibility than participating in the governing of our nation; (2) if you are a green card holder, you no longer have to renew your card every ten years; (3) and you can obtain a U.S. passport and travel with ease.

If you are a resident, depending on how you obtained your residency, you can become a citizen either 3 or 5 years after getting your green card.  For those of you who got your green card through your US Citizen spouse, you can apply for naturalization 3 years after getting your card as long as you are still married.  For all other green card holders, you can become a citizen 5 years after getting your card.  For those of you who were born in American Samoa, you can apply for naturalization as long as you have at least two years of residency in any U.S. state.  While the length of residency requirements are fairly straight forward, if you have had any trouble with the law, it would benefit you to seek legal counsel before applying because some criminal violations could render you ineligible for citizenship (and would likely result in getting your green card revoked if you tried to renew it).  Some of these types of violations can been "cleaned up," even years later.  This is called "post-conviction relief" and usually requires returning to criminal court.  But that is for another post.