Citizenship & Naturalization
Dallas & Tarrant County Immigration Lawyers
An applicant is eligible for Citizenship/Naturalization based on the following:
• Must be 18 years or older
• Must have a Permanent Residence Status (Green Card) for five years prior to the application
• If the applicant is married to a U.S Citizen. the permanent residency requirement is three years as long as he or she is still married to the same U.S. Citizen.
• Must have resided for at least three months within the state the petition was filed.
• Must be physically present in the U.S. for at least 6 months of each year for the 5 years prior to the application for citizenship (3 years for spouse of a citizen).
• Must have resided continuously within the U.S. from the date the application was filed up to the time of admission to citizenship
• Must be a person of good moral character.
Reasons for Citizenship/Naturalization Denial:
• Applicant cannot speak/write English. An exception is where the applicant is at least 50 years old and has maintained residency for a minimum of 20 years, or is at least 55 years old and has maintained permanent residency for at least 15 years. A waiver may be filed if the applicant is unable to learn English due to a medical problem.
• Criminal issues. An applicant may be denied citizenship if he or she is on probation for any crime committed at the time of interview. An applicant may also be denied Citizenship if he or she committed a crime involving moral turpitude.
• Failure to pass the Naturalization test. Generally 10 questions are asked by the examiner, applicant must answer at least 6 questions right to pass the test.
At Reyes Bartolomei Browne, one of our attorneys will be happy to accompany you to your Naturalization interview. For a free consultation, please contact one of our attorneys or fill out the questionnaire to the right of this page.
