# going for citizenship?



## maznonno (Dec 15, 2009)

Hi all, 
Myself and my wife have been here in the States since 1983 and have a son that was born here, He is a citizen and We are thinking of taking the plunge and applying for citizenship.
We are living in South Carolina and looks like this is were We are staying...Just wondering if anyone else has gone thru the citizenship route that could give us some tips/sugestions?
Thanks,
Maz.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

maznonno said:


> Hi all,
> Myself and my wife have been here in the States since 1983 and have a son that was born here, He is a citizen and We are thinking of taking the plunge and applying for citizenship.
> We are living in South Carolina and looks like this is were We are staying...Just wondering if anyone else has gone thru the citizenship route that could give us some tips/sugestions?
> Thanks,
> Maz.


Do your homework. Fill out your forms very carefully. Document all your border crossing not just the last five years. Double check, double check, double check. It is basically a no-brainer.


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## daniml (Aug 16, 2011)

I just started doing some research around that myself, looking over the application/cost/etc. One thing that will be hard is coming up with the exact dates when I left and re-entered the country since I've been a resident (1996)! I'm wondering just how important the exact date will be? I only remember the months for my trip in 1998....


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## JohnSoCal (Sep 2, 2007)

daniml said:


> I just started doing some research around that myself, looking over the application/cost/etc. One thing that will be hard is coming up with the exact dates when I left and re-entered the country since I've been a resident (1996)! I'm wondering just how important the exact date will be? I only remember the months for my trip in 1998....


The exact dates are not that important. My wife. daughter, and myself are all naturalized US citizens. My wife and daughter are dual citizens of the US and Mexico. I have been a citizen for 35 years, my wife for 5 years, and my daughter for 2 years. We all did it independently of each other even though we have been a family for 47 years. Just make sure you study the test questions which you can get on-line. I am assuming you don't have any problems like criminal record, etc. The process itself is pretty easy. It took about 10-12 months for each of us.


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## Davis1 (Feb 20, 2009)

DHS | Becoming a U.S. Citizen


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## ATLres (May 15, 2011)

Hi, 

I just became a citizen in June. The process now takes 6 mths or less from start to finish. They called me in for my interview/test and we had the ceremony the same day! I have to say it's a nice feeling to know I don't have to worry about immigration papers anymore! I say go for it.


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## JohnSoCal (Sep 2, 2007)

ATLres said:


> Hi,
> 
> I just became a citizen in June. The process now takes 6 mths or less from start to finish. They called me in for my interview/test and we had the ceremony the same day! I have to say it's a nice feeling to know I don't have to worry about immigration papers anymore! I say go for it.


Where did you get your citizenship? I think it makes a difference in how long it takes depending on your location. Both my wife and daughter got theirs in Southern California. Because there are so many people, they schedule the ceremonies every few months where they swear in several thousand in one day. My daughter's ceremony was at the Los Angeles Sports Arena and my wifes was at the Los Angeles Convention Center. The have 3 or so ceremonies in one day.


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## ATLres (May 15, 2011)

Did mine in Atlanta and we had about 100 people at the ceremony. Not sure how often they do it, but the man who gave us our little "welcome to America" speech mentioned that the process no longer takes as long as it use to and on average people now get their citizenship within 6 months of applying. Of course the timing of when you apply and when the ceremony takes place plays a role. 

Can't believe the amount of people in Southern California getting their citizenship!


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## daniml (Aug 16, 2011)

JohnSoCal said:


> The exact dates are not that important. My wife. daughter, and myself are all naturalized US citizens. My wife and daughter are dual citizens of the US and Mexico. I have been a citizen for 35 years, my wife for 5 years, and my daughter for 2 years. We all did it independently of each other even though we have been a family for 47 years. Just make sure you study the test questions which you can get on-line. I am assuming you don't have any problems like criminal record, etc. The process itself is pretty easy. It took about 10-12 months for each of us.


Thanks, that's a relief! 


*ATLres*, I'll be going through ATL as well, good to know the approximate timing of things. I was going to start proceedings at the beginning of next year as my current green card is due for renewal at the end of November.


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## twostep (Apr 3, 2008)

daniml said:


> I just started doing some research around that myself, looking over the application/cost/etc. One thing that will be hard is coming up with the exact dates when I left and re-entered the country since I've been a resident (1996)! I'm wondering just how important the exact date will be? I only remember the months for my trip in 1998....


USCIS can and will pull your exit and entry records. You can request your personal information through Freedom of Information Act. It will take a while. Otherwise go through old passports, employment reccords, have friends/family you visited pull their vacation info ... I reconstructed 28 years and was questioned about it even though the instructions ask for the most recent five years only. Atlanta has a current processing time of 4-6 months and offers same day swearing in. If you plan to retain your German citizenship requesting Beibehaltung is your first step.


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## daniml (Aug 16, 2011)

twostep said:


> USCIS can and will pull your exit and entry records. You can request your personal information through Freedom of Information Act. It will take a while. Otherwise go through old passports, employment reccords, have friends/family you visited pull their vacation info ... I reconstructed 28 years and was questioned about it even though the instructions ask for the most recent five years only. Atlanta has a current processing time of 4-6 months and offers same day swearing in. If you plan to retain your German citizenship requesting Beibehaltung is your first step.


Thanks! I just read everything about the Beibehaltung because I do want to keep the German nationality. But I'm wondering what the odds of approval are. I know it's gotten easier to keep it since they changed the law in Germany, but it's still not guaranteed. My whole family still lives there though, so I'm hoping that will help. They charge you 191 Euro even if it gets denied! 

Looks like I have a lot of research/work to do before I start this whole process.


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## maznonno (Dec 15, 2009)

Thanks to all for the quick replies! My Wife is in the process of renewing her green card and we hope to have it in a few months ($600!) lol should of made this decision before it expired!!We also will be going thru the Atlanta office So its good to get an idea on the time it takes.
Thanks again!


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## Bevdeforges (Nov 16, 2007)

daniml said:


> Thanks! I just read everything about the Beibehaltung because I do want to keep the German nationality. But I'm wondering what the odds of approval are. I know it's gotten easier to keep it since they changed the law in Germany, but it's still not guaranteed. My whole family still lives there though, so I'm hoping that will help. They charge you 191 Euro even if it gets denied!
> 
> Looks like I have a lot of research/work to do before I start this whole process.


FWIW, on the Beibehaltung, the main thing they seem to be looking for is that you have continuing ties back to Germany. Your family being there is a good start. Even better if you return on a fairly regular basis to visit them. (Kind of makes it worthwhile to dig out all the records to show that your travel outside of the US is mostly back to Germany.)

Husband of a friend of mine had no problem with the Beibehaltung since his ex wife and children all live in Germany and he, of course, had a record of frequent visits.
Cheers,
Bev


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## daniml (Aug 16, 2011)

Bevdeforges said:


> FWIW, on the Beibehaltung, the main thing they seem to be looking for is that you have continuing ties back to Germany. Your family being there is a good start. Even better if you return on a fairly regular basis to visit them. (Kind of makes it worthwhile to dig out all the records to show that your travel outside of the US is mostly back to Germany.)
> 
> Husband of a friend of mine had no problem with the Beibehaltung since his ex wife and children all live in Germany and he, of course, had a record of frequent visits.
> Cheers,
> Bev


Let's hope that helps! I do go back to Germany every 2 - 3 years and to date all of my international travel has been back home.


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## JohnSoCal (Sep 2, 2007)

ATLres said:


> Did mine in Atlanta and we had about 100 people at the ceremony. Not sure how often they do it, but the man who gave us our little "welcome to America" speech mentioned that the process no longer takes as long as it use to and on average people now get their citizenship within 6 months of applying. Of course the timing of when you apply and when the ceremony takes place plays a role.
> 
> Can't believe the amount of people in Southern California getting their citizenship!


That is good news that the process has speeded up. You have to remember that there are 25+ Million people in Southern California and a large percentage of immigrants.


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