There are all sorts of things that you need to know and learn about the US immigration law if you seriously consider becoming a full US citizen. This law is truly complex and it really requires from you to hire a lawyer in order to make your dream about US citizenship come true.
There are thousands of people trying to get inside the USA in all sorts of ways. Some of them legal and some of them not. You need to choose the best way for yourself and learn that the legal way is the only right way.
Hopefully, this article will clear some things for you and make it easier to understand.
Types of Visa
First of all, entering the USA and staying there are not the same thing. You can get all sorts of visas for different reasons and different purposes. It all depends on the reason and the length of your stay. Obviously, touristic visits, short stays with the family and friends and other things don’t require that extensive amount of paperwork. That is what the Temporary Visa is for. Temporary Visa is being issued to short stays and they don’t really help you with your citizenship issue because there stays are too short for you to be relevant for your Naturalization process.
Moreover, even all sorts of staying in the USA are not the same. You can stay here for a short time, you can be employed in the USA and have the permanent residence in this country or you can simply become the citizen and have no restrictions regarding your rights, obligations or anything else in the USA.
Green Card and the Lottery
Usually when people talk about moving to the USA they talk about the Green Card and the Lottery. However, not many of those people know that having a Green Card and being an US citizen are not the same thing. Green Card is a sort of US card that proves that you have the permission to reside and work in the USA permanently.
However, you are not an US citizen. You are still considered an alien, but with permanent residency. That means that you cannot help your family obtain US visa, you cannot vote but you still pay the taxes. However, when you have the Green Card and you are in the USA long enough, and you meet some other requirements as well, you can apply for the naturalization and become the US citizen. That process is long and complicated, but once you complete it, there are no more worries for you regarding your citizenship and your status in the USA.
Therefore, you may easily conclude that getting the Green Card is your first step toward becoming a citizen of the USA. There are a lot of ways to do so and you may apply for it from your home country or from the USA. Also, a number of lucky winners get their Green Card on the Lottery that takes place every year.
No matter what is your choice of action when you want to obtain your Green Card and the US citizenship, make sure that you do your research and that you hire professionals. The lawyer you need has to have good credentials and a lot of experience in such matters. Also, make sure that you hire somebody who doesn’t promise a quick and cheap procedure, because that is impossible or requires from you to cover up some facts or even lie.
Also, avoid by all costs people who claim an inside person in the immigration offices. The simple truth – they don’t. Even if they do, you really do not benefit from that, because the system is so complicated and organized that they wouldn’t be able to help your cause in any way.
You will not miss out on a chance to get what you want in an easier and more prompt way by hiring somebody who says they “know a guy”. But you will probably get scammed and ripped off your money. That is not the worst part. This can actually hurt your chances of getting your Greed Card or citizenship because of:
- false claims,
- frauds
- all other types of wrong doings decrease your chances to a minimum.
You are facing one of the most complicated and the most desired things ever – to become an Us citizen. That is neither easy nor quick nor cheap. There are the facts that you need to know and to count on. There are no shortcuts here, so don’t expect them. Play closely by the rules and hire a good professional to clear those rules for you. Only in that way can you become what you’ve always wanted to become – a proud citizen of the US with all the rights, good and bad sides of that status.
