Immigrants who live in California may wish to become naturalized citizens of the United States for many reasons. One of the benefits of becoming a citizen is the right to vote. Since 2016 is an election year, and one with divisive issues and candidates at that, interest in citizenship has increased.
A look at citizenship and the upcoming election
Citizenship accidently given to over 800 due to fingerprint error
It can be nerve-wracking for immigrants residing in California to have to wait to see if their application for U.S. citizenship has been granted or not. If they do go on to be approved for citizenship, there are both many benefits and responsibilities that go along with becoming an American citizen.
Your adjustment of status options
Your journey toward U.S. citizenship may have started before you reached California, while you were still living in your home country. Or, you may be a foreign national who visited and discovered the many benefits of life in the United States. However you came to be here, if you currently have a valid nonimmigrant status, your next step toward becoming a permanent resident may not be clear. At U.S. Law Center, we have provided legal advice to many people wanting to apply to change their status.
Learning about the rights and duties of U.S. citizenship
Foreign nationals want to become U.S. citizens for many reasons, and some may even have been raised almost exclusively in the United States and feel they belong here already. However, before this dream can become a reality for any immigrants, they must complete all the steps outlined by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. According to the USCIS, one of the hurdles is the naturalization test, including a civics portion designed to show an applicant’s understanding of how the U.S. government works, its history and the foundations of the Constitution.
Census database informs study on immigrant entrepreneurs
Measuring statistics and providing real-time answers to economic questions has been difficult for researchers who are eager to contribute to the immigration debate in California and the rest of the country. Assessing the role that immigrants play in the U.S. workforce, and the economy, has involved analysis of a wide range of sources, and results often seem inconclusive. Gathering information from government databases may be a way to decipher some of the answers.
