How to become a California resident after getting a green card?

People often say that the American green card is actually the American permanent resident card, which is an identity card used to prove that foreigners have the permanent resident status of the United States of America.

The legal permanent residency of green card holders is an official immigration benefit, including conditional permission to stay in the United States and get a job. The holder must maintain his permanent resident status, and if he no longer meets certain conditions required by the status, the holder may lose his status.

Anyone who has obtained the permanent residence qualification (green card) in the United States for more than five years and has reached the age of 18 can apply to the federal court for becoming an American citizen through the immigration office. The procedure of applying for citizenship is called naturalization.

To apply for naturalization, you must meet the following five conditions:

At least eighteen years old

If you are under 16 years old, there are two possibilities of naturalization:

1. One of my parents is an American citizen, and I have obtained permanent residency or have been in the United States. When foreign parents apply for naturalization, he automatically obtains American citizenship.

(2) If both parents are foreign nationals, they also acquire citizenship when their parents are naturalized as American citizens.

Legal permanent residency, living in the United States for at least five years.

Anyone who applies for naturalization must have legal permanent resident status for five years. Of course, this does not mean that you can't leave the United States during these five years. As long as you leave for no more than one year at a time, your stay will not be affected. If it is more than one year, you must wait for another four years and one day to be naturalized after returning to the United States.

If the applicant has not lived in the United States for more than 30 months, he must continue to live in the United States for a period of time until he has lived in the United States for 30 months in the first five years when he applied to the court for naturalization. In order not to interrupt the residence time, anyone who is sent abroad by the American government, American companies, sects or other institutions must apply for retaining the right of naturalization with the N-470 form when leaving the country.

If the applicant is the spouse of an American citizen, he can apply as long as he has lived for three years. However, in these three years, you must marry the same American citizen (that is, your current spouse) and live in the United States for at least one year. Before the application form is sent to the immigration office, you must all live in the United States and have never left the country.

Law-abiding, good moral.

All murderers, habitual alcoholics, polygamists, prostitutes, drug addicts, gamblers and people involved in other crimes can be regarded as misconduct and prohibited from applying for naturalization. Therefore, the applicant must be a person with good conduct for at least five years.

Willing to swear allegiance to the United States and give up all allegiance to the country of origin.

Applicants for naturalization must give up their original nationality, at the same time, they must give up the title of loyalty to other countries and any foreign countries, and guarantee to abide by the Constitution and laws of the United States. Therefore, people who want to retain their original nationality cannot apply for naturalization.

Familiar with basic English and American government and history.

Applicants for naturalization should be able to read, speak and write simple words and expressions in English, and they should also be able to sign in English. Immigration oral examiners will ask questions about the American government and history in letters and simple English. If you fail once, you will make up the exam twice a year. The scope of the test questions is generally outside the "federal citizenship examination outline". If the applicant is over 50 years old and has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, the oral test can be conducted in his mother tongue, and the English level is exempted.

How to apply for naturalization:

The application for naturalization can be submitted to the local immigration office 60 days before the expiration of the five-year residence period. Before submitting the application, you can get a 400 form, an autobiographical data form and two fingerprint cards from the Immigration Bureau, and fill them out one by one according to their specific requirements. Never hide the facts, otherwise, once found, even if you have obtained entry permit, you can be disqualified. Fill in the information and return it to the immigration office together with three two-inch color photos, waiting for the notice of oral examination. If you apply at the same time as your relatives and want to take the oral exam at the same time, you need to make a request in a separate written statement, which should be submitted with the form and indicate your relatives' names and green card numbers.

After receiving the notice of review, the applicant shall invite the relatives and friends of two American citizens as witnesses. After the oral examination, if the applicant meets the naturalization requirements, he can formally apply for naturalization and pay a certain application fee. The final procedure is to take an oath in court, and you can get a naturalization certificate and become an American citizen on the day of the oath.