How can I become an American citizen?

According to the relevant laws of the United States, there are three main ways to obtain American citizenship:

1. Obtain American citizenship according to the principle of birthplace. According to the birthright principle, a person can acquire American citizenship as long as he is born in the United States, regardless of his parents' nationality. However, children born to families of foreign embassies and consulates in the United States cannot obtain American citizenship according to this principle.

2. automatically acquire American citizenship according to the principle of descent. That is, as long as American citizens have lived in the United States for 65,438+00 years, and among them, they have lived in the United States for 5 years after the age of 65,438+04, their children born in foreign countries also become American citizens at birth. Therefore, the original nationality of American citizens is actually a mixed principle, that is, the principle of birthplace and the principle of descent are adopted, and the principle of birthplace is the main one.

3. Obtaining American citizenship after applying for American citizenship for naturalization and other reasons is approved. Both of them are commonly referred to as native Americans, and both of them automatically acquire American citizenship because of their birth, that is, their original citizenship. But the United States is an immigrant country, with a large number of naturalized people, that is, foreign-born "Americans." According to the relevant laws of the US Congress, the basic conditions for naturalization in the United States are: at least 65,438+08 years old, must be a non-enemy national and legally enter the United States, obtain permanent residency and live in the United States for more than 5 years, and live in a state for at least 6 months. Those who meet the above requirements and wish to become American citizens should apply to the Citizenship and Immigration Bureau, which will examine them to prove that they have good moral character, reliable credit, basic English reading, listening, speaking and writing skills, and basic knowledge of American history, government structure and constitution, mainly important events, figures, government organizations and rights in American history, as well as the principles of the American Constitution and important amendments. It does not belong to any totalitarianism, extremism, terrorism or underworld organization. Naturalized citizens must swear allegiance to the United States and fulfill their obligations as American citizens (the swearing-in procedure is generally held irregularly, and people of different countries, nationalities and religious beliefs will swear at the same time). After the swearing-in procedure, they can formally obtain a written document approved by the US government on the same day, which is also commonly known as "citizen paper".

Legal basis:

American immigration and nationality law

1. You must live in the United States continuously for five years after obtaining permanent residency. This is the minimum residence period for naturalization. Within five years, you can't leave the United States for more than six months in a row. If it is more than half a year, you must provide proof that you have no intention of giving up the right of abode in the United States. Therefore, it is necessary to extend the naturalization application time accordingly and recalculate the residence time in the United States. Before applying for naturalization to the US Immigration Service, you must live in the United States for at least 3 years, at least half a legal period.

2. A foreign citizen who marries an American citizen must remain married for two years before both husband and wife can apply for naturalization to the Immigration Bureau. The new immigration law stipulates that foreign citizens who are married to American citizens or permanent residents should apply for naturalization as soon as possible as long as they meet the conditions for applying for American citizenship, so as to become American citizens as soon as possible and enjoy all the rights as American citizens. But the prerequisite must be a marriage relationship that lasts for more than two years.

3. When applying for naturalization, you must live in the United States for the last six months of five consecutive years and live in the local state or city for at least six months.

4. Applicants for naturalization must be at least 18 years old. Foreigners under the age of 16 who have permanent residency in the United States, whose parents have acquired American citizenship, can automatically acquire American citizenship with their parents. However, children aged between 16 and 18 must apply for naturalization independently. If the child is under the age of 18, and one parent is an American citizen and the other parent is a foreigner, before the child reaches the age of 18, the parent with American citizenship can apply for naturalization on his behalf.

You must have basic English reading, listening, speaking and writing skills. Applicants for naturalization should have a certain degree of English knowledge and a certain degree of English ability. When examining the eligibility for naturalization, immigration officials will conduct an oral test, and the naturalization applicant will answer the knowledge about American history and the American government in English. In this way, we can examine the practical English expression ability of naturalization applicants. This kind of test questions is printed and sold by the American government. If the applicant fails to pass the first oral exam, the applicant is allowed to take two make-up exams within one year. If the applicant is over 50 years old and has lived in the United States for more than 20 years, he can be exempted from taking the English test and can use his own language instead. The immigration law also exempts applicants over 55 who have obtained permanent residency in the United States for more than 15 years, and replaces them with their mother tongue.

You must behave well during your five years in America. According to American immigration law, adultery, prostitution or bigamy, or failure to support others, as well as alcoholism and drug abuse, are all bad behaviors and cannot be naturalized.

7, must have a certain understanding of American history and constitution, immigration law. It is mainly about the understanding of important events, figures, government agencies and rights in American history, as well as the understanding of the principles and important amendments of the American Constitution.

8. Applicants for citizenship must give up their original nationality. If you want to keep your original nationality, you can't become an American citizen.