- Now that we've talked about
the naturalization process
and the eligibility
requirements for naturalization,
let's talk about how difficult it can be
to become a naturalized citizen.
Immigrant residents seeking naturalization
face barriers throughout the process.
And it's only become
more difficult over time.
Immigrants face strict
requirements to become
lawful permanent residents,
and when they try to become U.S. citizens,
they face increased filing
costs and long processing times
for their applications.
Certain groups of immigrants get priority
when they apply for lawful
permanent resident status.
As the Pew Research Center reported,
in 2015, 44% of green
cards went to immigrants
who were immediate
relatives of U.S. citizens.
And 20% went to immigrants who
were extended family members
of citizens and lawful
permanent residents.
Having special skills, like
being a talented doctor
or doing innovative research,
or special talents, like
being a gifted athlete,
means you're in the most prioritized group
for employment-based preferences
for lawful permanent residents.
If you don't have special
skills or talents,
you can still be eligible for
employment-based residency,
but you have to have an
employer willing to complete
all the necessary paperwork
with the federal government.
As that is an added cost,
some employers refuse to hire people
from outside the United States.
So if you don't have
any specialized skills,
a job offer, an employer
willing to file paperwork
for labor certification,
a parent with lawful permanent resident
or citizenship status,
it's difficult to get
lawful permanent status.
The challenges continue
throughout the naturalization process.
It takes years for lawful
permanent residents
to become American citizens.
Remember that even to
apply for naturalization,
lawful permanent residents
have to have lived
in the United States
for at least five years.
But the process can take
much longer than that.
The median time it takes for
lawful permanent residents
to become citizens is
actually eight years.
Part of the reason that it takes so long
is because of how long it takes to process
a naturalization application.
The federal government has
experienced a significant backlog
of applications waiting for processing.
And the average time to process
a citizenship application
has doubled since 2012.
This is due to a surge in applications
and stricter scrutiny
on those applications.
And the costs associated with filing
a naturalization application
have also increased significantly.
Let's take a look at this chart.
In 1985, it only cost $35 for a person
to file an application.
Now it costs over $1,000 to file.
Why does it cost so much more?
USCIS argues that the
increased fees are necessary
to offset the growing cost
of processing applications
and deterring fraud.
And this graph doesn't
cover all of the costs
an immigrant might incur during
the naturalization process,
since it doesn't include any of the costs
associated with getting
a lawyer to advise them
or any classes that
they might need to take
in order to learn English or U.S. Civics.
Although immigrant residents
face a number of challenges
to become naturalized citizens,
hundreds of thousands apply
for naturalization every year,
because the benefits of
becoming a naturalized citizen
often outweigh the costs.
