I'm sure that this has been asked before... (US CITIZENSHIP).

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How hard would it be for me - a young, english-speaking high school teacher with three years experience, a double bachelors degree in arts and teaching and a yankee girlfriend he'll end up marrying - to become an Official Yank?

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:08 (twenty years ago)

marry the girl. you'll still go thru the wringer a bit, but that's prolly the easiest way.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:11 (twenty years ago)

dude anyway why do you wanna lose your eu citizenship?

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:12 (twenty years ago)

he wont, brits can have dual citizenship easy.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:20 (twenty years ago)

i dunno, they discourage it for peeps over 18.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:21 (twenty years ago)

I hadn't heard that! My 40-year-old co-worker from manchester just got his US citizenship and he said it was no problem to keep his UK citizenship. I only know three englishmen personally but it's the case with all of them.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:23 (twenty years ago)

Um dudes Mikey is Australian ;)

(or do you have brit c'ship too Mike?)

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:24 (twenty years ago)

i never assumed what country he's from!

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:25 (twenty years ago)

it's all teeny's fault. i blame teeny.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:25 (twenty years ago)

oh how the tables have been turned.

― teeny (teeny), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:26 (twenty years ago)

haha. take that, miss i-know-englishmen!

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:26 (twenty years ago)

I have dual citizenship...

Anyway, http://uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship/

― luna (luna.c), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:28 (twenty years ago)

where do you have dual citizenship with, if you don't mind me asking?

― Allyzay Dallas Multi-Pass (allyzay), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:36 (twenty years ago)

I might qualify for dual US/Canadian citizenship, since my dad was an illegal Canadian living in the U.S. til the day he died. I've been meaning to look into this.. hmmm.

― donut christ (donut), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:41 (twenty years ago)

As a recent immigrant, I have always been told I will have to revoke my UK citizenship in order to claim US citizenship, which I plan on never doing. I could be wrong, but that's what they tell me.

If we moved back to the UK/EU however, Sarah could have dual citizenship. It does not cut both ways.

Thanks for reading.

― Master Boring (nordicskilla), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:41 (twenty years ago)

New Zealand. My mom's from there, and she made us all get it when we turned 18. God knows why.

― luna (luna.c), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

because new zealand is cool, that's why!

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:42 (twenty years ago)

By the way...appropos of nothing...my status will change this June, to that of a "more permanent" permanent resident, as I will have been here two years.

― Roy Disney (nordicskilla), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:43 (twenty years ago)

Plus my mom is a loon.

― luna (luna.c), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:44 (twenty years ago)

luna you got it made in the shade girl.

― j blount (papa la bas), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:44 (twenty years ago)

if you're mom's a loon, you're sure you're not canadian?

wokka wokka.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:45 (twenty years ago)

*rimshot*

― luna (luna.c), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:45 (twenty years ago)

take my wife, please!

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:45 (twenty years ago)

you're not married

― Cassius (nordicskilla), Friday, 4 February 2005 01:46 (twenty years ago)

if you don't know who this is, they should deport you:

http://www.jacneed.com/PhotoFile/Henny_Youngman.jpg

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:00 (twenty years ago)

I have that Coleman/Ayler/Youngman sessions box set. it rips!

― donut christ (donut), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:07 (twenty years ago)

he's better than billy bang.

(kidding)

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:08 (twenty years ago)

Yeah, I'm Australin, but mum's a brit so I got all sorts of happy EU goodness as a result.

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:10 (twenty years ago)

the US doesnt recognize dual citizenship, for what thats worth. ITS ALL OR NOTHING. U-S-A

― Dude, are you a 15 year old asian chick? (jingleberries), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:11 (twenty years ago)

you can still be a dual citizen of the US and another country. especially since you do not have to relinquish your foreign passport when you get citizenship and there are some countries where you cannot renounce your citizenship.

― S!monB!rch (Carey), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:15 (twenty years ago)

After some trouble getting my girlfriend a student visa to study here, I don't want to ever have cause to get kicked out of the US, which is where we wanna live, so I thought I'd just go the whole hog and become a Yank.

It helps I love the place.

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:16 (twenty years ago)

i wanna renounce my american citizenship, sorta.

― hstencil (hstencil), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:16 (twenty years ago)

get her knocked up, then you won't have to leave.

― S!monB!rch (Carey), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:17 (twenty years ago)

Is there a North American citizenship all-in-one deal? Not that I could probably find much work in my field in Belize or El Salvador, but it certainly would be less painful if I ever wanted to visit there. (haha, although Cuba kinda throws a wrench in that plan if the U.S. had any say in it.)

― donut christ (donut), Friday, 4 February 2005 02:20 (twenty years ago)

I dont think Australia allows dual c'ship anymore. Having EU c'ship might help from that side tho?

― Trayce (trayce), Friday, 4 February 2005 03:06 (twenty years ago)

23AQ

― pepektheassassin (pepektheassassin), Friday, 4 February 2005 03:19 (twenty years ago)

Ooh, is that a visa number?

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Friday, 4 February 2005 04:25 (twenty years ago)

You won't become an "official yank", you would become a permanent resident. And there is no way to do this without being married or rich or highly, highly skilled. Just marry the girl.

― Croope, Friday, 4 February 2005 04:28 (twenty years ago)

Aww man...

Do you get to vote and such as a permanent resident?

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Friday, 4 February 2005 04:29 (twenty years ago)

Nope. Afraid not.

― Croope, Friday, 4 February 2005 04:30 (twenty years ago)

BUT YOUR COUNTRY WAS FOUNDED ON PEOPLE LIKE ME! I WOULD LIVE IN A GHETTO AND SEND ALL MY SONS TO DIE NEEDLESSLY FOR THE STARS AND BARS IF I COULD JOIN AMERICA!

― Michael Stuchbery (Mikey Bidness), Friday, 4 February 2005 04:31 (twenty years ago)

Once you have been a permanent resident for a certain amount of time (years), you can THEN apply for citizenship and take the test if you covet voting rights, etc.

xpost haha

― Croope, Friday, 4 February 2005 04:31 (twenty years ago)

I'm pretty sure that the leap from permanent resident to citizen is more or less just a matter of time, though it's slow--took me about 7 years. The harder thing, I think, is getting the type of visa that puts you on the track for permanent residency. I don't really know the details here, as I was pretty young when my family went through the wringer, but like everyone already said, marriage saves you a bunch of this hassle.

As for dual citizenship, the US is officially against it, but they don't make any effort to control it, so their de facto policy is something like, You're an American to us, unless you get detained/drafted/etc by your other country, in which case we wash our hands of you. Most other countries, as far as I know, also turn a blind eye. The Polish immigration agents sometimes ask to see both my passports...

― the krza (krza), Friday, 4 February 2005 04:46 (twenty years ago)

do those green card lottery thingie work? like i see adverts for it on the tube sometimes and it's seems like some mysterious way of getting a green card without doing anything apart from registering for it.. how does it work??

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:30 (twenty years ago)

you have to pay a lot for the green card lottery. i think it's at least £500 but i could be wrong about that.

michael, if you do get married to gain your legal us status then you should be prepared to spend a good amount of time basically held hostage in the states until your legality is made official. the last few uk citizens i know who married americans ended up trapped for several years until everything was sorted. if they had left the country, they wouldn't have been allowed back in. i'm not sure why that is but i'd look into it if i were you.

― lauren (laurenp), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:38 (twenty years ago)

A couple of years ago I looked into the green card lottery thing. The high fees come from using one of the companies who advertise to put your submission in for you - the actual process costs a lot less (£40 sticks in my mind for some reason).

However, it's apparently an absolute bugger to get right - if you write in the wrong colour ink, or put a staple in the wrong place, your application is immediately rejected. There was a fair bit of helpful info on the internet when I looked - including details of countries which would NOT be eligible to enter, which at the time included the UK (I was considering it because I'm half Italian, even if I am officially a British citizen, and Italy was allowed).

Millions of people apply and only a tiny fraction succeed. But, for those that do, it seems to be a pretty sweet deal.

― Markelby (Mark C), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:45 (twenty years ago)

ooh i just looked up the lotto thing apparently a lot of the sites are hoaxes or at least rip-offs! It seems that if you go to the official place the registration to the lotto is free, and that there are huge restrictions on who can apply (like e.g. people from countries where there's been more than 50,000 immigratants to the US in the past five years are excluded which basically rules out half the world!)

BUT apparently because i was born in Hong Kong SAR I will be able to apply except I've missed the boat for this year :\ (cut-off date was 7th Jan) I should have looked into these things earlier.

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

xpost!

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:48 (twenty years ago)

and nowadays mark even if you get the staples in the right place you won't be eligible! Because it has now gone electronic applications only!

http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html

― ken c (ken c), Friday, 4 February 2005 10:59 (twenty years ago)

STARS AND BARS

Stars & Stripes = USA

Stars & Bars = CSA

There WILL be a test.

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 4 February 2005 23:29 (twenty years ago)

my canadian friend got sponsored for a visa to teach music in a not-so-good neighborhood in brooklyn. and then a couple years from now she gets to be permenant resident and not have to teach there anymore. though she likes it because she's really into black dudes, so she gets all hot for parent-teacher conference week because all the dads are like in their mid early to mid 30s. anyways, you should look into that.

― phil-two (phil-two), Friday, 4 February 2005 23:37 (twenty years ago)

Once you get permanent residence you're golden. You can stay as long as you want. Getting citizenship makes you liable for jury duty and military service but it also accords you the privilege of voting and allows you to leave the country for extended periods of time.

― Michael White (Hereward), Friday, 4 February 2005 23:45 (twenty years ago)

the last few uk citizens i know who married americans ended up trapped for several years until everything was sorted. if they had left the country, they wouldn't have been allowed back in. i'm not sure why that is but i'd look into it if i were you.

Lauren, I love you but they are LYING to you.

― adam, maybe?, Saturday, 5 February 2005 01:00 (twenty years ago)

the last few uk citizens i know who married americans ended up trapped for several years until everything was sorted. if they had left the country, they wouldn't have been allowed back in

This happened to friends of mine. My friend's husband went home to go to his mother's funeral, and even though it had been a year since my friends got married, he still didn't have the proper paperwork or something, and he wasn't let back into the country. So my 8 months pregnant friend had to go have her baby in Enniskillen.

They came to London a few months later to sort of the paperwork so I got to be the first of K's American friends to see the baby.

― tokyo rosemary (rosemary), Sunday, 6 February 2005 15:12 (twenty years ago)

the US doesnt recognize dual citizenship, for what thats worth. ITS ALL OR NOTHING. U-S-A

My cousins- american dad, english mom, born in London- have dual UK/US citizenship. The only restrictions I'm aware of with it is that you can only have on other citizenship besides the US one, and when they come to visit the States, they are required to enter on their US passports. They have UK passports, too, but they must the US ones to enter the states. I'm not sure why that is, but I'm sure some bureaucrat somewhere has a reason for it.

― lyra (lyra), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:14 (twenty years ago)

can only have on other citizenship
make that... can only have onE other citizenship

― lyra (lyra), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:16 (twenty years ago)

Lauren's right. I've been in New York for 3 years, but I'm not a premanent resident (ie pay higher taxes, if I commit a crime = extradited, risky to leave the country (I haven't in 3 years) etc.
It'll take 9 months or so for her to petition you while you remain in your home country (ie you have your interview at your home US embassy), and costs a bit over a thousand at that point. Then (assuming you have no criminal record, health is OK etc), you can come, but must be married within 90 days. Then you have to file for conditional permanent resident status (costs more $). Involves health tests, police checks, an interview. At the moment, this is taking 2.5-4 years per person (used to be 9 months, pre 9/11).
So you have to be sure you want to stay (and you can work during this period), but if you leave the US, you have no guarantee of being let back in, since you're now on an expired visa, and are not a permanent resident.

― paulhw (paulhw), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:18 (twenty years ago)

yeah the marriage thing isn't as easy as it seems. although you can get a temporary green card pretty quickly this way, now. the problem lauren and rosemary mention is forilz and a major pain, especially since if you're the kind of person who wants to get one of these things you're probably also the kind of person who goes back and forth at least a little bit. it can drag on and on and you can't leave.

xpost or what paulhw said! yikes!!@

my favorite way in these days must certainly be the difficult-to-attain yet hilariously titled visa for aliens of exceptional ability

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:25 (twenty years ago)

Well, I can't argue with any of you but I can come and go as I please - been a permanent resident for almost two years now, about to get an upgrade in status, come and go as I please, I can even pick my line at the airport, can skip past all of the non-Americans and flash my permanent resident card with my UK passport at the dude, he welcomes me home and asks me when I want my breakfast. Or something.

Also the paperwork was a little frustrating but relatively simple, and the interview was very brisk and formal (none of this "what colour is her toothbrush" business).

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:38 (twenty years ago)

not sure why I said "come and go as I please" twice!

But it bears repeating!

― adam.r.l. (nordicskilla), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:41 (twenty years ago)

it's also worth googling for message boards that are specifically devoted to this subject, since you'll find more people that have personal experience. i found several about UK visa questions, and found them really helpful, i'm sure there are even more for people wanting to live in the US.

and, just to chime in on the dual citizenship thing- the reason people get confused is that the US used to force people to pick which citizenship they wanted. but it's been at least 30 years since dual citizenship was allowed, the only way you get rid of your american citizenship (once you have it) is to specifically renounce it in front of a certified consular official, or something fancy. but some countries are different, so worth looking on australian websites to see if you can do it (UK is fine, for what it's worth)

― colette (a2lette), Sunday, 6 February 2005 23:49 (twenty years ago)

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