General
information on becoming a US citizen:
At the US
Citizenship and Immigration Services web site, you can
find:
- the
USCIS
Guide to Naturalization
This guide is also available in Spanish,
Tagalog,
Chinese,
and Vietnamese.
(please note: these are PDF files and may some time to download).
- eligibility
information,
- application
procedures
- downloadable
naturalization application forms, & information
on where
to send them,
- answers
to some frequently
asked questions,
- fee
waiver information for low income applicants
- disability
waiver applications for individuals who are unable
to take a civics/literacy test due to a serious, medically documented
physical or psychological disability
- study
questions and
sample
dictations for the citizenship/literacy test (hint:
right now, most examiners ignore the “civics/history” sentences
and use only the “every day life” sentences) The 100 questions in
the USCIS Study Guide appear in random order. But the civics content
is a lot easier to teach/study when it's grouped according
to topic
- an
on-line multiple choice
practice test
- the
full text of the oath
of allegiance
- a
way to check
on the status of your application (using the receipt
number USCIS assigned to you when they confirmed your application)
- find out how
long it is taking to process applications at your
local USCIS district office
- history
on naturalization processing and USCIS naturalization/immigration
statistics
- Information about special provisions for Hmong/Laotion naturalization
applicants in English,
Hmong
and Laotian.
- study
questions in Hmong
- A pamplet titled "Naturalization
Information for Miliary Personnel" which
explains special provisions of the law that make it easier for members
of
the military to become citizens.
If you've left the U.S. for more than six months in the previous five
years, this could effect your eligibility for citizenship. Cyrus
Mehta & Associates offers a useful discussion of
the in's and out's of the "continuous residency" requirement.
The Jones
Library Citizenship page offers simple information
on how to apply for citizenship. (Note: While this information is mainly
geared toward applicants in Western Massachusetts, programs in other
areas are welcome to revise the information and distribute it under
their own program headings.)
Information on dual
citizenship by Rich Wales (not a lawyer, but very well
informed).
VisaLaw,
the web site of immigration law firm Siskind Susser, offers a number
of useful articles on citizenship, as well as a weekly newsletter covering a wide range
of immigration topics.
Selective
Service registration can now be done on line.
All men in the US between the ages of 18 and 26 must register (and when
men apply for citizenship, Immigration asks for the registration number.)
Selective Service offers information for immigrants in English,
Chinese,
Vietnamese,
Korean+
and Spanish.
For background on this topic, click
here.
Once you have become a US citizen, here’s information on applying for
immigrant
visas for immediate relatives (siblings, parents, sons/daughters),
registering to
vote, and US
passport applications.
The
eCitizenhip site, created by immigration attorney Moses
Apsan, offers useful, accurate, up-to-date information on the citizenship
process, including a free "Citizenship (application) Kit"
download, practice test, and FAQ's.
Free
Advice offers basic legal information on citizenship,
as well as a "forum" for seeking (and reading) advice about
specific situations (however no guarantees are given as to the legal
accuracy of the advice offered in the forum).
The Northwest
Justice Project offers a free packet which includes information
about how to complete the application, common questions about naturalization,
disability waivers, naturalization and children, reasons to become a
citizen, and, importantly, when to get legal help before applying for
citizenship.
You will find good information on immigration law at the visalaw
web site operated by Siskind Susser Immigration Lawyers
Student
Oriented Web Sites and Study Aids
The
International Institute of Rhode Island’s citizenship
study site is still under construction, but it already offers easily
accessible citizenship preparation for students, with simply written
text and illustration. The site includes history/government information,
sample completed forms (but watch out—they use an outdated version of
the N-400 application) sample interviews, practice questions, and review
games.
Metro
North Adult Education Program has designed a comprehensive
on-line study program, which is free to Minnesota residents; all others
pay $20 for web site access or $50 for web site access plus a window/mac
CD. Hint: Libraries or adult education programs can buy one subscription
that gives access to the study program to multiple learners.
Lynne Weintraub’s Quia Games page
offers free on-line flashcard practice for history & government questions
from the INS study guide. There are more
Quia games designed to practice vocabulary and civics facts from
the first three chapters from the textbook "Citizenship: Passing the Test."
USCIS offers a free on-line multiple choice
practice citizenship test. Another one is available
at the Herald
Sun newspaper.
CASAS offers a Spanish
language translation of the INS citizenship test study
questions.
National Asian Pacific American Legal Consortium (NAPALC) offers the
same study questions in Lao,
Vietnamese
and Hmong
(these are PDF files and may take some time to download), and shows
you where to find help with citizenship in Cambodian
(Khmer), Chinese(Cantonese
and Mandarin), Gujarati,
Hindi,
Hmong,
Ilocano,
Japanese,
Korean,
Lao,
Mien,
Tagalog,
Thai,
Tongan,
and Vietnamese.
Preparing
for the US Citizenship Interview puts the information from the
"100 questions" list into 28 topic categories. There are practice
questions and background information (with graphics) provided for each catagory,
as well as several practice tests, and a dictation practice test (with audio).
Ben's
Guide is meant to help children learn about US Government. But
it can also be useful for adults studying for the citizenship test. For fun,
try the easy picture
matching game, or the vocabulary
puzzle.
Educator
Oriented Information:
What
does the law actually say about citizenship testing? Click here to find out.
In December 2000, INS put out a policy memorandum to all field offices, which
spells out a standard procedure for evaluating an applicant’s knowledge of
US history/government, and ability to speak, read, and write English. Click
here to see excepts from that memorandum.
What does a typical citizenship test preparation class look like? Click
here for a sample lesson plan.
The
Adult Learning Resource Center (Illinois) offers citizenship
advocacy information, a resource list, examples of practice interviews,
sample classroom materials, and a citizenship entrance test (for teachers
to determine the needs/abilities of students enrolling in citizenship
classes).
The
Minnesota Literacy Council offers citizenship application
information, a bibliography and suggestions for preparing students for
interviews. (Once you’re on the MLC main page, select “Program Services”,
and then select “Citizenship.”)
Citizenship
Preparation for Adult E.S.L. Learners is a short,
on-line ERIC digest offers general information for citizenship instructors.
Lesson ideas and assessment tool from "Citizenship Navigator"
(written by Lynne Weintraub for the MA Office for Refugees and Immigrants
1998):
The
"English Language, Civics, and Citizenship Teachers' Toolbox"
is
available as a free download from CAAELII. (In order to get the download,
you must register and get a password on the web site.)
