California Immigration Lawyer Blog

The issue of applying or having applied for Selective Service comes up a lot when applying for naturalization. Recently I have seen a number of clients at my San Francisco office who have not registered for Selective Service. I will write a couple of blog posts on the issue of Selective Service and naturalization.

Applicants for naturalization need to establish good moral character for the five years prior to the filing of the naturalization application (Form N-400) up to the time the oath of allegiance is taken. Although there is no specific law, USCIS (United States and Citizenship Services) interprets a failure to register for Selective Service as an act that reflects negatively on an applicant's ability to establish good moral character.

The Selective Service agency is the agency responsible for maintaining a list of men who are eligible the military draft, if we should have one. All men, even if in the United States illegally, between the ages of 18-25, must register for Selective Service. (If you 26 or older, you are too old to register.) A Social Security number is not required to register. The only exception to the registration requirement is for men who are in the United States in valid non-immigrant status (i.e., students on F-1 visas or professionals on H-1B visas). Women are not required to register.

You may register for Selective Service online on their website or you can use the link at the bottom of this page. You may also register at a post office. In addition, you can register if you are applying for a student loan by completing a Federal Student Financial Aid (FAFSA form). You can check "Register Me" on Box #22 of that form, and the Department of Education will furnish Selective Service with the information to register. Finally, if you are applying for adjustment of status in the United States, you will automatically be registered upon USCIS' acceptance of your Form I-485. (The last page of the form indicates that you agree to have USCIS transmit your information to Selective Service.)

If you are not sure whether or not you have registered with Selective Service or you want proof that you have registered, you may go to their website and click on the link to check registration.

My next few blog posts will discuss how to obtain a status letter from Selective Service and what to do if you have not registered with Selective Service.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Adjustment of status , Citizenship , F-1 , H-1 B Visas , Selective Service , USCIS

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Applying for citizenship can be a daunting task because your entire immigration history is reviewed at the time you apply for citizenship. It can also be an expensive one because the filing fee with the biometrics is quite expensive at $675.00.

If you are looking for legal assistance with your citizenship application, you are low income and you live in the San Francisco Bay area, you may wish to consider contacting the legal department of Jewish Family and Children's Services ("JFCS"). The agency provides legal assistance with a variety of family based immigration petitions and applications. The staff also assists people with applying for citizenship and disability waivers (Form N-648). They do an outstanding job and as recognition of their work in the community, United States and Citizenship Services ("USCIS") just awarded them a grantfor the purpose of citizenship assistance and education.

For legal immigration assistance, you may check out their citizenship services websiste or call the emigre department of JFCS at (415) 449-2900.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , USCIS

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Today was a day where everything worked out the way it should have. I represented two individuals at their naturalization interviews at the San Francisco district office. My clients, husband and wife, are both severely disabled. They could not learn history and English because of their disabilities. We filed their applications for naturalization (Form N-400) along with waivers of the English and history requirements (officially called Medical Certification for Disability Exceptions, Form N-648),

I have had my share of battles with USCIS officers over N-648s so I expected today to be no different. I was pleasantly surprised today. In both situations, the officers had read the N-648s and approved them without incident. Just as importantly, the USCIS officers treated my clients in a respectful and understanding manner. Today the officers seemed to understand that my clients were disabled and were willing to work with them to adjudicate their applications.

And for the best part, USCIS agreed to administer administrative oaths to my clients today so that they would not have to travel to the oath ceremony.

I am very pleased at how the day worked out. I had represented my clients in their very first applications with USCIS and now I have seen them all the way through the immigration process. It is has been a rewarding experience.

If your experience with the N-648 process has not been good or you are concerned about the adjudications of N-648s in general, you may be interested in an upcoming meeting/teleconference sponsored by the USCIS on the N-648. On October 8, USCIS will be soliciting views from the public about the adjudication of Form N-648 and will be seeking suggestions on how to improve the process.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship

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USCIS has recently published a new fact sheet of common questions and answers for members of the U.S. Armed Forces and their families. The fact sheet contains the most frequently asked questions that USCIS receives.

The fact sheet is worth reading if you are in the Armed Forces because the answers to some of the questions are different (and usually more advantageous) to members and/or dependents of those in the Armed Forces. For instance, if you are a civilian, obtained your green card through a marriage to a U.S. Citizen and you have been married for less than two years, you must file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence to remove the conditional residence and obtain your permanent green card. You must file this form even if you intend on applying for citizenship a year later. (Persons who are married to U.S. citizens may apply for citizenship in three years.)

Members of the armed forces do not have to file Form I-751, Petition to Remove Conditions on Residence to remove conditional residence obtained through a marriage to a U.S. Citizen, if the foreign born spouse was inducted or enlisted in the military and is applying for naturalization based on qualifying military service. Thus, military personnel are permitted to "skip a step" and do not need to file form I-751.

Additional questions and answers and helpful email addresses to USCIS liaisons are included on the fact sheet.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , U.S. military , USCIS

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United States Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") has recently published new guidance on the type of proof veterans may provide to establish eligibility for naturalization. In the past,when applying for naturalization pursuant to Sections 328 and 329 of the Immigration and Nationality Act (Naturalization through service in the Armed Forces or Naturalization through active-duty in the Armed Forces during certain specified periods of hostilities), veterans were required to submit a certified Form N-426, Certificate of Military or Naval Service. It was quite burdensome for veterans to obtain a certified Form N-426 when they were no longer on active duty because they had to request certification by sending it to the military records center for certification. It added delay to an already lengthy process.

Now USCIS has issued a new memo indicating they will accept an uncertified Form N-426 from a veteran applicant for naturalization if all of the following conditions have been met:

1. The applicant is separated from the Armed Forces at the time of filing Form N-400 (Application for Naturalization);
2. The applicant submitted a completed but uncertified Form N-426;
3. The applicant submitted a photocopy of his or her DD Form(s) 214 (report of separation) for all periods of time captured on Form N-426; and
4. The DD Form 214 lists information on the type of separation and character of service.

When all four conditions are met, the Nebraska Service Center will process the Form N-400, Application for Naturalization accompanied by an uncertified Form N-426.

You may find the entire text of the USCIS memo here: Acceptance of DD Form 214 as Certification of Military or Naval Service for Veterans of the U.S. Armed Forces.

For more information on military naturalization, please see my previous post on "USCIS releases fact sheet on military naturalization."

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , U.S. military , USCIS

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The American Immigration Lawyers Association, northern California chapter, is sponsoring a free workshop on citizenship and will assist people in preparing their applications. The event will be held on April 18, 2009 from 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Meyer Lounge, Hastings College of the Law. Hastings is located at 198 McAllister Street in San Francisco, located near the Civic Center BART station.

You do not need to preregister to participate, just drop in. However, you must have ID to enter into the building.

For more information including on items to bring, please review the attached flyer about the citizenship workshop.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , Immigration Law

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Photo by DeusXFlorida

The Department of Homeland Security ("DHS"), Office of Immigration Statistics, has recently released its report: Naturalizations in the United States: 2008. In 2008, United States and Citizenship Services ("USCIS") naturalized 1046,539 people. This number is the highest number of people naturalized in one year and broke all previous records. Out of that number, 297,909 resided in California. California's numbers make up 28.5% of the total number of people naturalized.

The San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont metropolitan area was the sixth highest area in terms of where people who naturalized were residing. The San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area followed closely behind as the ninth highest area.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , Department of Homeland Security , Immigration history , USCIS

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Photo by US Army Korea IMCOM

Today, United States and Immigration Services (USCIS) issued a fact sheet on the naturalization process for members serving in the military. Individuals who serve in the Army, Navy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Coast Guard, certain components of the National Guard and the Selected Reserve of the Ready Reserve may be eligible for expedited naturalization.

The fact sheet, Naturalization process for the military, specifies the requirements for naturalization in peace time and in war time. It also contains information on the documents an applicant needs to submit in order to apply for naturalization.

Also of interest are the statistics on the number of military personnel naturalized. For instance, since 2001, USCIS has naturalized 45,019 service men and women serving both in and outside of the United States. In addition, USCIS has granted posthumous citizenship to 188 members of the U.S. Armed forces since September 2002. There are additional statistics available on the fact sheet such as naturalization by country of origin.

It is nice to have all the information about military naturalization in one place.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , Immigration Law , U.S. military

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Photo by Batbob

Beginning on January 21, 2009, all naturalization ceremonies scheduled by the San Francisco U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services ("USCIS") district office will take place at the Paramount theater in Oakland instead of the Masonic Auditorium in San Francisco. The Paramount theater is located at 2050 Broadway Avenue, Oakland, CA, near the 19th Street BART station and is at the back of the USCIS Oakland Application Support Center.

Kudos to the San Francisco district office for changing the location to a beautiful venue and a location very accessible by public transportation.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , Immigration Law

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Effective January 22, 2009, residents of California will need to mail their naturalization applications to a new address. The new address is:
USCIS
P.O. Box 21251
Phoenix, AZ 85036

If you wish to file the application via courier or express mail, the address is:
USCIS
Attn: N-400
1820 E. Skyharbor Circle S Floor 1
Phoenix, AZ 85034

If you are in the armed forces or you a spouse of a member of the armed forces, you must file your naturalization application with the Nebraska Service Center, regardless of where you actually reside. The address is:

Nebraska Service Center
P.O. Box 87426
Lincoln, NE 68501–7426

The courier address for the Nebraska Service Center is:

Nebraska Service Center
850 S. Street
Lincoln, NE 68508

If you would like to see the entire Federal Register announcement listing all locations, you may access it here: Revision to Direct Mail Program for Submitting N-400.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , Department of Homeland Security , U.S. military

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Apparently due to a shortage of skilled medical and language professionals in the armed forces, the Department of Defense ("DoD"), is recruiting individuals who have critical skills to the military. The critical skills include: doctors, nurses, and "certain experts in language with associated cultural backgrounds." They have identified 35 languages which are considered "vital to the DoD." The Department of Defense is running this program for a year and hopes to recruit 1000 people.

In order to be eligible for the program, an applicant must:

1. Be in one of the following categories at the time of enlistment:
a. refugee, asylee, Temporary Protected Status ("TPS") or
b. in one of the nonimmigrant categoreis: E, F, H, I, J, K, L, M, O, P, Q, R, S, T, TC, TD,
TN, U, or V.

2. Have been in one of the above categories for two years prior to the enlistment but does not
need to be in the same category in the present time;

3. Not have had a single absence from the U.S. more than 90 days during the two years
prior to the enlistment date.

There are additional requirements specific to health care professionals and people with language abilities. For more information on this pilot program, you may read the Department of Defense Fact Sheet.

The DOD notes that members of the Armed Forces are eligible for expedited citizenship under a July 2002 Executive Order. Thus, the possibility of citizenship is the carrot which the DOD is using with the hope that it will lure foreign nationals to the armed services.

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship , Immigration Law , U.S. military

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Being situated in Benica, CA, between Travis Air Force Base in Fairfield and the old Mare Island Shipyard in Vallejo, I receive many questions from people in the military or who were formerly in the military. Due to the current war in Iraq, Congress has passed a few items of legislation that benefit people in the armed forces and their ability to naturalize. United States and Immigration Services ("USCIS") has also created fact sheets which describe services and benefits for persons in the military. You may access the information here: http://www.uscis.gov/military

Recently Congress passed a new law that will help members of the Armed Forces to become citizens. On October 9, 2008, President Bush signed into law the Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act (Military Personnel Citizenship Processing Act) This new law requires that USCIS process and issue a citizenship decision within six months of receiving an application from a current member of the armed forces, by a spouse of such a person or by a surviving spouse or child of such a member. If a decision is not made within that time frame, USCIS is required to explain the delay and provide a new decision target date.

The law also establishes a FBI liaison office inside USCIS. The office of the FBI liaison will monitor the progress of the FBI in completing the necessary background checks.

While this seems like a a good law and it makes sense to ensure that naturalization applications filed by members of the Armed forces are processed expeditiously, it will only be effective if CIS really does process these applications within six months. If applicants applying pursuant to this law receive the same kind of standard answer about delays in processing that everyone else receives from USCIS, this law might as well not exist.

It is interesting to note that this law sunsets in five years. Is Congress expecting the war to be over then?

Posted by Geri Kahn | Permalink | Email This Post

Posted In: Citizenship

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