So I’m a Legal Permanent Resident. I came here when I was 10 years old and I’m now in my mid 20’s. The only reason I’m not a full citizen is a combination of my parent’s not going through the process when I was kid for whatever reason, and some procrastination on my part.
Now my mom has been trying to scare the bejesus out of me by saying that people are being thrown out of the country if they are nto full citizens within a certian amount of time. I can’t beleive this to be true. If I were to be deported I’d be living on the streets of South America what with my poor spanish skills and the lack of close family down there.
Even though I don’t really believe this to be true I’ve decided to speak to my lawyer about restarting my citizenship process soon. In the meantime, does anyone know what my rights are?
My mom did tell me about a friend of a friend who was deported, though this was due to him having been convicted of a sex crime some ten years ago (the parents of his 17 year old girlfriend pressed charges - he was 20 at the time - some crime! :rolleyes: ).
So what are my rights? Can I be deported for no reason? Is there a reason I could be deported even though I essentially have no ties to my home country (seeing how I came here when I was a child)?
You cannot be deported by a court in the United States unless you have committed an immigration offense or broken a U.S. law. If you have maintained status and always had your LPR card, then you’re fine. Might I ask why you haven’t taken the citizenship exam?
Out of curiosity what level of law breakage are we talking here? I’ve never done anything worse other than get a speeding ticket, but would that be enough justification?
I did take my test! I passed with flying colors. I needed one more piece of paper work so I was supposed to come in in a week and get scheduled for my swearing in. Unfortunately, that week my father passed away. I wish I would have gotten that taken care of anyway, but I didn’t. Time went by, I tried contacting immigration and get an update/some info on what to do next, never recieved an answer. After that I was just being an incorregible procrastinator. I plan on tlaking to my lawyer and finally geting this thing taken care of though.
If I might slightly change the topic here, I’ve always been curious. I’m an American, but what if I were to get citizenship of some European Nation (or some other country on good terms with America eg. Visa Waiver program that lets you enter the country for 90 days). Would there really be anything that could prevent me from enjoying all the rights of a citizen? I’ve got the birth certificate, and I’ve got a social security card. I could get a new driver’s licesnse easily. When do they even ask for your passport inside the country anyway? I am asking this partly for my sake, but also for the fact that if you are, for example from a South American country, you could just go to Mexico and then fly to the US with a birth certificate and social security card, right? Social Security seems to be good for life.
I’m not sure I understand the question. Are you talking about revoking your current citizenship after obtaining a foreign citizenship? I don’t believe taking up foreign citizenship means you lose your US citizenship, so nothing would change.
If you revoked your US citizenship I guess you’d be like any other foreign national, but having the birth certificate probably makes it easier to get in (even though technically it wouldn’t be allowed).
Social security and the drivers licence are no big deal. I have both, and I’m not even a permanent residence … I’m only here on a work visa.