F.A.Q.

The test is given to applicants who apply for US citizenship and is one of the statutory requirements for becoming a US citizen.

Over the last few years, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) changed from a 2008 version of the test when they created a newer version in 2020. Then USCIS changed back to the 2008 version of the test for any naturalization application. As of today’s writing, in June 2022, every person who filed a naturalization application on or after March 1, 2021, will take the 2008 version of the test.

The civics test has 100 possible questions. USCIS has the questions on its website in various languages. Our law firm also provides the questions and answers to our clients. To pass the test, candidates will be asked at most 10 questions. To pass the test, at least 6 of 10 questions must be answered correctly, which makes for a 60% minimum passing score.

A candidate must also be able to read and write basic English. A candidate must read out loud one of three basic English sentences correctly to demonstrate an ability to read in English. The candidate must also write one out of three sentences correctly to demonstrate the ability to write in basic English.

Candidates, who have been a permanent resident for at least 20 years and are 65 years old or older, will only have to study 20 questions. The passing rate is still 60%, but they will only have to answer 6 out of 10 questions correctly. The candidate must still be able to correctly read and write one out of three basic English sentences.

The test is given orally in English, unless a candidate is exempt from the basic English requirement. Candidates aged 50 or older at the time of filing the application, and who have lived as a permanent resident in the US for at least 20 years, may take the test in their native language. Candidates aged 55 or older at the time of filing the application, and who have lived as a permanent resident in the US for at least 15 years, may take the test in their native language.

If a candidate has a physical disability, developmental disability, or a mental impairment that interferes with the ability to learn basic English or to take the civics test, then a licensed physician or psychologist may complete a form to explain why the candidate is medically or psychologically unable to take the test. If the explanation is legally acceptable, then the candidate would be exempt from the English language requirement and/or taking the test. USCIS often rejects these explanations for not satisfying the legal requirements so it is important to involve a lawyer to help explain the medical or psychological reasons.

It depends in which USCIS field office district you reside. Over the last 20 years, we have seen USCIS processing times range from two months to over 2 years.

I am more familiar with the processing times for the USCIS Tampa field office. Before COVID-19 closed USCIS offices in March 2020, most cases were taking 5 to 9 months in Tampa. As of today’s writing, in June 2022, USCIS online processing time report has Tampa taking 14 months to complete naturalization application processing for most cases. In practice, the better range lately has been 8 to 18 months.

While most naturalization examinations might be scheduled 8 to 18 months after filing the application, there will be a wait time after the examination to take the oath of US citizenship. If the person were recommended for citizenship at the examination, then I would estimate most applicants will have taken the US citizenship oath and become a citizen within a few days to 3 months from the examination.

Keep in mind that for any USCIS field office to process the application, an applicant needs to have resided in the office’s jurisdiction for the three months preceding the date of filing. If the applicant resides in more than one jurisdiction or state, then USCIS will use the address the applicant has recently used on his or her annual federal income tax return, unless an exception exists.

Currently, the USCIS Tampa Field Office jurisdiction or service area is for applicants who reside in the following counties: Citrus; De Soto; Hardee; Hillsborough; Lee; Manatee; Pasco; Pinellas; Polk; and Sarasota. Check your address online with USCIS because not all zip codes in those counties are within the service area.

There are other Naturalization requirements besides a residential address so please consult with an experienced immigration lawyer before making the decision about applying on your own or using a lawyer’s services.

As a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), I thought I would share the following that AILA produced:

All people arriving at the U.S. border or a port of entry have basic rights, and lawful immigrants or lawful permanent residents (LPRs), also known as green card holders, enjoy greater rights than nonimmigrants when returning to the United States after travel abroad.

Like all international travelers, LPRs are subject to inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) when arriving at an airport, seaport, or land port of entry. As an LPR, CBP will screen you to determine whether you are a “returning resident” or an “arriving alien.”

If questions arise and CBP is unable to admit you quickly, you may be taken to a separate area for “secondary inspection.” A referral to secondary inspection by itself  does not mean anything bad, but you can expect to be detained or held anywhere from a few minutes to several hours or longer if an issue arises. During secondary inspection, CBP will ask you questions and may collect biographic and biometric data, run record checks, and determine whether you should be admitted to the United States.

If you are detained by CBP in secondary inspection, you have the following rights:

• You have the right to contact your consulate for assistance. The consulate can help you contact a lawyer or your family.
• If you have a lawyer, you should ask CBP for permission to contact your lawyer. Note, however, that CBP may tell you that you do not have the right to speak to an attorney.
• You have the right to review all written statements that are prepared for you, in a language that you can understand.
• If you do not agree with the contents of any papers that are presented to you, you may refuse to sign them.
• You do not have an absolute right of privacy that protects your mobile phone, computer, tablet, or other electronic devices. CBP may search your device and access your email and screen your social media activity during the inspection process. Your phone, laptop, or other digital device may be held and returned to you later.

If CBP determines that you are a “returning resident,” you should be processed quickly and admitted to the U.S. However, CBP will consider you an “arriving alien” if it determines that you:

• Have abandoned or gave up your LPR status;
• Have been absent from the U.S. for a continuous period of more than 180 days;
• Engaged in illegal activity after departing the U.S.;
• Departed the U.S. while in removal proceedings or extradition proceedings;
• Committed certain criminal offenses unless you were granted an immigration waiver; or
• Are attempting to enter without inspection.

Right to a Hearing Before an Immigration Judge. An LPR who is deemed to be an “arriving alien,” may be charged as removable from the United States. LPRs that are charged as removable have the right to a hearing before an immigration judge.

Abandonment of Residence/LPR Status. CBP may attempt to convince you that you abandoned your residence because of your absence from the United States and may urge you to sign a Form I-407, Record of Abandonment of Lawful Permanent Resident Status. However, it is important to know:

• You cannot lose your LPR status solely because of time spent abroad.
• An LPR remains an LPR unless the government proves abandonment by clear, unequivocal, and convincing evidence and an order of removal is issued by an immigration judge and becomes final.
• Form I-407 must be signed voluntarily. You may refuse to sign the form and there are no negative consequences if you refuse to sign it.

If CBP believes that you abandoned your U.S. residence and you refuse to sign a Form I-407, CBP must issue you a Notice to Appear (NTA) before an immigration judge who will determine if you have abandoned your U.S. residence. CBP cannot make this decision on its own.

If CBP believes that you abandoned your U.S. residence and you sign a Form I-407, you still have the right to request a hearing before an immigration judge. (We do not recommend ever signing Form I-407 unless you really want to give up permanent residency.)

If CBP takes your permanent resident card, you have the right to other evidence of your LPR status, such as a stamp in your passport.

Future Travel. To avoid delays at the ports of entry or legal issues in the future, you should consult with an immigration attorney prior to traveling if you:

• Have a criminal record (criminal convictions or a pending criminal charge).
• Have an application pending with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) or the Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR).

There is anything in your immigration history that was not disclosed during your immigration process or that might cause a government official to question you about the reason for your travel or about your immigration history.

Yes, the government can view your posts just like anyone else can if your privacy settings leave everything open to the public or friends, followers, etc. On May 31, 2019, the State Department, which issues visas through US embassies, began asking about an applicant’s social media names to view your accounts with Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, Instagram, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Pinterest, Reddit, Tinder, and more.

US Citizenship and Immigration Services is the agency granting immigration status or benefits (think of visa extensions, green cards, and US citizenship) when an applicant is inside the United States. This agency is now reviewing an applicant’s social media accounts.

I can understand why the government would want to look at posts because the information gleaned from the posts could lead to more security questions. However, many people joke or do other things on social media as if they were an actor in a movie so they do not expect to be taken seriously. Be warned! The US government might take you seriously when you think you are joking.

Form I-751 is used for removing the conditions of residency for people who obtained permanent residency through a marriage. This I-751 petition is required when the conditional resident was married for less than two years when he or she received permanent residency. The purpose is to catch marriage fraud.

Most conditional residents file a joint I-751 petition with the spouse that sponsored the conditional resident for permanent residency. Sometimes a conditional resident is not able to file the petition with the sponsoring spouse and in that case, submits Form I-751 with a request to waive the sponsoring spouse’s participation. It is possible to be interviewed when submitting a joint petition or a waiver request.

Over the four years before June 2022,  USCIS has changed its I-751 interview waiver policy a couple of times.  Since April 2022, most interviews are waived and a new green card eventually arrives by mail once the petition is approved. Generally, an interview can be waived if, the applicant meets the eligibility requirements, the record contains sufficient evidence of a legitimate marriage relationship, and there is no indication of fraud, misrepresentation, criminal activity, or other factors that may require an interview.

Even though your case might meet the above-listed criteria to waive an interview, USCIS does not have to waive the interview. No one can know for sure if you will be interviewed after submitting the I-751 petition.

Using a notary public (“notario publico” in Spanish) to advise you about immigration is illegal for the notary public and I believe a bad idea in general for you. Many foreign nationals get confused about the role of notaries in the USA because of the differences in our system of law.

In the United States, we use the Common Law system and most other countries use the Civil Law system. Without going into great detail of how both systems function, it is enough to know that Common Law began in the courts of England under the king and the Civil law system derived from Roman law. Both systems evolved differently.

Under Common Law, how lawyers and judges do their jobs is slightly different than how lawyers and judges do things under Civil Law. Under the Civil Law system, a Notary, Notario, or Notaire is a person with the same legal training as other lawyers and in some countries likely graduated near the top of the law school class.

A notary public in the United States, requires no legal training to become a Notary. In Florida, a notary public is appointed by the governor to take acknowledgments, administer oaths, attest to photocopies of certain documents, solemnize marriage, protest the non-acceptance or non-payment of negotiable instruments, and perform other duties. The training to become a Florida Notary Public is less than 4 hours of instruction to essentially be a public witness.

When notarizing documents, a Florida notary public is verifying the identity of the person signing the document or getting married. They have no legal studies or training.

A Notario or Notaire in a Civil Law country is a legally trained person who can legally draft or write private legal documents because they understand the law and are licensed. They are normally used in the areas of contracts, powers of attorney, business formation, family law, and estate planning. Their regulating governments also allow them to authenticate or certified certain documents on behalf of the government.

Many foreign nationals in the United States are taken advantage of by unscrupulous notaries public. Among some immigrant populations notary public fraud is rampant because the immigrants believe the notary is a legally trained person just like the notaries in their home country.

The unscrupulous notary public will often tell a person he or she can do the same thing as a lawyer and do it more cheaply. Advising a person about legal rights is the unlicensed practice of law if that advisor is not licensed to practice law. The unlicensed practice of law is illegal.

People often come to me after an unscrupulous notary public has taken their money and done nothing or have done things incorrectly. Sometimes nothing can be done to correct the mistakes. At other times, correcting the mistakes costs more than if a qualified immigration lawyer had been hired in the first place.

Asking a notary public, who is not a licensed lawyer, to help you with immigration matters is like asking a pastry chef (who is not a licensed surgeon) to safely remove your appendix.

There are consequences to the answers given on immigration forms and qualified immigration lawyers understand them. If you do not care about receiving immigration benefits or being deported, then hire the notary public or pastry chef to help you. If you want the best chance of success, then hire the appropriate professional. So, if I were you, I would not hire a notary public to help you with immigration forms.