Part of the process of becoming a naturalized United States citizen is demonstrating knowledge of your new country’s history and government. During your interview, you will be asked up to 10 questions from a list of 100, and must get six correct to pass. Applicants 65 years old and up who have been living as a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years follow a “20 for 20″ rule: They are only required to study 20 of the 100 civics test questions, with a minimum of six correct required to pass. We’ll mark these with bold type. More information can be found in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services booklet M-638 (revised 12/09), called  ”Learn About the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test.”

SECTION A: Principles of American Democracy (continued)

Q7. How many amendments does the Constitution have?

Answer:  27 (twenty-seven)

The first ten amendments are called the Bill of Rights, and were added to the Constitution in 1791. We discussed them in an earlier post, “Becoming a U.S. Citizen: 10 Minute Civics Lessons (Part 2)”.  Over the years, 17 more have been put into law, bringing the total to 27. The most recent one, the 27th Amendment, was added in 1992. This Amendment outlines how members of the Senate and the U.S. House of Representatives — the Congress — are paid. It states they can’t get a pay raise or a pay cut during their current terms of office; those changes can only go into effect at the beginning of a term. Senators serve for six years and Representative serve two-year terms.  It is very interesting to point out the Framers of the Constitution — the leaders who wrote it — first discussed the issue of how they should be paid back in 1789, and it wasn’t until 202 years later that it went into effect!

Q8.  What did the Declaration of Independence do?

Answer:  It announced independence from Great Britain, it declared independence from Great Britain and make the bold statement that the United States was free from Great Britain.

The Declaration of Independence broke the ties with Great Britain and the King, stating that all people have equal rights, and they are created equal. It states people have inalienable rights that no government or monarch can take away. Human beings are born with the right to life, “liberty and the pursuit of happiness,” wrote Thomas Jefferson, the author of the Declaration of Independence.  Jefferson, with help from Benjamin Franklin and John Adams, wrote the 13 American Colonies should break away from Great Britain, the government that sent Pilgrims to North America to settle and establish a British presence on the continent, because its king, George III, did not respect these basic rights of the colonists. Jefferson believed in a concept called consent of the governed, where the people themselves create their government, and only agree to follow the laws it makes if they are fair and respect the people’s rights. In the Declaration, Jefferson wrote out a list of complaints against King George and made the argument the 13 Colonies should become free and independent states. A special meeting of representatives from the colonies, called the Second Continental Congress, meeting in Philadelphia, voted to accept the Declaration of Independence on July 4, 1776. Americans celebrate this day as Independence Day, the greatest of all American holidays.

Part of the process of becoming a naturalized United States citizen is demonstrating knowledge of your new country’s history and government. During your interview, you will be asked up to 10 questions from a list of 100, and must get six correct to pass. Applicants 65 years old and up who have been living as a lawful permanent resident for at least 20 years follow a “20 for 20″ rule: They are only required to study 20 of the 100 civics test questions, with a minimum of six correct required to pass. We’ll mark these with bold text. More information can be found in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services booklet M-638 (revised 12/09), called  ”Learn About the United States: Quick Civics Lessons for the Naturalization Test.”

SECTION A: Principles of American Democracy

Q1. “What is the supreme law of the land?”

Answer:  The Constitution.

The U.S. Constitution was written by the Founding Fathers (including Benjamin Franklin, George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay) in 1787, establishing the basic principles of the U.S. government. It establishes a system called “representative democracy,” or a “government for the people and by the people.”  Citizens vote to elect their representatives who make laws, and the president to lead the country.  The Constitution lists fundamental rights of the country’s people in its “Bill of Rights.”

Q2.  ”What does the Constitution do?”

Answer:  Three things: It sets up the government, defines the government and protects the basic rights of Americans.

The Constitution sets up a federal government, where power is divided between the 50 states and the national government.  The Founding Fathers who wrote the Constitution, also called the “Framers” separated the government into three branches: Executive, Legislative and Judicial. The Constitution has had changes made and things added to it over the years, known as amendments. The first 10 amendments to the Constitution make up the Bill of Rights. Some import amendments include the 13th Amendment, abolishing slavery, the 19th Amendment, giving women the right to vote, and the 24th Amendment, which abolished the poll tax and gave blacks the right to vote.

Q3.  ”The idea of self-government is in the first three words of the Constitution. What are these words?”

Answer:  ”We the People.”

The introduction, or preamble of the Constitution begins, “We the people of the United States, in order to form a more perfect Union…”  This ensures the people of the United States set up the government, and the government gets its power from the people who elect it. The people have the highest power in the land, a principle called popular sovereignty.

Q4. “What is an amendment?”

Answer:  An amendment is a change to, or adding something to, the Constitution. The Framers had the foresight to know that as the country grew, new laws would be needed to protect and maintain American society. Since the Constitution is the supreme law of the land, they didn’t want it to lose its meaning by making it too easy to change. They established only two ways an amendment could be accepted, both requiring a two-thirds majority.  First, by a two-thirds vote in the United States House of Representatives and the United States Senate; or second, by a special convention, called by two-thirds of the 50 states. After an amendment passes Congress (the House and Senate), it has to be approved, or ratified, by the lawmakers in three-fourths of the states. An amendment can also be ratified by a special convention in three-fourths of the states. Amendments are not automatic. Six times in U.S. history, amendments have passed in Congress, only to fail because they were not approved by three-fourths of the states.

America. The Land of Opportunity. A country built by immigrants.

According the United States Census Bureau, since 2006, this country has welcomed more settlers than all the other countries of the world — combined.

On October 3, 1965, President Lyndon B. Johnson stood at the base of the Statue of Liberty and signed the Immigration Act of 1965, “correct[ing] a cruel and enduring wrong in the conduct of the American nation.” With a stroke of his pen, American policy was changed. Quotas limiting the number of immigrants per country and region of the world were lifted, allowing the law to better heed Lady Liberty’s call to “give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free.”

Between 1970 and 2007, Census Bureau figures show, the number of first generation immigrants in the U.S. increased four times, rising from 9.6 million to 38 million. The year 2008 welcomed nearly 1.1 million new naturalized U.S. citizens. Most of them came from Mexico, India and the Philippines.

As of October 1, 2010, the population of the United States was 310,383,695.

So, how does one join the ranks of the millions of people from around the world that legally settle in the United States each year? Basically, the answer is three-fold: through citizenship, through permanent resident status (“Green Card”) and for humanitarian reasons (refugees and people seeking asylum). One can only become a U.S. citizen by birth or through naturalization.

Naturalization is a process for people born outside the United States. It requires paperwork, money, an oath of allegiance, and a crash course in U.S. history and government.  All the requirements and procedures are outlined in the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) document M-476, “A Guide to Naturalization,” which can be found on the agency’s web site, www.uscis.gov or by calling 1-800-375-5283.

The journey begins with completion of the Form N-400, “Application for Naturalization.”

Photographs and fingerprints are taken to complete the application, and an interview with a USCIS agent is scheduled. There is a fee of $595 for the application and an $80 “biometric services fee” for fingerprints, totaling $675, payable by check or money order to the Department of Homeland Security.

When a person is naturalized, they accept all the responsibilities of citizenship. They pledge allegiance to the United States, agree to support the Constitution and to uphold its laws. The pledge, or “Oath of Allegiance,” promises you:

•  Give up all prior allegiance to any other nation

•  Swear allegiance to the United States

•  Support and defend the Constitution and laws of the United States

•  Serve the country when required

The other main requirements to become naturalized are the ability to speak, read and write in basic English, and demonstrate a knowledge of the fundamentals of American history and how the government works. Newly naturalized citizens register to vote and are encouraged to become actively involved in their new community.

We’ll examine the naturalization process in greater detail in upcoming posts.

You may want to immigrate to the land of opportunities and dreams, but you’re unsure of the requirements. It depends on what you want. If you simply want to see if you like it, you can get a visa. If you want to legally live here for an extended time to take advantage of opportunities and eventually citizenship, you need a green card. If you have a green card and want to be a U.S. Citizen, or if you want to both marry a citizen and earn your own citizenship, that’s called naturalization.

In fact, naturalization is a simple process. With the guidance of an experienced U.S immigration lawyer, you can successfully apply. While it’s not difficult if you’ve been living here for some time and have a green card – over 1 million people were naturalized in 2009 – there are some things to know.

You need to take a naturalization test. What, you may be asking, is that? What if you fail the test? What if your family member is going to take the test? And are there times when you don’t have to take it?

One requirement for U.S. Citizenship is to take some short tests in order to prove you understand the English language and its history. You first fill out a Form N-400, which is an application for naturalization, and get your fingerprints taken at a USCIS facility. You will then scheduled for an interview. At this interview, you will take an English and civics test; by civics, we mean American history.

The Tests
This test given by the USCIS officer is not very difficult, but can pose problems if you lack an American education. If you were born in another country, are fairly new to the English language, and don’t completely grasp U.S. History, you may want to do your homework for some time before taking this test to avoid failing. You an take it more than once, and there are many online resources which can help with the questions.

The test will rate your ability to read, write, and speak English, along with finding out your knowledge of civics (U.S. History).  You must be able to read out loud one sentence out of three in English, you must be able to write one out of three English sentences, and you’re required to take an actual test involving 10 questions on civics where you need to get six of them correct.

If You Fail
If you fail, you will have to take the test again. This is not the last chance for U.S. Citizenship. You can take it again.

Can you get help?
Research is your friend, and so is time. You should study the English language and practice it as much as possible. You should try and understand how the U.S. Government works. You can do these both with ease just about anywhere in the world, especially if you have internet access.

When You Pass
You will be one of many naturalized U.S. Citizens. You will be able to vote, pay taxes and therefore be eligible for Social Security benefits, and have the opportunity to sponsor other family members and loved ones for naturalization.

How do you become a U.S. citizen? Typically,  you get a green card (also known as permanent residency status), and apply. However, there are eligibility requirements. If you’ve been a lawful permanent resident for 5 years, not spending any extended times out of the U.S., that’s the first requirement. You may also be sponsored if you’re going to marry a U.S. citizen. If you’re unsure of where you stand, you may want to hire an experienced immigration attorney; he or she can make it clear on if you’re eligible, how to file, and give tips along the way.

Becoming a U.S. citizen means you’ve been naturalized. You may be wondering what the difference is between a permanent resident and a U.S. citizen. Actually, that coincides with the benefits of naturalization. Let’s go over them.

You Can Vote
Voting  may seem minor, and if it is maybe you never considered voting a big deal. Well, in the U.S., it’s what makes us different than many countries. Being able to vote means you have a say in how the government operates. Being able to vote means you can question those elected. And that senators, representatives, governors, and the president are in fact chosen by you, and those around you. It’s a blessing, and one big benefit of living here.

You Have More Rights
You typically have more rights living in the U.S. than most other countries. You can sue, even the government in some cases, and you can of course vote. You can also appeal for help in case you run into trouble. You can do this as a permanent resident too; it’s a benefit for both.

You Can Sponsor Family and Loved Ones
If you have family or a spouse who are not in the U.S. or are staying here with a green card, you can sponsor them for naturalization so they can have all the rights you have. If you’re about to get married to someone who is not a U.S. citizen, legally they can be made citizens as well.

You Get to Live  Here Permanently
Once you are naturalized, you need not worry about reapplying for a green card or having trouble reentering the U.S. ever again. You are now a U.S. citizen, need not ever reapply, and can travel as much as you want.

Jobs
Let’s face it — the jobs in many countries barely pay above the poverty line. It would be wrong to say you will always find better jobs in the  U.S., but there are rules in place for proper compensation, you can get work benefits, you can study for lucrative careers, and you have more options for jobs than  most other countries do.

Taxes and Benefits
It may sound odd that paying taxes is a benefit, but it is. By paying taxes, you pay on social security. By paying on social security, you are then offered the same benefits all naturalized citizens get. When you reach retirement age, you can get benefits. If you’re ever unable to work because of a disability, you also have a legal right to help.

As you can see, the benefits of naturalization are many. There are more. Contact a professional immigration attorney to find out about them.

Getting a green card may seem like a dream to many immigrants wanting to live in the land of opportunity, but being naturalized, becoming a U.S. citizen, is truly where all the opportunities are.

Why become a U.S. citizen? There are more jobs and opportunities for people of all skills. Children have more opportunity for higher education. By paying taxes you become eligible for benefits when you retire. And even better, the best jobs in the world are in the U.S., and you must be a citizen to get the majority of them. It’s really no secret, with about 1 million immigrants coming into the country every year.

What do you need to do to be eligible for U.S. citizenship?
There are many requirements you can get by talking with a lawyer, but the basic ones are pretty simple. -You have lived in the U.S. legally for at least five years
-You have been present for at least half of those last five years
-You’ve been a resident of the state or district your filing in for at least three months
-You have not spent more than a year outside the U.S.
-Your primary home is in the U.S.
-You are 18 or older
-You can speak, read, and write in the English language
-You can swear you believe in the U.S. and will be loyal to this country
-You can pass a test on U.S. history and government
-You have good moral character

That may sound like a lot, and it is. The laws can be complex.

What if one of these immigration laws do not apply to you?
Some, such as being a permanent resident for five years, are written in stone. Others you can improve upon, such as how you handle tests on U.S. history and government, as well as mastering the English language.

How do you pass all these and successfully earn U.S. citizenship?
Hiring an immigration  lawyer has immense benefits if you want to be naturalized as a U.S citizen. A good immigration lawyer can walk you through all the documents you have to fill out, all the questions you have to answer, and all fees you have to pay. Becoming a U.S. citizen is a life changing event for many, and can be for you too.

How to Hire an Immigration Lawyer
If you’re interested in hiring an immigration lawyer, you must find one who can help with everything. By reading this blog, you are showing an interest in immigration law. Take that interest to hiring experts on immigration law. Ask for references from people you know with legal experience. Query several immigration lawyers and ask them how they can help. Also be sure to ask their workload, fees, and how much experience they have.

Becoming a U.S. Citizen
Naturalization happens to thousands every year, and most are a direct result of an understanding of immigration law. Now that you know you need an expert, start searching for the right immigration lawyer in your area.

Getting a green card, maintaining it, and then earning citizenship is the dream of many immigrants. If you’ve wanted to live in the land of opportunity all your life, you might be willing to take illegal actions to do so. With the recent flush of fake visas and phony marriages, the United States government  is cracking down. This post focuses on the dangers of fake marriages: what they are, the penalties, and what you should do instead.

What is a “Fake” Marriage?
First, a fake marriage hurts you more than it helps you. It’s not valid if you want to immigrate to the United States from any country. But the secret is, you don’t get caught with your fake marriage, right? You should consider the chances of being deported and never having a chance to become a permanent resident if not a citizen of the U.S.

The fake marriage, or sham marriage, is a loophole in immigration laws. You marry someone not because of love or family choice, but because you want to use the loophole to become a permanent resident of the U.S.  The law makes it clear you can immigrate if you are married to a U.S. citizen, and that any children you have will then be U.S. citizens. You might even be able to become a U.S. citizen yourself. However, if you use loopholes to get through the system instead of doing it properly, you’re breaking the law and could lose an opportunity

Penalties for Marriage Fraud
The maximum penalty for marriage fraud  is 5 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Marriage fraud used to be more common, but the U.S. government has taken a much greater interest in marriage fraud in recent years. That means, years ago you might have been able to get away with it, but now you have to truly prove you are in love with your spouse.

How Your Caught for Breaking Immigration Laws
The USCIS is hard to fool. You might think it will be easy: you say you’re in love, they say they’re in love, you get married, and you move on. However, the USCIS is taking an active interest, using technology to catch marriage fraud early and often. They can not only look into your past life, but do so with everything from previous addresses, where you worked, and anything else in the public record. The USCIS has also been known to do field investigations. This is how serious they take marriage fraud; they are willing to do field work on just you.

What to do Instead of Marriage Fraud
While honestly applying for permanent residency and citizenship is a tough process, it’s far better than choosing to break U.S. immigration laws. Instead of no chance, you have a reasonable chance to live in the U.S. You can visit here legally. You have a number of options beyond marriage to get into the U.S. and earn a green card, maybe even citizenship. Students and skilled workers, for example, have the opportunity to stay here for extended periods and get green card.

If you have any questions on how to legally get permanent residency in the United States, call an immigration lawyer today.

The cost of illegal immigration in Texas is something that may be of interest to you. It will be of great interest and importance to you if you live in Texas.

Illegal immigration is something many Americans are concerned about. They wonder if there is an answer to the problem of immigration. They wonder if anything can be done about illegal immigration.

What is illegal immigration? How do you define it?

Illegal immigration to the United States refers to the act of aliens or foreign nationals violating United States immigration national laws and policies by immigrating to the United States without proper consent from the United States government. An illegal immigrant is a person who is in the United States without doing so in accordance with United States immigration laws.

If you have any doubt as to how big an issue illegal immigration is, think about this. There were an estimated 3 million illegal immigrants in the United States in 1980. By 2005, the number had risen to over 11 million. Today, there are probably more than 12 million illegal immigrants in the United States.

Where do these people come from? Who are they?

Over 55% of the illegal immigrants are estimated to come from Mexico. When you realize that the state of Texas borders the country of Mexico, you begin to understand how important as issue illegal immigration is to most Texans.

There are several problems that are caused by illegal immigration. Some of these are security issues, over population, racial violence and increased crime rate.

One of the largest problems caused by illegal immigration is what it costs the American taxpayer. In Texas, the cost of illegal immigration is staggering and mind boggling.

The illegal immigrant population in Texas is costing more than $4.7 billion a year for medical care, incarceration and education. This is based on an analysis of the latest census data for the state of Texas. The estimated tax contributions of illegal immigrant workers are around $1 billion. This still leaves the cost of illegal immigration in Texas to be around $3.7 billion a year. This amounts to a cost of around $725 a year for each Texas household of a native-born resident.

The costs to the state of Texas for education, medical care and incarceration that comes as a result of illegal immigration are what are specifically looked at in this analysis. The largest cost areas to Texas are these three things. They are the same three things that were analyzed in a study by the Urban Institute in 1994. This study gives a baseline for comparison ten years later. The conclusions of this report have been supported by other studies done during the interim.

These are not the only costs of illegal immigration in Texas. There are other costs associated with this problem. For example, there is the cost in time and manpower at trying to stop illegal immigration.

There are other costs of illegal immigration in Texas that should also be taken into account by state and federal officials. Even without considering the other significant costs of illegal immigration in Texas, the costs in these three areas are large and rapidly increasing.

This high annual cost of illegal immigration is seen primarily in these three areas. They are:

• Education – Texans spend more than $4billion every year on education for illegal immigrant children and their United States born brothers and sisters. This figure is based on estimates of the documented costs of K through 12 schooling and the illegal immigrant population in Texas. Illegal aliens make up about 11.9 percent of the K through 12 public school students in Texas.
• Health Care – Health care that is given to Texas’s illegal alien population amounts to around $520 million per year. This is Texas taxpayer-funded medical health care that is being provided.
• Incarceration – The uncompensated cost of incarcerating illegal aliens in the county and state prisons is around $150 million a year. This figure does not take in to account related law enforcement costs, judicial expenditures, local jail costs or the monetary costs of the crimes that led to incarceration.

As mentioned earlier, tax contributions of illegal immigrant workers offset these costs to some extent. However, they do not come close to matching the expenses of illegal immigration in Texas.

The cost of illegal immigration in Texas is far greater than most Texans would imagine. It is even more frightening to think that this cost is growing rapidly. With this in mind, can anything be done about illegal immigration? Can it be stopped, or at least greatly slowed down?

The primary responsibility for fighting illegal immigration belongs to the federal government. It remains to be seen what steps and measures the United States government will take in trying to stop and deal with illegal immigration.

There are also measures and steps that Texas can take to deal with the problem. For example, the state could attempt to systematically collect information on illegal alien use of taxpayer-funded services. The state could also get information on where illegal aliens are employed. Employers could then be held financially accountable.

You or a relative may be in the state of Texas illegally. You may be living in fear of being caught by the authorities and facing deportation, fines and jail time. It is not your desire to remain here illegally. You want to be here legally. You want this state to be your home, but you need help. You may need the help of a legal professional.

A good immigration attorney may be able to help you or your relative stay in the United States legally. He or she may be able to help you or your relative get a green card. (link to page Green Card)

Immigration law is what an immigration attorney specializes in. They specialize in cases and issues involving immigration, obtaining green cards, naturalization and citizenship. They keep up with the updates and changes to immigration law.