The list of immigration forms can seem endless, and there are a slew of different forms for every situation under the sun. While it’s impossible to go over every single one, these 3 tips will help you understand some of the basics. That way, you can get your immigration ball rolling!
1. Your citizenship application is a multi-step process
As nice as it would be to just fill out a couple of immigration forms and become a U.S. citizen, it’s not quite that easy. Instead, going through the full citizenship application process takes time — years, in fact — but the rewards are well worth it!
What can you expect?
You’ll have to start your U.S. immigration process by getting a Green Card. Then, once you’ve had your Green Card for five years (or three years, if you are married to a U.S. citizen), you can apply to become an official citizen.
From there, you’ll have additional immigration forms to fill out — along with a test you have to take and an interview you have to complete.
Once you get through it all, though, you’ll be able to vote, collect benefits like Social Security and Medicare, become a federal employee, and even run for office!
2. Renewing your passport is pretty easy
If it felt like you had to fill out about a million immigration forms in order to get a passport in the first place, you’ll be happy to know that it’s relatively easy to renew your passport — as long as you meet a couple of conditions.
If it has been less than 15 years since you last got a passport (and you were at least 16 years-old when you did it), your passport is undamaged, and you have all of the documentation to show that any name changes were done legally (like, for example, if you got married), you can renew your passport by mail. As an added benefit, your local passport office will only require you to fill out one form!
3. The wrong immigration forms can turn into a nightmare
Even though they come with confusing names, numbers, and letters, you’ve got to figure out the difference between all of your necessary immigration forms — and fast. Since most of them come with strict deadlines, the last thing you want to do is make a mistake. If you do, you may have to start the U.S. immigration process over from scratch. That may mean putting your citizenship dreams on hold!
Need more help? That’s what the American Immigration Center, Inc.was created for!
