Top
Become a U.S. immigration wiz with this hands-on and practical guide to U.S. citizenship
In U.S. Citizenship For Dummies, expert citizenship and ESL instructor Jennifer Gagliardi walks you through the ins and outs of the complicated process of obtaining citizenship in the United States. From preparing for test day to understanding the interview process and learning about recent changes to immigration laws, this book demystifies the legal process of transforming a foreign national into a citizen of the U.S.
In this book, you’ll get:
Whether you’re an immigrant-to-be who’s interested in becoming an American citizen, or you’re already a citizen but you want to bone up on U.S. history, government, and civics knowledge, U.S. Citizenship For Dummies is the perfect guide to the procedural and substantive knowledge you need to understand the American immigration system.
Jennifer Gagliardi been teaching ESL/Citizenship at Milpitas Adult School since 2002. In 2007, she launched US Citizenship Podcast (uscitizenpod.com), which distributes citizenship resources and immigration news. She regularly presents workshops on the intersection between citizenship and technology at national, state, and regional adult education conferences.
About This Book 2
Foolish Assumptions 3
Icons Used in This Book 3
Beyond the Book 4
Where to Go from Here 4
Part 1: Pursuing Immigration and Citizenship 5
Chapter 1: The Joys of Becoming a U.S Citizen 7
Determining Whether You Really Want to Become a U.S Citizen 7
What you lose 8
What you gain 8
Your rights and responsibilities as a U.S citizen 9
Mapping Your Way to America: Typical Ways People Immigrate to the U.S. 10
Reuniting with your family 12
Pursuing employment opportunities 13
Winning the visa lottery 16
Documenting Your Immigration Status 17
Just visiting 17
Here to stay 19
Joining the club: Naturalization 20
Making Sense of the Immigration Process 22
Doing the paperwork 22
Proving your identity 22
Being Interviewed by the USCIS 23
Interviewing for a green card 24
Obtaining U.S citizenship 26
Recognizing Permanent and Temporary Bars to Naturalization 27
Attending Your Swearing-In Ceremony 29
Receiving your Certificate of Naturalization 30
Chapter 2: Meeting the Officials Who Can Help You on Your Quest 33
Understanding the Goals of the U.S Immigration System 33
Identifying the Major Players and Their Roles in the Immigration System 34
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 35
U.S Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 37
U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 37
The Department of State 38
State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs 38
State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration 40
The Department of Labor (DOL) 41
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 41
Chapter 3: Finding Out about Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas 43
Just Visiting: Nonimmigrant Visas 44
Determining whether you need a visa 44
Discovering the common types of nonimmigrant visas 45
Changing or adjusting your nonimmigrant status 46
Gaining Permanent Resident Status (or a Green Card) 49
Understanding the family preference categories 49
Marrying your way to permanent residence 49
Using family connections 53
Identifying exceptions to the sponsorship requirements 55
Working for a Green Card 56
Making sense of employment preference categories 57
Discovering Other Ways to Qualify for Permanent Residence 63
Immigrating through asylum 63
Looking for safe refuge 64
Investing in the United States 65
Winning the green-card lottery 69
Waiting for a Visa 70
Chapter 4: Filling Out the Forms 71
Understanding the Process of Becoming a U.S Citizen 71
Step 1: Are you already a U.S citizen? 72
Step 2: Are you eligible to become a U.S citizen? 72
Step 3: Prepare your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization 72
Step 4: Submit your Form N-400 and pay your fees 73
Step 5: Go to your biometrics appointment, if applicable 74
Step 6: Complete the interview 75
Step 7: Receive a decision from USCIS on your Form N-400 75
Step 8: Receive a notice to take the Oath of Allegiance 76
Step 9: Take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States 76
Step 10: Understanding U.S citizenship 77
Using USCIS Tools and Forms 77
Your citizenship tool belt 78
Creating a USCIS online account 79
Applying for Citizenship: Form N-400 81
Some helpful info before you begin 81
N-400 Parts 1 to 11: Personal Information 82
N-400 Part 12: Additional Information 87
N-400 Parts 13–18: Signatures 88
Other Common Forms 90
Submitting Your Application 93
Organizing your files 96
After you file 96
Part 2: Doing the Interview, Getting Help, and Following the Rules 97
Chapter 5: Acing Your Naturalization Interview 99
Who Needs to Interview with the USCIS? 99
Age exemptions 100
Disability exemptions 101
Passing Your Naturalization Interview 101
Arriving prepared 102
Giving yourself the best chance for success 103
Practicing for the Big Three: Reading, writing, and speaking English 104
Getting ready for the interview 106
A typical citizenship interview 107
Studying for the civics test 110
Helping your family prepare for their interview 110
Communicating with the USCIS 112
Following Up: What Happens After the Interview 113
Taking the Oath of Allegiance 113
Taking care of a few more important tasks 115
Chapter 6: Keeping on Top of Changes in Immigration Law 117
Understanding the Post-9/11 Changes to the
Immigration System 118
Overhauling Immigration Laws in 1990 119
Understanding the Significance of the 1996 Immigration Law Changes 120
Getting tougher on crime 120
Updates to USCIS Form N-400, Application for Naturalization 121
Proving you won’t be a burden to the system 122
Protecting America’s borders 123
Recognizing Helpful Immigration Law Changes 123
Staying Abreast of Changes in Immigration Law 125
Chapter 7: Getting Help When You Need It 127
Recognizing When You Need Professional Help 127
Seeking Professional Help 129
Knowing the warning signs to watch out for 129
Consulting an immigration attorney 130
Reaching for a helping hand: Nonprofit immigration organizations 131
Taking advantage of free immigration help from the government 133
Taking citizenship test-prep classes 133
Chapter 8: Troubleshooting Immigration Glitches 135
Communicating with the USCIS 135
Registering changes 137
Changing appointments 138
Filing a complaint 138
Dealing with Rejection and Appealing USCIS Decisions 139
Naturalization rejections 139
Demonstrating Good Moral Character 141
Avoiding Removal 143
Understanding the reasons for removal 143
Appealing removal decisions 144
Part 3: Exploring U.S History, Government, and Culture 145
Chapter 9: U.S History in a Nutshell, Part I: Pre-U.S to World War I 147
Before We Were the United States 148
Native Americans 148
Migrating to the New World 148
Finding out about the American colonies 149
Recognizing the “lucky thirteen” 151
Forming a New Country 151
Understanding the events leading to the Revolutionary War 151
Resisting tyranny: The colonists unite and fight 152
Declaring independence from England 153
Establishing the new nation 154
Growing a nation 156
Warring after the Revolution 159
Expanding the Country’s Borders 160
Engaging in Civil War 163
Before the Civil War: Contributing factors and compromises 163
The strengths of the North and South 165
The war between the states 166
Reconstruction after the Civil War 167
Entering the Industrial Revolution 168
The importance of immigrants to a growing nation 168
The rise of labor unions 170
Chapter 10: U.S History in a Nutshell, Part II: World War I to the Present 173
The World War I Years 174
The causes behind World War I (The Great War) 174
U.S participation in the Great War 175
The Treaty of Versailles 176
Surviving the Great Depression 178
The World War II Years 180
Choosing sides: The Axis and the Allies 181
The United States under attack: Pearl Harbor 182
“Relocating” citizens: Japanese internment in World War II 183
Fighting Germany and Japan 184
The effects of World War II 186
The Cold War Years 186
Fighting communism: The Cold War between the world’s superpowers 187
Battling communism in Asia: The Korean War 187
The Vietnam War 188
The Civil Rights Movement 190
Understanding the U.S Today 192
Important recent historical events from the late 1960s to the 1990s 192
Trouble in the Middle East: The Gulf War 194
Historical events of the 21st Century 194
Chapter 11: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution 197
Announcing the Birth of a New Nation: The Declaration of Independence 198
Leading up to the Declaration: The colonists’ complaints 198
What the Declaration says 199
The Supreme Law of the Land: The Constitution 201
What the Constitution says 201
Constitutional articles 203
The Bill of Rights 204
Constitutional amendments 206
Chapter 12: Understanding the United States Federal Government 209
How the U.S Government Works 210
The Duties and Functions of the Executive Branch 211
The president 211
The vice president 211
The Cabinet and executive departments 212
Independent agencies 213
The Duties and Functions of the Legislative Branch 214
The United States Congress 215
Congressional leadership 215
How laws are passed 216
Congressional committees 217
Meeting your senators 217
Meeting your representatives 218
The Duties of the Judicial Branch 219
The federal court system 220
The ultimate constitutional authority: The Supreme Court 221
Chapter 13: Looking at State and Local Governments 223
Capitals and Capitols 224
State Governments 226
State government structure 227
The responsibilities of state governments 230
Citizens’ responsibilities to their states 231
State constitutions 231
Local Governments 232
Chapter 14: Celebrating U.S Holidays and Observances 235
Federal Holidays 235
New Year’s Day 236
Martin Luther King Jr Day 237
Presidents’ Day 237
Memorial Day 238
Juneteenth 238
Independence Day 238
Labor Day 239
Columbus Day / Indigenous Peoples’ Day 239
Veterans’ Day 239
Thanksgiving 240
Christmas 240
Ten More Important Civic Holidays 241
Inauguration Day 241
Census Day 241
Income Tax Day 241
Flag Day 242
Women’s Equality Day 242
State Admissions Day 242
9/11 242
Constitution and Citizenship Week 243
Election Day 243
Bill of Rights Day 243
Heritage Months 243
February: Black History Month 243
March: Women’s History Month 244
March: Irish-American Heritage Month 244
April: Arab American Heritage Month 244
May: Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month 244
May: Jewish American Heritage Month 244
June: Immigrant Heritage Month 245
June: LGBTQI+ Pride Month 245
June: Caribbean American Heritage Month 245
Mid-September to Mid-October: Hispanic Heritage Month 245
October: Filipino American History Month 246
October: German American Heritage Month 246
October: Italian American Heritage Month 246
November: Native American Heritage Month 246
Chapter 15: Emblems of America 247
The Flag: Old Glory 247
The symbolism and significance of the flag 247
Displaying the flag 248
Half-staff rules 250
Caring for the flag: Important etiquette 251
The Pledge of Allegiance 253
The National Anthem 254
Other American Anthems 255
America (My Country, ’Tis of Thee) 255
America the Beautiful 255
God Bless America 256
This Land Is Your Land 256
Lift Every Voice and Sing 256
Investigating American Icons 257
The Great Seal 257
The national bird 258
The national motto 259
American Monuments 259
The Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island 259
The Liberty Bell and the President’s House 260
The National Mall 261
Chapter 16: Civic Life 263
The Rights and Duties of Everyone Living in the United States 263
Participating in democracy 264
Volunteering 265
The Rights and Duties of U.S Citizens 266
Part 4: Practicing for the Citizenship Tests 269
Chapter 17: Preparing for the English Test 271
Building Your Vocabulary 271
Brushing Up on Your Reading and Writing 273
Working through USCIS Form N-400 274
Getting familiar with the N-400 275
Getting off to a good start 276
What, where, and when? 276
Part 12 Additional Information Subsections 277
Part 12 key words and common concepts 278
More Part 12 key words 280
Part 12:45-50: Attachment to the Constitution 281
Understanding Key Words in the Oath of Allegiance 283
Chapter 18: Preparing for the Civics, Reading, and Writing Tests 287
Keeping Current 287
Current events 288
National, state, and local governments 288
Quizzing Yourself on Civics 289
As easy as 1, 2, 3 289
Two quizzes about the three branches 291
The important Americans quiz 293
The citizen responsibilities quiz 295
Preparing for Your USCIS Interview: The 100 Questions! 296
Two quick questions before you begin 296
American Government 297
American History 304
Integrated Civics 307
The Reading and Writing Tests 310
Part 5: The Part of Tens 315
Chapter 19: Ten Tips to Help You Pass Your Naturalization Interview 317
Be On Time 317
Present Yourself Favorably 318
Listen Carefully 318
Answer the Right Questions 319
Know Your Application 319
Be Prepared 319
Know Your Stuff 320
Bring What You Need 320
Be Honest and Honorable 320
Treat Immigration Officers with Respect 321
Chapter 20: Ten Things That Can Hurt Your Naturalization Case 323
Perpetrating Fraud 324
Participating in Subversive Activities 324
Supporting Violence, Terror, and Participating in War Crimes 324
Committing a Crime 324
Doing Drugs 325
Behaving Poorly (Even If You’re Not Breaking a Law) 325
Unlawfully Staying in the United States 325
Failing to Register with the Selective Service (If You’re a Male) 326
Failing to Meet Deadlines 326
Abandoning Your Application 327
Chapter 21: Ten Important American Heroes 329
George Washington 329
Benjamin Franklin 330
Thomas Jefferson 331
James Madison 332
Alexander Hamilton 333
Abraham Lincoln 334
Susan B Anthony 335
Woodrow Wilson 338
Franklin Delano Roosevelt 338
Dwight David “Ike” Eisenhower 339
Martin Luther King, Jr. 340
Part 6: Appendixes 343
Appendix A: The Declaration of Independence 345
Appendix B: The United States Constitution 349
Appendix C: Document Checklist 363
Index 365
The New copy of this book will include any supplemental materials advertised. Please check the title of the book to determine if it should include any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
The Used, Rental and eBook copies of this book are not guaranteed to include any supplemental materials. Typically, only the book itself is included. This is true even if the title states it includes any access cards, study guides, lab manuals, CDs, etc.
Need Help? Copyright © 1999-2026
