A. The Disadvantages of Applying for Citizenship

• Library: Becoming a U.S. Citizen (Nolo) (2021 Ed.)

A. The Disadvantages of Applying for Citizenship

We'll start with the negative aspects of applying for and receiving naturalized U.S. citizenship—but not because they outweigh the positive aspects. We simply want you to fully appreciate the risks and possible pitfalls of applying for or receiving U.S. citizenship. These include:

• If you got your green card fraudulently or have since become removable, applying for citizenship could bring you to USCIS's attention and result in your deportation (removal from the U.S.). (See Section A1.)
• Your native country might not allow dual citizenship (see Section A2).
• Carrying a U.S. passport might be a security risk in some countries (see Section A3).
• You might not be allowed to serve your home country in times of conflict (see Section A4).

1. The Risk of Removal From the U.S.

If something happened in your past that makes you removable or deportable, you should not apply for U.S. citizenship—or, at the very least, you should talk to a lawyer before doing so. The citizenship process could uncover whatever it is you're hiding and send you directly into removal proceedings.

Perhaps your green card should never have been approved in the first place because you lied on the application, or maybe you've committed a crime that Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) hasn't noticed yet. Either way, applying for citizenship gives USCIS a chance to review your criminal record, if any, and your whole immigration history, from the time you entered the United States to the present. If something isn't quite right, you could find yourself fighting removal in Immigration Court.

In this section, we look separately at the two most common types of problems:

• a green card that shouldn't have been approved in the first place, and
• a green card that USCIS can take away because you've done something that violates its terms.

a. If Your Green Card Application Shouldn't Have Been Approved

USCIS would be the first to admit that it makes mistakes, sometimes approving people for green cards who were not eligible for them. You probably already know if you committed outright fraud—that is, lied or deliberately covered something up—on your green card application. Common types of fraud include faking a marriage for immigration purposes, hiding a criminal conviction in one's home country, and creating false documents.

However, you might also have unintentionally lied—for example, gotten a green card through a relative whose own green card had already been revoked (canceled or taken away), or turned 21 before you got a green card, not realizing that the category for "children" of permanent residents applied only while you remained younger than age 21.

EXAMPLE 1: Rodrigo got his green card through the farmworker amnesty program in the 1980s. In truth, he was a car mechanic, but he bought a letter from a farmer stating that he had picked strawberries during the required time period. During the citizenship interview, the USCIS officer asks Rodrigo how high he had to reach to pick the strawberries. Rodrigo answers, "Oh, no more than eight feet." The officer, knowing that strawberries don't grow on trees, takes a look at Rodrigo's old INS file. She notices that the employer who swore to Rodrigo's work was one whom USCIS believes to have made a lot of money selling fake letters. Rodrigo's citizenship application is denied, and he is placed in removal proceedings.
EXAMPLE 2: Leonora applied for a green card as the unmarried child of a U.S. permanent resident. She was on the waiting list for a number of years, during which time she fell in love and married her sweetheart. Finally, her green card came through. She didn't say anything about her marriage, and the U.S. consulate forgot to ask. However, had the marriage been revealed, her green card would have been denied, because the category she applied in was meant only for unmarried children. When Leonora applies for citizenship, she lists the date of her marriage. The USCIS officer notices that the marriage occurred before Leonora's green card was approved—in other words, Leonora was ineligible for her green card. Leonora faces removal proceedings.

If unsure about whether you really deserve your green card, see a lawyer. The lawyer can request a copy of your immigration file and analyze it for problems.

b. If You've Become Removable After Getting Your Green Card

U.S. laws contain a list of activities that can cause a green card holder to lose the right to live in the United States. Commit one of these activities and you become removable. If anything on the list below looks like...