Republicans were put under pressure in the United States to fund the Department of Homeland Security, as the Democrats stated that they would not negotiate on any measure that sought to block U S immigration policies.
One of the Senate Minority leaders stated that if they sent a bill over with all the riders in it then they would have effectively shut down the government, and if they wanted to debate over immigration policies when everything else was over the Senate Minority leaders would be happy to do so. Funding measures would have expired after Friday for the Homeland Security agency as the Senate was already moving ahead on a plan to finance the Department. One of the majority leaders said that he would work towards getting the bill to the House by the end of the week.
It was reported that Republicans in the House had refused to consider a spending bill unless it also blocked President Obama’s orders on immigration in November. The Senate also planned to address issues on immigration in a separate bill.
There have been reports that Americans were becoming increasingly skeptical and nervous about terrorist activities in the country – just the other day 3 residents in New York city were charged with trying to support the Islamic state, or ISIL. People were asking as to why the country was not equipped with the ability to protect itself when terrorists had a lot of arms as well as money, some Senate members stated.
Here is a quick, step by step process in the journey to an immigrant’s becoming an American Citizen!
Becoming an American Citizen involves certain steps – establishing identity, filing, fingerprinting, attending an interview, passing English and US Civics tests and attending an oath ceremony.
STEP 1 – FIND OUT YOUR ELIGIBILITY!
The first step is to pave your way towards the US green card, or what could be called lawful permanent residence. There are very few exceptions to this – you must first obtain a green card before you can apply for citizenship. So if you do not have a green card and you wish to apply for citizenship you should first obtain a green card.
STEP 2 – OVERCOME INELIGIBILITY IF ANY
It might so happen that you are not just eligible to turn citizen just now. Maybe you are unable to establish good moral character, due to the fact that you committed a minor crime. Or maybe you did not stay continuously in the country so as to establish residence. So you might have to take stronger steps just to prove your citizenship. Consult an immigration lawyer for better guidance.
STEP 3 – FILING USCIS FORM N-400
Once your eligibility is established you will need to file some paperwork with the USCIS. The N-400 is the form to be filled up. This is the application for naturalization. You are required to pay some fees for naturalization plus a biometrics fee. You are also required to attach a copy of your green card along with the Form N-400.
Watch out for the 2nd part of this post for the final steps of the citizenship process!
There are certain rules and regulations as stipulated by USCIS, United States Citizenship and Immigration Services for submitting the I-693 form for onward processing of the applicant’s green card or immigration-based visa.
A newer form I-693 is now available and this should be strictly used for submitting the results of the Immigration Medical that is conducted by the USCIS. A USCIS-approved Civil Surgeon can only conduct the Immigration Medical; the older form that was prevalent before the year 2012 no longer stands valid and will be rejected.
Another point to remember while signing up for the testing is that the Examination should stand valid for at least a certain period. Applicants should therefore, try to take up the Medical as close as possible to the time they file for status adjustment or go in for an interview with the immigration authorities.
The applicant should also keep some leeway of time for conducting laboratory testing or additional testing that is sometimes required as per the Technical Instructions stipulated by CDC from time to time.
To get more information about the form I-693 and the Immigration Medical the applicant should visit the USCIS website and read up on the Examination requirements. Applicants can also find more information about the exam and other necessary requirements on the Civil Surgeon page on the website.
A group of key organizations that ranged from Latinos, law-based and faith-based groups have written to President Obama stating that the coalition was requesting him to bring a close to immigrant-based family detention.
To quote the letter, which begins like this, “In light of recent developments and ongoing negotiations in litigation on the detention of immigrant families, we, the undersigned 188 immigrants’ rights, faith-based, civil rights, human rights, survivors’ rights, and criminal justice reform organizations, international educators, and legal service providers, urge your administration to end the practice of family detention”.
The family detention centers currently present in the country and which were built last year have been acknowledged by the organizations in the letter; the fact was also given due emphasis that though protection was being sought by these detained families in the US they were being made to go through “traumatic situations”, and this was largely applicable to the children, it was stated.
The letter also mentioned the effect on mental health that the detention was having on families, especially when the detention was for a long stretch of time. The letter appealed to the President to stop the family – based detention centers immediately to mitigate the problems arising out of such “inhuman” detention.
