Wondering if you should go to your USCIS citizenship interview with an attorney or on your own?
Naturalization interviews can be done without an attorney in many instances. But there are some strong reasons why you may want to have an attorney with you:
Since becoming a green card holder, have you:
- Been convicted or arrested for a crime, even if only a misdemeanor? Certain convictions, even misdemeanors, can trigger deportation proceedings. And often USCIS would not know about your crime unless you got your fingerprints processed as part of the naturalization case. Be careful to expose yourself until you know if what ever you settled for to avoid jail time, for example, won’t come back to haunt you if you apply for naturalization.
- Traveled outside of the U.S. for long periods of time since becoming a green card holder? This may trigger potential conclusion that you have abandoned your permanent residency status, even if CBP always let you back in after your travel abroad/
- Avoided the draft. You were in the U.S. between the ages of 18-26 and never registered for selective service (the draft), even if you were undocumented at the time!
- Divorced your spouse? (marriage that you got your green card through ended shortly after you obtained your green card or after you removed the conditions on your green card), or you only lived with your spouse a short time.
- You’ve had back taxes owed or failed to file a tax return in the past, even if you are all caught up now.
- Failed to pay child support, even if there was no court order;
- Claimed to be a US citizen to get a job, even before you got your green card.
- Developed a medical condition that makes it difficult for you to remember things?
These are just some of the red flags that filing for naturalization can raise and why an experienced immigration attorney could make a big difference at your interview. CIS officers have 120 days by law to make a decision on your case once you interview or they are subject to lawsuit so expect them to make decisions shortly after your interview or at the interview itself, so the better you are prepared to counteract any red flag with an attorney being present at your interview, the better.
And remember, there are other reasons why an attorney at your interview is a good idea:
- Officers can be wrong on the law, issue a denial, or convince you to withdraw your case all based on misapplication of the law. The odds of this happening are more likely without a competent attorney to clear up legal issues and clarify the law for these often newer officers.
- Officers can ask for too much documentation and focus on irrelevant or overly personal issues that aren’t required for approval.
- Officers can be hard to understand and you may say something based on this confusion when you are already nervous and anxious and screw up your own case. Having an attorney present means having someone in your corner who can clarify and get direction for you so you don’t sabotage your own case (spouses and friends are not allowed in the interview setting, only your attorney is) and can pull in a supervisor if the interview goes awry or the interview is hard to work with or understand.
Book now to evaluate your case with us and to reserve an Immigration Attorney to be by your side and represent you for your naturalization interview at the CIS Field office.
