Once you become a U.S. citizen, you have access to additional benefits and services. But there are still some actions you’ll need to take in order to take advantage of your new status. Show Sure, you can wait until you need them. But often these benefits and services take time to obtain. It’s smart to take care of them immediately after becoming a U.S. citizen, before you forget or lose important paperwork. Once you have your Certificate of Naturalization, consider taking action on these four items:
Your new status as a U.S. citizen gives you the ability to petition certain family members (in priority categories) as permanent residents (green card holders). If you have a foreign national family member who wants to immigrate to the United States, you may be able to help. A U.S. citizen may petition to the following relationships:
Even if you already have a pending petition, updating your status after becoming a U.S. citizen can put your relative in a higher priority category. It enables you to upgrade an I-130 petition after naturalization. There is always an immigrant visa available to the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens. For family-preference categories, there is a numerical limit placed on immigrant visas issued each year. Therefore, it makes sense to file the petition as soon as possible. These immigrant visas are provided based on the priority date of the filed petition. RECOMMENDED: Family-Based Immigration Overview Replacing a Lost Naturalization CertificateIf your Certificate of Naturalization was lost or stolen, you can replace it by filing Form N-565, Application for Replacement Naturalization/Citizenship Document. The need to replace a certificate that was lost, stolen or destroyed is fairly straightforward. However, you will need to provide some corroborating evidence. When filing Form N-565 on the basis of a loss, you should submit evidence of the loss. USCIS wants to know what happened and get some corroborating evidence. Generally, the applicant must submit a police report and a sworn statement. The Certificate of Naturalization replacement process generally requests that you provide details such as certificate number, date of issuance and place of issuance. If you do not know this information because the document is no longer in your possession, CitizenPath’s software will guide you through these questions. CitizenPath provides simple, affordable, step-by-step guidance through USCIS immigration applications. Individuals, attorneys and non-profits use the service on desktop or mobile device to prepare immigration forms accurately, avoiding costly delays. CitizenPath allows users to try the service for free and provides a 100% money-back guarantee that USCIS will approve the application or petition. We provide support for the Certificate of Naturalization Replacement Process (N-565), the Citizenship Application (Form N-400), and several other immigration services. |