Why wouldn't you file for citizenship?

[SalishSea 16,827]

1 hour ago, Stein said:

I didn't want to call out anyone specifically but a couple of responses said they didn't want to, not that they couldn't.  That is what made me think about it.

I guess it just isn’t a huge priority, being from NZ.   NZ is tied with the US in the 2023 passport rankings.

 

Advantages would be voting and not having to renew every ten years.  I’m sure husband will do it soon- it’s a line item on our weekend task list, along with painting interior trim and completing the insurance paperwork on our travel trailer that was pierced by a fir limb in a windstorm.

[SalishSea 16,827]

55 minutes ago, usmsbow said:

Yes, that's why my wife was thinking of passing on citizenship. Indonesia doesn't allow dual citizenship for adults, and only citizens can only own property there. She ultimately decided the benefits from becoming a US citizen outweighed any upside to remaining an Indonesian citizen.

 

Another reason is if one has family pressure to sponsor relatives for immigrant visas. One way to avoid that pressure is to not become a citizen. It might sound trivial, but as many threads can attest, some families are really pushy about that kind of thing!

 

 

That family pressure notion is an excellent point- one which I would have never thought of!

[Noname93 173]

I could also see people having issues with the whole "willing to bear arms, etc." if the law requires questions. I will definitely have to think hard about whether I want to get an exception to the "bearing arms" part if I ever get the chance to naturalize.

[benjii 3]

27 minutes ago, Noname93 said:

I could also see people having issues with the whole "willing to bear arms, etc." if the law requires questions. I will definitely have to think hard about whether I want to get an exception to the "bearing arms" part if I ever get the chance to naturalize.

 

I've been going back and forth on whether to file or not to file for a while now, and that's one of the main points.

That, and the whole 'Pledge of Allegiance' thing honestly.

[Calicolom 265]

1 hour ago, OldUser said:

I also forgot the ones who are perhaps in their 50s and up, aren't proficient in English and aren't eligible for exclusion (weren't LPRs 15/20 years)

I can speak from experience, with my brother. He never became citizen. He also never knew which country to call home. 

[OldUser 4,964]

6 minutes ago, Calicolom said:

I can speak from experience, with my brother. He never became citizen. He also never knew which country to call home. 

I can resonate with that. US is my 4th country where I lived a significant chunk of my life. Within each country I lived in different cities. I consider planet Earth my home 😁 I regularly meet people people really struggling to comprehend it... 

[Ontarkie 13,925]

~~Moved to General Immigration Discussion, from ROC - the topic is not about the N400 processing or ROC~~

[top_secret 2,077]

I work with a woman who arrived as a refugee way back back in the 1980's and still hasn't naturalized to this day.  When I asked her why, she said because her old and very well worn Green Card from back in the 1980's doesn't have an expiration date.  That was her reason.

 

I have a couple of guys working for me who do have Green Cards but they are apparently hanging by a thread after their last of several visits to the Immigration Judge over some criminal type issues in their youth.  They for sure wont be naturalizing.

 

I know and work with quite a few people that arrived as refugees at young ages and grew up quite Americanized but many of them really just don't spend much time thinking about immigration topics.  Their situation is stable, they don't have any concerns that immigration status could change against them, everything is fine as is, naturalization costs money and is a hassle.  Why bother.  Some people just don't spend as much time thinking about it as average VJ members do.

[TBoneTX 43,284]

3 hours ago, Moe428 said:

No need to perform jury duty

This.  THIS.

[Stein 260]

1 hour ago, Ontarkie said:

~~Moved to General Immigration Discussion, from ROC - the topic is not about the N400 processing or ROC~~

No, but the only people that care are those that are filing ROC.  That specifically is why I posted it there and even mentioned that in the OP.

[Stein 260]

3 hours ago, Jorgedig said:

That family pressure notion is an excellent point- one which I would have never thought of!

It is, and not something I had considered.

[Stein 260]

3 hours ago, Moe428 said:

 

 

1.  No need to perform jury duty

 

 

 

In my 55 years I have never, ever been called for jury duty.

[TBoneTX 43,284]

2 minutes ago, Stein said:

In my 55 years I have never, ever been called for jury duty.

Saying "I hate you" would probably violate the VJ Terms of Service.  

[Moe428 129]

24 minutes ago, Stein said:

In my 55 years I have never, ever been called for jury duty.

Which country? My wife was called in both 2021 and 2022.  I was also called but I used the juicy "I am not a US citizen" reason to excuse myself.

 

In any case, it's something to consider.

Edited January 24, 2023 by Moe428

[Vegas i-751 60]

Everyone has the right to choose of course but I’m glad I done N400. It feels absolutely marvellous to be a both a US/British Citizen, to be able to vote etc and no need to file or worry about USCIS 🙌