Form to debut on May 5th.
By Deepak Chitnis
WASHINGTON, DC: Starting on May 5, the US Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) will debut a new version of the N-400 form, a paperwork that is mandatory for all legal permanent residents (a.k.a. green card holders) to fill out and submit in order to apply for naturalization, the final step in becoming a full US citizen.
The new form will be more detailed and ask questions that are said to be helpful for immigration officials to make judgments as to which applicants should become eligible for naturalization. While the form will also become clearer and easier to fill out, it will be longer, more time-consuming, and could ultimately prolong many green card holders’ waits for full citizenship.
The USCIS has said that the eligibility requirements themselves, however, will remain the same. The filing fee for the N-400 application is $595 plus an $85 “biometric fee,” for a total of $680, although applicants at or over 74 years of age are not charged the latter fee. The old N-400 may still be filed during the 90-day transition period ending May 5, at which point only the new version will be accepted by the USCIS.
The South Asian Network (SAN), a community-based organization founded in southern California in 1990, has vocally decried the new N-400, saying that the delays to applicants will keep them from enjoying the benefits of full citizenship for even longer than usual.
“Studies show that South Asian green card holders can receive priceless benefits by naturalizing,” says an SAN press release put out after the USCIS made the N-400 announcement. “Individuals can likely expect a 40% increase in wages and 32% increase in income. These benefits directly contribute to higher rates of education as well as a 32% increase in home ownership.
SAN Civil Rights Advocate Almas Haider is urging everyone to file their N-400 before May 5, so they can take advantage of the simpler form and process and get their application moving before things slow down indefinitely at the arrival of the form’s new version.
More information on the N-400 and its new iteration can be found on the USCIS website, located here.
To contact the author, email to deepakchitnis@americanbazaaronline.com