Introduction 1 About This Book 2 Foolish Assumptions 3 Icons Used in This Book 3 Beyond the Book 4 Where to Go from Here 4 Part 1: Pursuing Immigration and Citizenship 5 Chapter 1: The Joys of Becoming a U.S. Citizen 7 Determining Whether You Really Want to Become a U.S. Citizen 7 What you lose 8 What you gain 8 Your rights and responsibilities as a U.S. citizen 9 Mapping Your Way to America: Typical Ways People Immigrate to the U.S.

10 Reuniting with your family 12 Pursuing employment opportunities 13 Winning the visa lottery 16 Documenting Your Immigration Status 17 Just visiting 17 Here to stay 19 Joining the club: Naturalization 20 Making Sense of the Immigration Process 22 Doing the paperwork 22 Proving your identity 22 Being Interviewed by the USCIS 23 Interviewing for a green card 24 Obtaining U.S. citizenship 26 Recognizing Permanent and Temporary Bars to Naturalization 27 Attending Your Swearing-In Ceremony 29 Receiving your Certificate of Naturalization 30 Chapter 2: Meeting the Officials Who Can Help You on Your Quest 33 Understanding the Goals of the U.S. Immigration System 33 Identifying the Major Players and Their Roles in the Immigration System 34 The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) 35 US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) 37 US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) 37 The Department of State 38 State Department Bureau of Consular Affairs 38 State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration 40 The Department of Labor (DOL) 41 The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) 41 Chapter 3: Finding Out about Immigrant and Nonimmigrant Visas 43 Just Visiting: Nonimmigrant Visas 44 Determining whether you need a visa 44 Discovering the common types of nonimmigrant visas 45 Changing or adjusting your nonimmigrant status 46 Gaining Permanent Resident Status (or a Green Card) 49 Understanding the family preference categories 49 Marrying your way to permanent residence 49 Using family connections 53 Identifying exceptions to the sponsorship requirements 55 Working for a Green Card 56 Making sense of employment preference categories 57 Discovering Other Ways to Qualify for Permanent Residence 63 Immigrating through asylum 63 Looking for safe refuge 64 Investing in the United States 65 Winning the green-card lottery 69 Waiting for a Visa 70 Chapter 4: Filling Out the Forms 71 Understanding the Process of Becoming a U.S. Citizen 71 Step 1: Are you already a U.S.

citizen? 72 Step 2: Are you eligible to become a U.S. citizen? 72 Step 3: Prepare your Form N-400, Application for Naturalization 72 Step 4: Submit your Form N-400 and pay your fees 73 Step 5: Go to your biometrics appointment, if applicable 74 Step 6: Complete the interview 75 Step 7: Receive a decision from USCIS on your Form N-400 75 Step 8: Receive a notice to take the Oath of Allegiance 76 Step 9: Take the Oath of Allegiance to the United States 76 Step 10: Understanding US citizenship 77 Using USCIS Tools and Forms 77 Your citizenship tool belt 78 Creating a USCIS online account 79 Applying for Citizenship: Form N-400 81 Some helpful info before you begin 81 N-400 Parts 1 to 11: Personal Information 82 N-400 Part 12: Additional Information 87 N-400 Parts 13-18: Signatures 88 Other Common Forms 90 Submitting Your Application 93 Organizing your files 96 After you file 96 Part 2: Doing the Interview, Getting Help, And Following the Rules 97 Chapter 5: Acing Your Naturalization Interview 99 Who Needs to Interview with the USCIS? 99 Age exemptions 100 Disability exemptions 101 Passing Your Naturalization Interview 101 Arriving prepared 102 Giving yourself the best chance for success 103 Practicing for the Big Three: Reading, writing, and speaking English 104 Getting ready for the interview 106 A typical citizenship interview 107 Studying for the civics test 110 Helping your family prepare for their interview 110 Communicating with the USCIS 112 Following Up: What Happens After the Interview 113 Taking the Oath of Allegiance 113 Taking care of a few more important tasks 115 Chapter 6: Keeping on Top of Changes in Immigration Law 117 Understanding the Post-9/11 Changes to the Immigration System 118 Overhauling Immigration Laws in 1990 119 Understanding the Significance of the 1996 Immigration Law Changes 120 Getting tougher on crime 120 Updates to USCIS Form N-400, Application for Naturalization 121 Proving you won''t be a burden to the system 122 Protecting America''s borders 123 Recognizing Helpful Immigration Law Changes 123 Staying Abreast of Changes in Immigration Law 125 Chapter 7: Getting Help When You Need It 127 Recognizing When You Need Professional Help 127 Seeking Professional Help 129 Knowing the warning signs to watch out for 129 Consulting an immigration attorney 130 Reaching for a helping hand: Nonprofit immigration organizations 131 Taking advantage of free immigration help from the government 133 Taking citizenship test-prep classes 133 Chapter 8: Troubleshooting Immigration Glitches 135 Communicating with the USCIS 135 Registering changes 137 Changing appointments 138 Filing a complaint 138 Dealing with Rejection and Appealing USCIS Decisions 139 Naturalization rejections 139 Demonstrating Good Moral Character 141 Avoiding Removal 143 Understanding the reasons for removal 143 Appealing removal decisions 144 Part 3: Exploring U.S History, Government, and Culture 145 Chapter 9: U.S. History in a Nutshell, Part I: Pre-US to World War I 147 Before We Were the United States 148 Native Americans 148 Migrating to the New World 148 Finding out about the American colonies 149 Recognizing the "lucky thirteen" 151 Forming a New Country 151 Understanding the events leading to the Revolutionary War 151 Resisting tyranny: The colonists unite and fight 152 Declaring independence from England 153 Establishing the new nation 154 Growing a nation 156 Warring after the Revolution 159 Expanding the Country''s Borders 160 Engaging in Civil War 163 Before the Civil War: Contributing factors and compromises 163 The strengths of the North and South 165 The war between the states 166 Reconstruction after the Civil War 167 Entering the Industrial Revolution 168 The importance of immigrants to a growing nation 168 The rise of labor unions 170 Chapter 10: U.S. History in a Nutshell, Part II: World War I to the Present 173 The World War I Years 174 The causes behind World War I (The Great War) 174 US participation in the Great War 175 The Treaty of Versailles 176 Surviving the Great Depression 178 The World War II Years 180 Choosing sides: The Axis and the Allies 181 The United States under attack: Pearl Harbor 182 "relocating" Citizens: Japanese Internment in World War Ii 183 Fighting Germany and Japan 184 The effects of World War II 186 The Cold War Years 186 Fighting communism: The Cold War between the world''s superpowers 187 Battling communism in Asia: The Korean War 187 The Vietnam War 188 The Civil Rights Movement 190 Understanding the U.

S. Today 192 Important recent historical events from the late 1960s to the 1990s 192 Trouble in the Middle East: The Gulf War 194 Historical events of the 21st Century 194 Chapter 11: The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution 197 Announcing the Birth of a New Nation: The Declaration of Independence 198 Leading up to the Declaration: The colonists'' complaints 198 What the Declaration says 199 The Supreme Law of the Land: The Constitution 201 What the Constitution says 201 Constitutional articles 203 The Bill of Rights 204 Constitutional amendments 206 Chapter 12: Understanding the United States Federal Government 209 How the U.S. Government Works 210 The Duties and Functions of the Executive Branch 211 The president 211 The vice president 211 The Cabinet and executive departments 212 Independent agencies 213 The Duties and Functions of the Legislative Branch 214 The United States Congress 215 Congressional leadership 215 How laws are passed 216 Congressional committees 217 Meeting your senators 217 Meeting your representatives 218 The Duties of the Judicial Branch 219 The federal court system 220 The ultimate constitutional authority: The Supreme Court 221 Chapter 13: Looking at State and Local Governments 223 Capitals and Capitols 224 State Governments 226 State government structure 227 The responsibilities of state governments 230 Citizens'' responsibilities to their states 231 State constitutions 231 Local Governments 232 Chapter 14: Celebrating US Holidays.