The Institute’s citizenship & naturalization project provides free, high quality, and confidential citizenship and immigration services to help immigrants on their path to U.S. citizenship. To achieve this goal, our immigration attorneys and paralegals offer one-on-one consultations to assess participants’ eligibility for legal benefits and advise them on the most viable options available.  Assistance completing the necessary application and forms is offered to qualified individuals at five centers in Paterson, Hackensack, Newark, Union City and Perth Amboy.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)  
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced that it has centralized the initial processing of all naturalization applications. This internal administrative change will not affect where applicants file their naturalization applications. Applicants will continue to file with the USCIS Service Center having jurisdiction over their place of residence.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem

Four Steps to File for Naturalization

http://www1.cuny.edu/about/citizenship/us-citizenship/steps.html

Application Checklist

Check this list before mailing your application to the Service Center that has jurisdiction over your state.   
http://www1.cuny.edu/about/citizenship/us-citizenship/steps.html

Naturalization Requirements

If you are a permanent resident, you can become a U.S. Citizen through the process called naturalization if you meet the following requirements

1.  You have resided in the United States as a permanent resident continuously for five years. (You can qualify after only three years of
permanent residence if you received your green card through marriage to a U.S. Citizen and you have lived together for the last three years.)
2.  You have been physically present in the United States for half of the five years (or half of  the three, if you are married to a U.S. Citizen).
3.  You are a person of good moral character.
4.  You have a basic knowledge of U.S. government and history.
5.  You are able to read, write, and speak simple English (with exceptions for some older and long-time permanent residents, and for disabled permanent residents). Please check our list of free or low cost ESL and Civics courses to find organizations helping you prepare to meet this requirement.
6.  You are at least 18 years of age and legally competent to take an oath of allegiance to the United States.
7.  You express your allegiance to the United States.

Red Flags

You should see an immigration attorney or other legal expert if any of the following apply to you:

1. You have ever been arrested.
2. You have ever lied to any immigration officer, consular official, or government official.
3. You married solely to obtain resident status.
4. Since becoming a lawful permanent resident, you have been absent from the United States for long periods of time, especially periods over one year.
5. You have ever failed to file an income tax return for any year since becoming a lawful permanent resident or you currently owe money to the government for overdue taxes.

USCIS is in the process of replacing the current Naturalization Test with a redesigned Naturalization Test. Mainly, the redesigned test will have different civics questions. To determine which test an individual will take, see below.

If the person:

·applied BEFORE October 1, 2008 and is scheduled for his or her naturalization
interview BEFORE October 1, 2008, he or she will take the current test.

·applied BEFORE October 1, 2008 and is scheduled for his or her naturalization
interview AFTER October 1, 2008, he or she can elect to take the current test or the
redesigned test.

·applied AFTER October 1, 2008 and is scheduled for his or her naturalization
interview AFTER October 1, 2008, he or she will take the redesigned test.

Your Rights as an US citizen

You can vote for the politician of your choice and have full participation in United States democracy. Remember, as a voter, the politicians will listen to you.

You can run for any public office, except President and Vice President.

As a U.S. citizen, you are eligible for all state and federal jobs, and other jobs where U.S. citizenship is required.

You can protect yourself from government policy changes that target non-citizens, such as welfare and  Supplemental Security Income.

Unlike other immigration papers, you never have to renew your citizenship certificate. If you become a citizen before your children turn 18, in most cases they also become citizens and receive benefits that all citizens are entitled to.

You can help more of your family members come to the United States. You can petition for your parents, married children, and siblings whether they are married or single, and fiancés. In most cases the unmarried children of U.S. citizens get permanent residence faster if the parents are citizens than if the parents are permanent residents.

Finally, you have the privilege of traveling in and out of the United States more freely and you enjoy the benefits of holding a U.S. Passport.

Citizenship for Children

Derivative Citizenship

DERIVATIVE CITIZENSHIP RULES APPLY TO CHILDREN WHO DID NOT ACQUIRE CITIZENSHIP AT THE TIME OF BIRTH TO A U.S. CITIZEN ABROAD. TO DECIDE WHETHER A CHILD BORN ABROAD ACQUIRED CITIZENSHIP AT BIRTH, CHECK CHART A AND CHART B.

http://www1.cuny.edu/about/citizenship/us-citizenship/CitizenshipforChildren.html