America has one of the most generous citizenship policies in the world, extending citizenship to:

• All children born in the United States;
• Children born outside the United States to a U.S. citizen parent, so long as that parent has lived in the United States for a sufficient amount of time to transmit U.S. citizenship; and
• Legal permanent residents who have lived in the United States for five years or more without committing a crime or otherwise doing anything that would prevent them from being deemed to possess good moral character.

For legal permanent residents who are elderly or disabled, different and less difficult rules may apply for naturalization. Consultation with a qualified immigration lawyer, Philadelphia locals have found, is the best route to establishing your plan.

Within each route for establishing citizenship, however, there are many conditions that need to be met before U.S. citizenship will be recognized by the government. The rules of citizenship vary greatly according to factors such as the date of birth to establish birthright citizenship, and the gender of the parent transmitting citizenship. Mothers, for example, can transmit citizenship more easily to children born out of wedlock than fathers can to their children born out of wedlock. In addition, citizenship acquired through parentage will sometimes require the individual claiming citizenship to spend a certain amount of time in residence in the United States in order to retain this right. Also, if you have criminal history or medical issues in your background, you need to carefully evaluate how these issues will impact upon your naturalization petition before filing it. These endeavors can be helped by an immigration lawyer; Philadelphia offers its citizens and those throughout Pennsylvania a variety of options for this important assistance.

Another common issue with naturalization is whether the applicant has voted in any U.S. election. Non-citizens are not permitted to vote in U.S. elections, and yet sometimes legal permanent residents do vote in elections, without intending to violate any law. This happens when a legal permanent resident applies for a driver's license and is asked to register to vote. Oftentimes, legal permanent residents assume that if they are being asked to register to vote that they must have the right to vote. Ironically, state laws that attempt to increase voter registration of citizens may inadvertently encourage non-citizens to vote.

As you can see, citizenship and naturalization issues often involve complicated rules that can easily trip up those unfamiliar with them. Citizenship is too important a right to leave to chance. If you are unsure of how to proceed with your citizenship or naturalization issue, consult with an experienced immigration lawyer. Philadelphia locals and Pennsylvania residents as a whole can contact Tran Law Associates through the above form.