BASIC RESPONSIBILITIES AND EXPECTATIONS OF ALL UNITED STATES CITIZENS

When you are naturalized as a United States citizen, you not only get access to many benefits, you also are signing yourself up for additional responsibilities that come with citizenship. Some of these responsibilities are listed below:

  • Possibility of Being Called Upon to Serve in the Military

    If you are a male between the ages of 18 and 26 who lives in the United States and has been naturalized as a United States citizen, then you will be required to register with the Selective Service System. If the military draft is reinstated, then you could be drafted to serve in a branch of the United States military. This is unlikely at the moment as the draft was halted back in 1973.

  • Jury Duty

    The dreaded civic requirement of jury duty comes with becoming a naturalized United States citizen. The jury process, however, is one of our most important and sacred processes in the United States. A person’s right to due process and the right to a jury of his or her peers is bedrock to the rights conferred on United States citizens. While jury duty may be seen as an inconvenience, the process serves to protect the rights of all of us against the power of the government when dealing with criminal matters. There are a variety of reasons why people are exempted and excused from service on a jury.

  • Lifetime Requirement to File United States Income Tax Returns

    Once you become a naturalized United States citizen, you will be expected to file federal tax returns, for life, no matter where you live. If you decide to move abroad and live in another country, your requirement to file federal tax returns will remain. You will, however, be exempt from paying taxes up to the current yearly limit of $100,000 as the United States government realizes that you will be required to pay taxes on your earned income in the country in which you are living. If you are earning more than the current yearly limit of $100,000, then you will be taxed on any income that is earned in excess of $100,000.

  • Possibility of Renunciation of Previous Citizenship

    The United States allows for individuals to be dual citizens. What that means is that to become a United States citizen, you are not required to renounce your previous citizenship from your former country. Some countries, however, do not permit dual citizenship. So, in order to become naturalized as a United States citizen, you may be forced to renounce your citizenship of your former country as their rules might not allow dual citizenship. If you  have any questions about this, it is best to seek the advice of an experienced immigration and naturalization attorney.

  • Requirement of Using United States Passport to Enter and Leave the United States

    If you become a naturalized United States citizen, then you are required to use a United States passport to enter and exit the United States. If you are a dual citizen, then you may be required to use your foreign passport to enter and exit your former country depending on that country’s rules.

The benefits and entitlements to becoming a naturalized United States citizen also come with a small variety of requirements and responsibilities as shown above. If you have any questions about the naturalization process or are curious about your eligibility for naturalization as a United States citizen, then it is important to seek the advice of an experienced immigration and naturalization attorney as soon as possible.

WHY CHOOSE YOU ARE HOME TO HELP YOU BECOME A

NATURALIZED CITIZEN?

You Are Home is a team of immigration lawyers whose mission is to help you obtain your United States citizenship while answering your questions and concerns along the way. Our main goal at You Are Home is to make your naturalization process as simple and pain free as possible. As a You Are Home client, you will be paired with an experienced immigration attorney who will help you identify any potential issues with your case, while also helping guide you through each step together as a team in order to help you best achieve success. Our immigration attorneys are experienced not only in helping people file immigration paperwork and prepare for their naturalization interviews; they have also successfully defended clients facing detention and deportation in immigration court. When you have You Are Home on your side, you will be prepared for whatever legal obstacles that could appear in the way of obtaining your United States citizenship.

SCHEDULE A CONSULTATION WITH YOU ARE HOME TODAY!

You Are Home is proud to offer consultations with our immigration attorneys via phone or videoconference via Zoom. If you would like to schedule a consultation with one of our experienced immigration attorneys to answer your questions and review your documents, you may do so here. If you decide to hire You Are Home to help you further with your naturalization case or any other immigration legal service that we offer, then we will credit your consultation fee towards the cost of those services. Don’t go it alone, let the experienced attorneys at You Are Home help you officially make the United States your (new) home country.