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16. After You Get Your Green Card

If you’re reading this after becoming a permanent or conditional resident, congratulations! But don’t stop reading. This chapter will give you some important tips on how to protect and enjoy your new status, and how to turn conditional residence into permanent residence.

It’s Not Too Early to Plan for U.S. Citizenship

If your spouse was a U.S. citizen when you were approved for residency, you can apply for U.S. citizenship 90 days before your three-year anniversary of approval. Immigrants who were initially approved as conditional residents don’t have to wait any longer. Your two years of conditional residence count toward the three years’ wait for citizenship, as long as you did eventually become a permanent resident.

Take a look at your permanent resident card to identify your initial approval date. For example, if you were approved for residency on April 1, 2010, you can apply for citizenship anytime after January 1, 2013.

The time period changes to five years minus 90 days if you are married to a permanent resident, or if you were married to a U.S. citizen but you divorce or stop living together during the required three years.

To become a U.S. citizen, you’ll need to learn English, prove that you’ve lived in the United States for much of your time as a permanent resident, prove that you’re of good moral character, and pass a test in U.S. history and civics. For more information, see Becoming a U.S. Citizen: A Guide to the Law, Exam & Interview, by Ilona Bray (Nolo), and the USCIS website at www.uscis.gov.

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