DIFFERENTIATING BETWEEN IMMIGRATION AND NATURALIZATION

At first glance, the difference between the meaning of immigration and naturalization may not be completely clear but upon closer inspection, there is actually one very important distinction. While both processes can be seen as similar, immigration is actually a process that involves moving to a new country with the intention of living and working there while naturalization is a process that an immigrant goes through after at least 5 years of residing in their chosen country to become a citizen of that country.

Immigration

Unless an individual is lucky enough to automatically become a naturalized citizen in their chosen country, they must first emigrate. If a person wants to become for example, an immigrant to the USA, they must go through a lengthy process starting with filling out an application for immigration benefits.

Some categories of applicants require them to stay outside the United States until the entire immigration process is complete while others can obtain non-immigrant visas, come to the United States and proceed with the immigration process during their stay in the U.S.

For example, foreign born fiancees of U.S. citizens can obtain a fiance visa at a U.S. consulate or embassy abroad, move to the United States and live in the United States with their U.S. citizen spouses until their application is finalized. This is one of the quickest ways of becoming a U.S. permanent resident as well.

In many cases however, immigrants are denied entry for various reasons but for those who are lucky enough, they are also given permission to apply for a work permit or be allowed residency in the country.

Once the immigration application has been successfully processed and the individual has started to live and work at their chosen country, the next step they can consider is the process of naturalization especially if they are after permanent residency. This is because immigration is seen by most governments as a temporary solution to the problems a person is experiencing at their home country hence, if the individual doesn't consider naturalization, they may have to return to their home country after a certain period of time.

Naturalization

If immigration already seems difficult, the process of naturalization is even more so and in fact, there are many cases where immigrants don't get to be naturalized due to the fact that the naturalization procedure requires immigrants to have some sort of affinity to their adopted country or to have established a life for themselves as well.

Naturalization is commonly referred to as the manner in which a person not born in the United States voluntarily becomes a U.S. citizen. When you are naturalized, you agree to accept all of the responsibilities of being a citizen. You agree to support the United States, its Constitution, and its laws. In return, you are rewarded with all the rights and privileges that are part of citizenship.

While it it entirely possible to successfully emigrate into your chosen country, live, work and even obtain permanent residence there, it is still possible not to become a naturalized citizen due to the fact that the individual is not a native-born and doesn't have any ties whatsoever to their chosen country and governance will therefore dictate that there is no need for them to be naturalized.

Streamlining the Process

For many people, streamlining the process of their immigration and the resulting naturalization can be very difficult and as such, are advised to seek the help of professionals like immigration lawyers to help them sort out the legalities. The US in fact has already started to take steps to streamlining the process, as it tries to understand the complexities immigrants are facing when migrating from one country to another but it is something that will not be evident overnight.

So in the meantime, immigrants are advised to get the most accurate information as possible which will not only be helpful in their quest to gain residency quicker but also to make the transition to a new country easier.

 


 

 

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