Cavanaugh Law Office » naturalization lawyer

Feherty meets US citizenship requirements

Millie — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 20:36:03 +0000

The newest foreign national celebrity to meet US citizenship requirements is David Feherty, a TV commentator from Northern Ireland. Immigration officials administered the citizenship oath to the 51-year-old former golf pro recently at the USCIS office in Irving, Texas.

Feherty, who had been a green hard holder for over 10 years, began applying for US citizenship after visiting troops overseas. He became involved in the Troops First Foundation which is focused on wellness, quality of life and sports-based programs in support of US soldiers. After applying for US citizenship, attending a citizenship interview and meeting the US citizenship requirements, the former UK citizen was scheduled for his naturalization ceremony and took the oath along with thirty other people.

If you need help applying for US citizenship, and meet the US citizenship requirements, contact us today and a naturalization lawyer can discuss your options. Not sure if you qualify for US citizenship? A naturalization lawyer can also help determine your citizenship eligibility.

Dual US citizenship approved for citizens from Bulgaria

Millie — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 00:52:23 +0000

One question a naturalization lawyer is constantly answering is how to get dual US citizenship without having to renounce citizenship of a foreign country during the naturalization process. Is it possible? Well, it depends.

Technically, the US government does not recognize dual US citizenship. However, new US citizens are not really required by the United States to give up citizenship from a foreign country either. In practice, whether or not someone can obtain dual US citizenship after the citizenship process is complete depends upon the rules and regulations of the foreign country. Each time he or she is retained for a dual US citizenship case (i.e. where the applicant desires to retain the prior citizenship after the US naturalization process is complete), a naturalization lawyer reviews the citizenship laws of the foreign country in order to ascertain the foreign country’s dual citizenship laws.

Those Bulgarian citizens who already completed the US citizenship process, or were contemplating beginning the US citizenship process, recently received unsettling news when it was announced by the Bulgarian government that it did not allow dual US citizenship. The order, dated in October 2009, was signed by Bulgaria’s Deputy Justice Minister and referenced a 1923 agreement between the US and Bulgaria.

However, after widespread panic among the US-Bulgarian expat community, the Bulgarian government issued a statement assuring US immigrants from Bulgaria that they will not be stripped of their Bulgarian citizenship after completing the US naturalization process, and that the order was made in error. Under Bulgaria’s constitution, a citizen of Bulgaria who was born there cannot be stripped of citizenship.

For more information about immigration from Bulgaria, or to learn about dual US citizenship, call and speak with a naturalization lawyer today at 800.989.6842.

Be careful of citizenship test fraud

Millie — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 18:04:42 +0000

Three Pennsylvania men were recently convicted of fraud in connection with the citizenship process. The scheme involved paying doctors to falsify form N-648 (waiver of citizenship test due to physical or mental impairment) so that people applying for citizenship could avoid having to take the citizenship test that is usually administered at the citizenship interview. Habeeb Malik, a former doctor and owner of Foundation for Human Services, charged citizenship applicants $2000 for a referal to a doctor who would falsify the citizenship test waiver. On top of that, each doctor paid Malik a kick-back of $120 per applicant. The doctors knew that the applicants did not suffer from the disabilities or ailments that were submitted on the citizenship test waivers. The citizenship test waivers claimed that the disabilities of the citizenship applicants prevented them from learning English or civics.

If you or someone you know is thinking of applying for citizenship but will not be able to pass either the English or civics portion of the citizenship test, contact a naturalization lawyer to determine if you are eligible to submit the N-648 waiver of citizenship test requirements. A naturalization lawyer will be able to determine your eligibility for a citizenship test waiver by applying the law to the facts of your case. Simply enlisting a doctor to fill out your N-648 form could subject you or the doctor to a fraud charge.

Source: Philadelphia Daily News “3 sentenced in naturalization fraud”