I have been in the country for 12yrs?

Joel W

You need to call the Immigration Service quickly. All those things take time and if you are legal now, you don't want to move over to an illegal position while you are waiting for an answer.

Keep in mind, the Immigration Services of the world use Snail Mail and the processes are slow. Go NOW and start the process.

pianojangee

Too apply green card, you need a sponsor, either immediate family member who is either US citizen or Permanent resident, or US employer, who must file petition for your green card.

You cannot petition for yourself.

http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.eb1d4c2a3e5b9ac89243c6a7543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD&vgnextchannel=4f719c7755cb9010VgnVCM10000045f3d6a1RCRD

William O

NO! You do not qualify for either. For naturalization you would have to be a permanent resident for a number of years first. You also do not qualify for permanent residence. You would need a family member to sponsor you or a company to sponsor you via work. Also if you took 12 years to complete a MBA degree they are going to look into why it took you so long.

Javed I

United States Naturalization Requirements

If you are not a US citizen by birth, you can apply for citizenship through naturalization. The term naturalization refers to the process of an immigrant becoming a citizen of the United States. The following are the basic requirements for becoming a naturalized citizen.

Age:
You must be at least 18 years of age or older to fill the â€˜Application of Naturalizationâ€™ (Form N-400). Children younger than 18 years use "Application for a Certificate of Citizenship" (Form N-600), and naturalize automatically when their parents become citizens. Adopted children who acquired citizenship from parent(s) use the "Application for a Certificate of Citizenship on Behalf of an Adopted Child" (Form N-643).

Residency:
You have been a lawful permanent resident (green card holder) for at least 4 years and 9 months. Your time as a permanent resident begins from the date you were granted the permanent resident status (the date given on your green card).

You are married to a US citizen and have been a lawful permanent resident for 2 years and 9 months (and continue to be married to the same person).

Residence and Physical Presence:
You are eligible to apply for naturalization if you:
Have resided continuously as a lawful permanent resident in the U.S. for at least 5 years prior to filing with no single absence from the United States of more than one year;
Have been physically present in the United States for at least 30 months out of the previous five years (absences of more than six months but less than one year shall disrupt the applicant's continuity of residence unless the applicant can establish that he or she did not abandon his or her residence during such period). OR you have been physically present for 18 months out of the 3 years and have not left the US for more than 6 months on any trip.
Must have been residing in the state you are applying in for at least three months.

Good Moral Character:
You must be able to demonstrate that you have been a person of â€˜good moral characterâ€™, have paid your taxes, have no criminal record, have not been involved in any illegal acts.

An applicant is permanently barred from naturalization if he or she has ever been convicted of murder. An applicant is also permanently barred from naturalization if he or she has been convicted of an aggravated felony as defined in section 101(a)(43) of the Act on or after November 29, 1990.

mrs mendoza

its kind of expensive but the best thing to do is to get a good immigration lawyer. shop around. a cheap lawyer will just run you around in circles and take more money in the end. a good immigration lawyer costs around 5k at the most. that includes the process, the lawyer fee, any fees you might have to pay for paperwork. for a single person it may even cost less.

youthpastor1955

I don't know if you will get the right answer here. You might try calling or emailing the INS or emailing the nearest American Consulate to you.

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