U.S. Citizenship Compared to China

 Citizens of America may take for granted what it took to become a U.S. citizen. For many of us, we became naturalized citizens at birth, but what about the millions of immigrants currently seeking citizenship? Or what did it take for our immigrant ancestors to become full citizens? For those who take for granted their own citizen ship, surely they don’t know what it takes to become citizens in other countries. In some countries it may be easy but for others it takes many steps to become a citizen. In this blog I will highlight a few key steps to become a U.S. citizen and compare them to China, a country with over a billion people.

According to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, to be a permanent resident, “a person is granted a permanent resident card, commonly called a green card.” There are several ways a person can achieve a green card, “most individuals are sponsored by a family member or employer in the United States”. To be eligible for a green card you must:

- Be eligible for one of the immigrant categories established in the   

   Immigration and Nationality Act

- Have a qualifying immigration petition filed and approved (up to 6 or more

   forms)

- Have an immigrant visa (available upon priority date, preference

   category, and past citizenship)

- Be admissible to the United States (based on health, criminal record,

   security-related, and other grounds)

With over 1.3 billion people living in China, there must some immigrants residing in the country. Naturally, like the U.S., China’s policies are more geared for those who become citizens through birth by someone who’s already a Chinese citizen. According to China’s Nationality Law (1980) some key highlights in becoming a Chinese citizen include:

- China is a unitary multinational state: all nationalities that exist within China     

   have Chinese citizenship

- China does not allow dual citizenship

- A person born in China to at least one Chinese parent is a Chinese citizen

- A person born outside China to at least one Chinese parent is a Chinese

  citizen—unless the parent has acquired foreign nationality status

For Foreigners:

Nationality Law states that foreigners who will abide by the Chinese Constitution and laws can apply to be naturalized as Chinese citizens if they meet one of the following conditions:

1. They have close relatives who are Chinese nationals.

2. They have settled in China

3. They have other legitimate reasons

The application forms can be accessed online (in Chinese) and appears to be 3 pages long.

For those who have interest in comparing U.S. citizenship to other countries this blog may be useful and may spark readers to investigate into other countries as well.

Sources:

1. http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis

2. http://www.fmprc.gov.cn/ce/ceindo/eng/lsqw/t87388.htm