U.S. Citizenship Compared with 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
Immigration Policies UK/USA
In this blog I would like to talk about Immigration procedures to become a permanent resident of the United States of America, in comparison with the United Kingdom. In reading this post you will learn about their immigration laws and trends, and discover some information on re-settlement procedures.
Immigration describes people moving from their homeland to establish residency in another country, for reasons that include joining family members already residing in the country, for work purposes, marriage and so on. To begin with, it is a given that numerous steps must be taken for immigration, it doesn’t matter where you want to go or what your reason for moving countries is, requirements must be met and boxes must be ticked.
We realize that immigration policies differ from country to country based on factors such as economics, politics and population. Some countries have caps on the number of immigrants allowed in a year; other countries have limited regulations. It is common knowledge that some countries are easier to emigrate to than others. I hear North Korea is easy, if you’re a journalist… (Pun intended)
In 2008 the leading emigrating countries to the United States were Mexico, India, the Philippines and China1. The economic, social and political impact on the country by immigrants has sparked intense discussion and controversy amongst naturalized citizens for reasons involving jobs, ethnicity and crime. However, in particular there has been much controversy surrounding Immigration from Mexico, whether it is lawfully documented or not, it has created many prejudice and narrowed many minds’. In opposition to this, it has been argued that Hispanic immigrants in fact have a positive effect on America by playing an integral role in the Country’s economic growth. Mexican immigrants are filling needed jobs in new geographical areas2.
Well, how do you become a recognized American citizen you may ask? Firstly, to clarify, a permanent resident is someone who has been granted authorization to live and work in the United States on a permanent basis. As proof of that status, a person is granted a permanent resident card, commonly called a "green card." – Definition from U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services, (USCIS.) A “green card” will be obtained after a successful application process, by which you have proved your worth, desire, and benefit to the country. Marriage, work and refugee are some of the categories in the steps to becoming a permanent resident. There are many grounds of inadmissibility, though, that could potentially cause someone to be ineligible to become a permanent resident. For instance, there are health-related, criminal, security-related, and other grounds USCIS must consider.
Conversely, The USCIS has been groaning lately due to the use of old computer technology, mechanical processes and a mismatch of employees and work load across different offices, leading to markedly variable processing times in various parts of the US… Consequently, if you wish to Emigrate to the United States you could be in for a long, arduous wait, even if you meet the requirements for a ‘Green Card...’ The application process can take years to complete, so prepare for this reality appropriately!
I would like to now discuss immigration policies in the United Kingdom in comparison to the U.S, and in doing so possibly create some discussion. As an exchange student from the United Kingdom, now living in America, I am aware of, and wish to educate about immigration policies in my home country, and the effect immigration is currently having on England.
In an attempt to articulate British Citizenship, focusing on immigration under the British nationality law, I wish to mention that a particular period in history has had a major impact on current immigration trends. In the 17th Century the United Kingdom was an Imperial power- ("the creation and maintenance of an unequal economic, cultural, and territorial relationship, usually between states and often in the form of an empire, based on domination and subordination.") – Wikipedia. The United Kingdom, at the peak of its power, once owned over one-quarter of the world's population, and its dominance covered almost a quarter of the Earth's total land area. As a result, its political, linguistic and cultural legacy is currently widespread. The majority of the United Kingdom’s immigrants now originate from some of those territories, which are: India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, the Caribbean, South Africa, Kenya and Hong Kong3.
However, over the past decade, England has seen an influx of immigrants from Eastern-Europe, in particular Poland. The emigration of Hispanics to the U.S has caused some controversy, well, the same could be said about Britain’s recent Polish predicament. Apparently, job priority is given to immigrants in an attempt to under-cut naturalized British citizen’s wages, and, as a consequence, the effect of immigrants on unemployment rates is "detrimental". Politics, word of mouth and news stories surrounding this have created a prejudice against Polish immigrants, however, unemployment rates have fallen in recent months which suggest that migrant workers are actually helping to fuel economic growth rather than undercut British workers in the labor market. The Institute for Public Policy Research says that migration into the UK from Eastern Europe since EU expansion in 2004 has had little effect on the British economy in terms of employment rates and wages4.
Once more I must mention the significance of the United Kingdom’s status as a former colonial power in current immigration policies, for the reason that after World War II the British Nationality Act stated that subjects from the colonial empire were allowed to live in the UK without a visa, giving explanation to the high numbers of citizens from Pakistan, and the like. Years later, however, the laws were tightened due to a public backlash and it became harder to gain British citizenship. Now, under the Four Freedoms of the European Union, of which the United Kingdom is a member, subjects within Europe have the right to move around freely providing they have a work permit. People from outside the EU, citizens of America for instance, must go through a point-system procedure similar to that of the policies implemented by the U.S., which assesses social and economic factors.
References
1 http://news.xinhuanet.com/
2 http://www.unityblueprint.org/
3 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_
4 http://www.polish-migrants.co.
http://www.ippr.org.uk/ (Institute for Public Policy Research)
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/
http://www.uscis.gov/portal/
