May 19, 2010

What is Form I-94?

Form I-94 is an Arrival Departure Record that has the information about the date of entry into the United States, class of admission and when the authorized stay expires. Whenever a non-immigrant enters the United States, Form I-94 must be completed at the time of entry into the United States. If entering the U.S. by air or sea, the transport line will give Form I-94 to the non-immigrant and if by land the Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officials will give a blank I-94 form to the non-immigrant. If I-94 is lost or stolen you must file Replace Arrival Departure Record.

The I-94 form has two sections – the arrival record and the departure record. Both the sections must be completed by the non-immigrant. The upper portion of Form I-94 is the arrival record and has the following information:
  • Admission Number
  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Country of Citizenship
  • Gender
  • Passport Number
  • Airline or flight number
  • Country where you live
  • City where you boarded
  • City where the visa was issued
  • Date visa was issued
  • Address while in the United States (Number and Street)
  • City and State
The bottom part of Form I-94 is the departure record and has the following information:
  • Departure Number
  • Name
  • Date of birth
  • Country of citizenship
The non-immigrant completes Form I-94 and gives it to the CBP officer along with the passport. During the processing of I-94 form, the CBP officer might ask questions about the purpose of the visit, duration of the visit and residence abroad. If the details that are provided in the I-94 form is accurate and legitimate, the CBP officer stamps the Form I-94 Arrival, Departure Record and the passport and keeps the arrival section of the form for record purposes and gives the passport and departure record to the non-immigrant. Thus the non-immigrant gets an approval to enter the United States in a specific non-immigrant status for an authorized stay.

When the non-immigrant is in the United States, he can apply for change of status or extension of stay by filing Form I-539. If the application for change of status or extension is approved by the USCIS, the non-immigrant will be issued a Approval Notice with a new I-94 card. The I-94 card depicts the new category or the extended status along with the information about when the authorized stay expires.

The admission number and the departure number in the I-94 form will be the same. The departure record must be handed over to the United States CBP officials when the non-immigrant leaves the United States.
If the non-immigrant leaves the U.S. by air, Form I-94 departure record should be handed over into the airline before departure.
If the non-immigrant leaves the U.S. by sea, Form I-94 departure record should be handed over into the shipping line before departure.
If the non-immigrant leaves the U.S. by land, Form I-94 departure record should be handed over to the CBP officer.

The passport and departure record should be carefully preserved during the stay inside the United States. If Form I-94 is lost or stolen, the non-immigrant must request USCIS for replacement by filing Form I-102.

May 2, 2010

What are the residence requirements to apply for U.S. citizenship?

U.S. citizenship requirements states that, you can obtain U.S. citizenship either by birth or by law. You acquire U.S. citizenship by birth, if you were born in the U.S. or if your parents are U.S. citizens. Obtaining U.S. citizenship by law is through naturalization.

Per USCIS, you must meet the U.S. citizenship requirements to apply for citizenship. The U.S. citizenship requirements include the continuous physical presence requirements and certain general requirements.

U.S. citizenship requirements

  • To be eligible for U.S. citizenship, the following U.S. citizenship requirements should be satisfied:
  • You should be at least 18 years old.
  • You should be a lawful permanent resident of the United States.
  • You should have resided in the U.S. for at least three to five years and half of the time should be spent in the U.S.
  • The U.S. citizenship requirements states that, if you are married to a U.S. citizen, you can apply for U.S. citizenship after three years of residence in the United States. All others can apply for citizenship only after five years.
  • You have resided in the U.S. from the time you filed your application for U.S. citizenship.
  • You should take an oath, that you are attached to the U.S. constitution.
  • You should have proficient knowledge and fluency in English.
  • You should have knowledge concerning the history, role and functioning of the U.S. government.
  • You should not be involved in any crime.
  • You should meet the continuous physical presence requirements.

Continuous physical presence requirements

If you are married to a U.S. citizen, the following continuous physical presence requirements should be met:
  • You should live physically with your spouse.
  • You should have lived together with your spouse for at least three years before you apply for U.S. citizenship and take the naturalization examination.
  • You should have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 18 months.
  • You should have been residing continuously for the past three months in the state from where you will apply for U.S. citizenship.
  • Your spouse should be a U.S. citizen during the period you have applied for citizenship till the date of examination.

The following are the continuous physical presence requirements for those who are not married to a U.S. citizen:

  • You should have been physically present in the U.S. for at least 30 months.
  • You should have been residing continuously for the past three months in the state from where you will apply for U.S. citizenship.

Physical presence is different from Continuous residence. Physical presence is the number of days you were physically present in the U.S. Continuous residence is the time you resided lawfully in the U.S. without any long absence. If you are physically absent from the United States for one year, you will lose your continuous residence requirement, unless the absence is excused. The U.S. citizenship process is not easy, you have to meet the above requirements to be eligible to apply for citizenship.