The first step, the step that really matters in becoming a U.S. citizen, is becoming a permanent resident. Once you have that Green Card in hand, this country is your oyster. Become a citizen, don't become a citizen -- either way, you get to stay for as long as you like. We hear a lot about the legal path to citizenship, but what does that path actually look like? And why is it so much longer for some than for others? Has it always been like this?
Lighting the way in this episode are Allan Wernick, CUNY professor and Director of Citizenship Now, Mae Ngai, history professor at Columbia University and Margaret Chin, sociology professor at Hunter College.
Have a civics question? Click here to ask and we’ll do our best to answer!
Episode Segments
TRANSCRIPT
Naturalization Ceremony: [00:02:26] If our technology is working, we should next hear a message from our president of the United States.
George W. Bush: [00:02:38] The United States of America welcomes new citizens.
Barack Obama: [00:02:38] And so I ask that you use your freedoms and your talents to contribute to the good of our nation and the world.
Donald Trump: [00:02:44] You now share the obligation to teach our values to others, to help newcomers assimilate to our way of life and uplift America by living according to its highest ideals of self-governance.
Nick Capodice: [00:02:57] You've been to one of these, naturalization ceremonies? [00:03:00]
Hannah McCarthy: [00:03:00] No, I haven't. This is where people from other countries become citizens of the U.S., right.
[00:03:06] Have you?
Nick Capodice: [00:03:07] I've been to quite a few, actually. And they follow a certain format. There's a reading of the names of the countries present.
Naturalization Ceremony: [00:03:12] Nigeria.
Nick Capodice: [00:03:13] There's speeches.
[00:03:16] Everybody takes an oath.
Naturalization Ceremony: [00:03:16] Renounce and abjure all allegiance and fidelity.
Nick Capodice: [00:03:21] And then there's usually a technology snafu.
Naturalization Ceremony: [00:03:24] Couple minutes once we get the projector warmed up.
Nick Capodice: [00:03:27] And then we have the prerecorded tape of the president of the United States welcoming these new Americans.
Barack Obama: [00:03:32] It's an honor and a privilege to call you a fellow citizen of the United States of America.
Nick Capodice: [00:03:37] And the tenor of the speech changes as the president changes.
[00:03:40] But one thing remains the same. The hand out a bunch of flags and they play this.
[00:03:46] And I'm proud to be an American, where at least I know I'm free.
[00:03:53] Lee Greenwood's 1984 hit God Bless the USA, also known as Proud to Be in American. [00:04:00]
Hannah McCarthy: [00:04:00] I'm very familiar.
[00:04:02] When did they start doing this?
Nick Capodice: [00:04:03] I don't know. I don't know. I called the offices of USCIS, that's the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
[00:04:10] And I was completely unsuccessful in getting through to a human any human.
USCIS: [00:04:13] The key that you pressed is not a valid choice on this menu. We will play the message for you again.
Nick Capodice: [00:04:19] I found a home movie of a naturalization ceremony from the early 1990s and they played it. This goes back.
Naturalization Ceremony: [00:04:31] USA!
Allan Wernick: [00:04:31] I'm not sure they play that anymore. The last one I went through, they didn't play it, but yeah, it was sort of annoy -- I always thought it was annoying.
Nick Capodice: [00:04:41] This is Allan Wernick, CUNY professor and director of Citizenship
[00:04:44] Now, which is a program that gives free legal assistance to those looking to wave that flag themselves. And while you might need a lawyer's help to become a citizen, you won't to listen to this episode because this is Civics 1 0 1.
[00:04:56] I'm Nick Capodice.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:04:57] I'm Hannah McCarthy.
Nick Capodice: [00:04:58] And today we're talking about becoming [00:05:00] a U.S. citizen. What was the process back in the day? What is it right now? What do you have to do to sing along with Lee?
Hannah McCarthy: [00:05:10] I know that you're a citizen if you're born on U.S. soil, but if you're not, what is the first thing that you have to do?
Allan Wernick: [00:05:17] Well, first thing you have to do is become a permanent resident. What people call a green card holder.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:05:22] Hold it. What exactly is a green card?
Nick Capodice: [00:05:25] It's just a government issued photo I.D. that is green in color. And it verifies that you're a permanent resident. That you are allowed to live and work in the U.S. permanently.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:05:36] So anyone who is a permanent resident can become a U.S. citizen?
Nick Capodice: [00:05:41] Yes. If they have been here five years, they read and write a certain level of English. They're a person of, quote, good moral character. And if they pass the citizenship test.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:05:51] But speaking English and the test aren't required to get a green card to become a permanent resident.
Nick Capodice: [00:05:58] No they're not.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:05:58] So once you're a permanent resident, [00:06:00] citizenship is a breeze.
Nick Capodice: [00:06:02] Relatively.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:06:03] So we should call this episode becoming a U.S. permanent resident.
Nick Capodice: [00:06:06] Yes, we should have. But it doesn't quite have the same ring. And there are many ways to live and work here in the U.S.. Visas, statuses. But becoming a permanent resident is the path to citizenship.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:06:17] So how do you become a permanent resident?
Allan Wernick: [00:06:19] Well, you need a U.S. citizen or permanent relative who can sponsor you or you can be sponsored by an employer who can show a shortage of U.S. workers in a job that that employer needs to fill. You can be outstanding in your field. You know, it can be a great violinist or a scientist or you can become an investor.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:06:40] What does it mean to sponsor someone?
Nick Capodice: [00:06:42] If you're a U.S. citizen who makes a certain income, you can sponsor a family member or a potential employee. If you're a sponsor, you're vouching for that potential new American. You're saying you're going to support them financially if necessary. And yeah, you can sponsor a worker, but far and away, the most common way to get that green [00:07:00] card is through family, someone who is a U.S. citizen or themselves a permanent resident sponsoring a relative. We call this a family preference system.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:07:09] Can it be any relative?
Nick Capodice: [00:07:10] Not any relative. It can be different types of relatives. But the process is going to be completely different. The wait time is going to be completely different depending on that relationship.
Allan Wernick: [00:07:19] The quota is based on statute and the statute divides up the family employment based preference categories. The category for the immediate relatives of U.S. citizens, which is a spouse of a citizen, unmarried child under 21 of a citizen and the parent of a 21 year old citizen. There's no limit on those in that category. But in the family and employment based preference categories, which are divided up based on the type of relationship you have to your employer or your relative, there is a per country quota of more, no more than 27000 per year from any one [00:08:00] country.
[00:08:01] And typically no country gets that many every year because of the overall worldwide limit.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:08:06] You said I wouldn't need a lawyer to understand this episode, Nick, and I'm starting to disagree.
Nick Capodice: [00:08:10] You're right. I'm sorry. This system is complicated and you are a native English speaker with a college degree. Imagine navigating it without those two benefits. Many people do use a lawyer which can cost thousands of dollars, not to mention the thousand dollar filing fee. But Allan is breaking down the hierarchy of relationships. Every different category has different limits and thus different wait times. So there's the immediate relative category. If you're a U.S. citizen and you want to sponsor your spouse, your kid, or if you're over 21 years old, your parents, there's almost no wait time and there's no limit. It's almost a guarantee. But the other categories, like a citizen sponsoring their brother or sister, depending on the country, it can have a significant backlog.
Allan Wernick: [00:09:00] So, [00:09:00] for instance, in the brother and sister of a U.S. citizen category, if you're from India, if you're from the Philippines, if you're from Mexico, you could wait20, 30 years before you qualify for permanent residence in that category.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:09:11] 20 to 30 years.
Nick Capodice: [00:09:14] Yes.
Allan Wernick: [00:09:15] In some categories where you're looking at, you know, in the employment-based from India and some categories you're looking at, you know, 80 years. So basically none of the people who would be applying now are ever going to come to the United States.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:09:29] Ok. So that's family preference and skill preference. But didn't Allan say there was an investor category?
Nick Capodice: [00:09:36] Yes.
[00:09:39] If you invest a million dollars, 500000 in some locations, actually, if you invest that in a business for a project that will create at least 10 jobs, you get residency in about two years. Doesn't matter where you from.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:09:51] I've always wondered how rich people do it.
Allan Wernick: [00:09:53] On one hand, people feel that they're buying their way into the United States to get a green card and then later become a U.S. [00:10:00] citizen. But it's also controversial. Some people think that the amount is too low. That a million dollars is not enough for such a great privilege as becoming a permanent resident of the United States.
Nick Capodice: [00:10:10] So I asked Allan what my path is if I live in another country. I want to become an American citizen. But just like my Italian great grandfather, I don't have a family in America yet or a job skill that's deemed desirable or a million dollars on hand. How long do I have to wait?
Allan Wernick: [00:10:27] There is no -- there's no -- there's -- there's no way you can become a permanent resident unless you're one of the categories I describe. So it's not a question of how long you wait. It's basically, you wait forever. You're never going to qualify.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:10:39] But what if you're already here? You're undocumented, you maybe even have family here who could sponsor you.
[00:10:46] You can eventually become one, right?
Allan Wernick: [00:10:49] Yeah. Well, the thing is, is that if you're undocumented in the United States today, in most cases, the only way you're ever going to become a permanent resident is if you marry a U.S. citizen.
[00:11:00] All [00:11:00] the other options are not available to you.
[00:11:03] And the reason for that is because if you've been here unlawfully in the United States for more than 180 days, then there's really no other way you're going to be able to become a permanent resident unless you marry a U.S. citizen.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:11:17] You have to be in one of those categories. And if you're not, there's nothing you can do.
Nick Capodice: [00:11:23] Nothing.
Allan Wernick: [00:11:24] Many commentators talk about why not people who are undocumented here get in line.
Mitt Romney: [00:11:29] And then ultimately you've got to go home, apply for permanent residency here or citizenship if you want to try and do that. Get in line behind everyone else.
Allan Wernick: [00:11:36] But the fact is, for most people around the world, there is no line.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:11:45] All right. So that's how to become a citizen, rather permanent resident, today. Is this always how we've done it, family and job preference?
Nick Capodice: [00:11:53] Well, immigration laws have changed a lot many times over the last 230 years.
[00:11:59] So [00:12:00] let's start with our founding.
Mae Ngai: [00:12:02] The Constitution says that the Congress shall provide for a uniform law of naturalization. And actually, the Constitution says very little about citizenship at all.
Nick Capodice: [00:12:12] This is Mae Ngai. She's a professor of history at Columbia University. And the Congress does just that they write a Naturalization Act of 1790.
Mae Ngai: [00:12:21] And then you could become a naturalized citizen if you were a free white person of good moral character.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:12:29] What do those adjectives mean?
Mae Ngai: [00:12:31] Well, the free part means that they're not an indentured servant. It also implied that you were not enslaved, although by this time there were no white people in slavery. Well, we think of white being pretty obvious, but it really wasn't that obvious. But it mostly was understood to mean you weren't a black person because there were free black persons.
Nick Capodice: [00:12:54] For almost 100 years only white people could be citizens.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:12:59] What did [00:13:00] she mean by good moral character?
Mae Ngai: [00:13:02] So that that meant that you didn't have a criminal record.
Nick Capodice: [00:13:05] So if you were those adjectives after living in the U.S. for five years, you could become a citizen.
Mae Ngai: [00:13:10] After the civil war.
[00:13:12] They amended the Naturalization Act because now there was a question of African-Americans who had been excluded from the Naturalization Law of 1790. In 1870 Congress passed a new Naturalization Act which provided naturalization for white persons and persons of African nativity and descent. The interesting thing that happened at the time was that there were some people in the Senate, notably Charles Sumner and some of the other radical Republicans, who said, well, why don't we just get rid of the racial bar completely? Why don't we just say, any person can become a citizen after five years. Why do we have to specify white and African? The majority of people in the Senate said, no, no, no, no, no. If you do that, then you'll [00:14:00] open the door to Chinese.
Nick Capodice: [00:14:02] And we finally get to 1882, the Chinese Exclusion Act, when Congress passes the first and so far only Immigration Act to restrict immigration based on a specific nationality.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:14:15] How much did it restrict immigration from China?
Nick Capodice: [00:14:18] Entirely. It barred any Chinese people from being allowed entry into the U.S. and those who are already here could not become citizens. And this wasn't repealed until 1945, when the U.S. led a whopping one hundred five Chinese people enter each year.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:14:35] Why did Congress single out that particular country?
Margaret Chin: [00:14:38] There are a couple of reasons.
Nick Capodice: [00:14:40] This is Margaret Chin. She's a sociology professor at Hunter College.
Margaret Chin: [00:14:43] One had to do with people feared that Chinese immigrants would be taking away jobs, because right before that, Chinese immigrants also came and they participated in mining, searching for gold. They also helped build [00:15:00] the railroad. And after the railroads was finished, they were afraid that they would be taking jobs away from other Americans, mostly white Americans anywhere in the U.S.. The second thing was they were fearful that Chinese immigrants couldn't learn English and couldn't assimilate.
Nick Capodice: [00:15:18] And this time, this was our era of peak immigration. Over 12 million new Americans came through Ellis Island. Our immigration station that opened in 1892. I read an estimate that 40-percent of Americans have an ancestor who came through Ellis Island.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:15:34] All right, so, during this peak era. Are there any restrictions on who can come?
Mae Ngai: [00:15:40] Hardly any. They sent back two-percent of the people who showed up at Ellis Island. Two-percent were sent back.
Nick Capodice: [00:15:47] The only people who are sent back from Ellis Island were people who suffered from certain contagious diseases, suffered from mental illnesses and, quote, persons who are likely to become a public charge that [00:16:00] included women who had come alone and had no male family member to pick them up in New York.
Mae Ngai: [00:16:05] You had to have some money in your pocket. They called it show money. People were advised they should have $15. Sometimes it was $25. It wasn't a huge amount. They just wanted to know that you were going to work. So it was important that you could walk through the medical inspection line at Ellis Island and not be limping.
Nick Capodice: [00:16:28] But this era of massive immigration comes to a screeching halt in 1924.
Archival News Tape: [00:16:35] By this law, the number to be admitted to henceforth wants to be in proportion to the national origin of our country's population.
Mae Ngai: [00:16:45] Well 1924 is when they pass real restrictive regulations on immigration and this is the first time that they impose a numerical limit.
Nick Capodice: [00:16:54] The Johnson-Reed Act of 1924 is a quota act for immigration. [00:17:00]
[00:17:00] Limits were set based on the number of people who were already here in the United States, and they based it on the 1890 census from 34 years earlier before the surge of people from Southern and Eastern Europe. And so the quotas gave preference to northern Europeans. I'm talking Germans, British, Swedes and the like. And to give you an idea of how much it restricted immigration, let's use the Italians again. Over 3 million Italians came in a single decade in the early 1900s. But the Johnson-Reed Act restricted it to 4000 a year. Immigration from eastern and southern Europe stops almost entirely.
[00:17:40] One other crucial thing that happens in 1924 is that Native Americans who had previously not been allowed at all to become citizens are all granted U.S. citizenship.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:17:51] When do we start letting people in again?
Nick Capodice: [00:17:54] Not until 1965.
[00:18:00] Lyndon [00:18:00] Johnson at the feet of the Statue of Liberty signs the Hart-Celler Act.
Lyndon Johnson: [00:18:06] This bill says that from this day forward, those wishing to immigrate to America shall be admitted on the basis of their skills and their relationships to those already here.
Margaret Chin: [00:18:22] 1965 was the big year in terms of the immigration and immigration law.
Nick Capodice: [00:18:27] Here's Margaret Chin again.
Margaret Chin: [00:18:28] The Hart-Celler Act passed that year. I guess Kennedy and Johnson and I guess the rest of the world, when they were looking at the US, realized that the US wasn't doing what they were saying they would do. They were trying to support the civil rights movement. The civil rights movement focused on equal treatment regardless of race or nationality.
Lyndon Johnson: [00:18:51] Immigration policy of the United States has been posted and has been distorted by the harsh injustice of the national [00:19:00] origins quota system.
Nick Capodice: [00:19:01] And this is the beginning of her family preference system where we started.
[00:19:04] But it's not Eastern Europeans and Italians who are coming anymore.
Margaret Chin: [00:19:07] After 1965 with this family preference law, you begin to see huge increases of immigrants from Asia and from Latin America. And that was something that people did not expect because the framers of the 1965 law thought that using family preferences that people who were already in the U.S., which were mostly white descendants, would have their family members come.
[00:19:38] The unintended consequence was that people who are who had a small population here, who could not move easily back and forth to their home countries to see their family members, really wanted to reunite with their family members. And by 2015, 50 years later, whites are 62-percent, Hispanics, 18, Asians are 6-percent, and [00:20:00] blacks are 13-percent of the population.
Nick Capodice: [00:20:05] And Allan and Margaret and Mae they all expressed difficulties with how our current system works. But nevertheless, despite all the lawyers and the backlogs and the red tape every year, about 700000 new Americans take that oath. And when you watch that ceremony with the knowledge of what many of those people have been through, it's so moving that it makes even Lee Greenwood bearable.
Nick Capodice: [00:20:50] Well, that is it for this episode on the ever-evolving process of becoming a citizen of the United States. Today's episode was produced by me Nick Capodice with you, Hannah McCarthy.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:20:58] Our staff includes Jackie Helbert [00:21:00] and Sarah Ernst.
Nick Capodice: [00:21:01] Erica Janik is our executive producer and wanted me to keep in part about the Alien and Sedition Acts.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:21:05] Maureen McMurray considers herself a citizen of the world.
Nick Capodice: [00:21:08] Music in today's episode by the ever reliable Blue Dot Sessions, Chris Zabriskie, Kevin McCloud, Bizou, Young Kartz, The Rondo Brothers, Robert John and Poddington Bear. And you know who I forgot, Hannah.
[00:21:20] Lee Greenwood.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:21:24] Oh, Lee!
Nick Capodice: [00:21:25] Thanks, Lee.
[00:21:26] Fair use. Special thanks to Laura Keller and to the man who taught me more about becoming a citizen than anyone else. He himself is one, Pedro Garcia.
Hannah McCarthy: [00:21:34] Gentle reminder.
[00:21:36] We are coming up on the deadline for our student contest. Don't forget to have your students submit their 60 second stump speech.
[00:21:42] You can find more info on that at civics101podcast.org/contest.
Nick Capodice: [00:21:44] Civics 101 is made possible in part by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and is a production of NHPR, New Hampshire Public Radio.
