Immigration and Nationalization in the United States

The immigrant group I would choose are the Chinese as these were the first group of people which were singled out for restriction. This started with the passage of the 1882 Exclusion Act. If a person wants to become a US citizen He or she will take the appropriate steps to do so. Nationalization is something that can take some time as many people want to come to the United States to pursue the American dream. Someone that wants to go through the nationalization process will to need to fill out the N-400 form. A person may qualify for naturalization if he or she has been a permanent resident for at least three to five years or if your biological or adoptive parent(s) became a U.S. citizen before the person reached the age of 18. This is called "Citizenship through Parents." The cost of the naturalization application is $595 and $85 to have the fingerprints done. This would be worth the cost as it only needs to be done once.

The United States government has a duty to not favor any particular ethnic origins of immigrants. The United States was built on immigrants from throughout Europe. It is unfair to allow particular people into the country and turn others away. The United States government should look at each applicant and decide fairly who should be granted citizenship. With all the fees there are to become a citizen it seems that people who are well off are able achieve this at a faster pace than someone who is not so well off. Talent should have anything to do with receiving citizenship when reviewing applications. The fact that the United States gives priority to family members of others who are already here is a good thing. When looking at the waiting list and seeing that it is fairly long, a person would almost have to send one person to the states in order to get the process started. Once this is started that person can send for the rest of the family. Applications should be reviewed equally and unbiased. The United States continues to allow so many people in a one time, but they should be fair and equal each time they allow new Americans into the country. With the fear for national security due to the events of September 11th, the United States should not turn people down because a person lives in the wrong country. I believe that the United States should never favor certain kinds of immigrants.

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