Citizenship Notes
Being An American
● About 14.5% of Americans are immigrants
○ Between early 1800s to 1930s the nation population grew from 12 million
to about 120 million - 40 million were immigrants
■ Made the US extremely diverse
● Racially, ethnically, religiously, different values
● Values: general ideas about what is and isn't good
○ Important because the determine actions of people
○ Americans have shared values. These shared values unite Americans.
● Examples: Freedom, equality, opportunity, justice, and
democracy
● Where can we find these? In our founding documents
Do all people share the same values? NO - that is what makes us all unique
What happens when one person’s idea of liberty (freedom) conflicts with another’s idea
of equality?
● A lot of times americans argue about political differences that stem from
how we determine values like this - some of these issues are minor and
some develop into greater conflicts
● Social institutions - religious, schools, even the family unit
● Government institutions - state, local, federal follow popular sovereignty (uphold
freedom/power come from the people)
● Popular sovereignty
Becoming a Citizen (Understanding Vocab)
● Citizen
○ Individuals who are a part of a community (U.S.A) and are given
protection by the community’s government
● Civics
○ Study of duties, rights and responsibilities of citizens
● Citizenship
○ ARE our duties, rights and responsibilities as citizens
■ Natural born citizen
● Anyone born in the USA or american soil
● Anyone who has two parents that are US citizens (even born
in England)
● If one parent is a citizen and has lived in the US
■ Naturalization
● The legal process to become a citizen
● Immigrants must:
○ Be 18+
○ Must be a lawful permanent resident for 5 years
○ Have to read, write, and speak English
○ Have good moral character
○ Show an understanding of Civics
○ ONLY THE FEDERAL GOV. CAN CONFIRM OR DENY CITIZENSHIP
● Government
○ Ruling authority for a community (USA).
● Aliens
○ People who were born outside of the US who have not gone through the
naturalization process
○ Resident - plans to live her permanently
○ Nonresident - someone visiting for a short period of time (reporter from
another country)
● Refugees
○ A person fleeing their country to escape danger
■ Fleeing gov., natural disaster
■ If it is political the US gov. Protects them if they are really in danger
● An alien is any legal term for a foreigner entering a new country
● A legal alien is anyone who has obtained a visa to enter the country
○ Over 8,000,000 tourist visas were issued in 2019 for people crossing the
border temporarily
○ Over 450,000 immigrant visas were issued in 2019 by the State
Department – this is for aliens who want to move to America long-term.
Of this group, about 50% will eventually file for citizenship.
● Immigrant Visas are temporary but for longer than a few months – they can
usually be renewed, or the citizen can file for their green card (permanent
residency status). Visas can include people moving to America for:
○ Work (if they have already been hired by an American company),
○ School (to attend an American university usually),
○ Refugee status (to escape dangerous conditions/war in their homeland)
○ Marriage (if they are engaged or already married to an American)
○ Family (their family has already come to America and gone through the
citizenship process, or they are foreign family of an American citizen)
Similarities and Differences
1. Legal alien
a. Differences
i. Must renew resident status
ii. Can be deported as legal consequence
iii. Must complete an application and test for citizenship
2. US Citizen
i. Can never be deported or have citizenship taken
ii. Run for office
iii. Work for the gov.
iv. Can receive a passport for travel
v. VOTE
b. Similarities
i. Can work
ii. Can attend school
iii. Pay taxes
iv. Obey laws
v. Have rights protected
