Changes to citizenship test lead to more barriers for applicants, immigration lawyer says
Two sisters, two different nationalities, both living on the same side of the border. But, only one of them is allowed to move back and forth across that border.
Maria Gallardo’s sister emigrated from Mexico in 2000 and Gallardo herself came in 2011. Gallardo then continued to live on a green card for five years before applying for citizenship.
Her sister, on the other hand, had not applied for her green card before coming to the U.S. Because she entered the country illegally, her chances of following her sister on the path to citizenship have greatly decreased.
So have her chances of seeing her family in Mexico. Afraid that she will be barred from re-entering, Gallardo’s sister has decided to stay in the U.S. for the sake of her daughters.
Sixteen years had passed since Gallardo’s sister had seen her mother in person. Gallardo saw her citizenship status as a way of finally reuniting her sister and her mother.
“It gave me deep sadness because she had gone so long without seeing [our family],” Gallardo said. “That’s why I tried to get citizenship, so I could bring my mom here to see my sister.”
Gallardo was granted citizenship status in 2016, a designation that many Mexican immigrants like her hope to achieve. 98 percent of Mexican immigrants surveyed by Pew Hispanic in 2015 said they would naturalize if they could.
But many don’t feel like it is possible. Mexican immigrants were, and continue to be, the least likely immigrants to try for citizenship, according to data from Pew Hispanic. In 2015, 42 percent of naturalized Mexican immigrants applied for citizenship, compared to 74 percent of other naturalized immigrants.
Pew Hispanic identifies financial and language barriers as major obstacles for Mexican applicants. St. Louis immigration lawyer Martha Mendez-Fischer says this is due to the fact that many Mexican immigrants come from low-income or low-education backgrounds.
About 55 percent of Mexican immigrant adults in the United States lacked a high school diploma, versus 28 percent of all immigrant adults in 2017, according to data from the Migration Policy Institute.
“There’s more information now,” Mendez-Fischer said. “So the process is more difficult for people who don’t have resources to take [citizenship] classes.”
So what does the naturalization process look like?
An individual must be a green card holder and live in the U.S. for five years without leaving the country for a year in order to receive that designation, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
A prospective applicant must meet at least 13 other requirements before being able to apply, including understanding basic principles of the U.S. Constitution and having “good moral character.”
The next step is to pick up a Form N-400, Application for Naturalization and schedule a biometrics appointment, where applicants must submit their fingerprints and a valid photo I.D. These two components cost a total of $725, a fee that Mendez-Fischer says creates a barrier for many low-income applicants.
“It’s pretty expensive, especially if there’s more than one person in the family who needs to naturalize,” Mendez- Fischer said. “It doesn’t help that they keep raising the fee too.”
The application fee alone currently costs $640. That number was just $595 three years ago, according to a report from the National Council of La Raza. Mendez-Fischer says this jump in fees isn’t the only hurdle applicants must jump.
“It’s hard for some people to understand, especially now that [the test] is more comprehensive,” Mendez-Fischer said. “It’s a lot of material to learn and language barriers can make that more difficult.”
In her 20 years of practice, Mendez-Fischer has noticed that the wider the language barrier, the lower the confidence levels among applicants, particularly during the USCIS interview.
Applicants are taken to a room where an immigration officer asks about 10 civics questions, six of which must be answered correctly in order to pass. In addition, applicants must meet the English Language Requirement by being able to read and write a sentence in English. This is typically the last stage before applicants are either granted or denied citizenship, according to the USCIS.
“Some people are so nervous that it’s kind of hard [for them] to listen to the question,” Mendez-Fischer said. “I tell them to breathe deeply and calm down, because if you don’t listen it’s hard to remember the material that you’ve learned.”
Gallardo knows that experience first hand. She spent a year trying to memorize both the questions and answers in English before she truly felt ready to take the test.
“I didn’t even know a little bit of English,” Gallardo said. “It was more difficult for me, but I had all this pressure on me because I had to bring my mother to see my sister.”
The USCIS offers various accommodations for applicants, including exemption from the English Language Requirement. However, this only applies to individuals who are either at least 50 years old and have lived as a lawful permanent resident for 20 years, or are at least 55 years old and have lived as a lawful permanent resident for 15 years.
“It’s still hard for some people,” Mendez-Fischer said. “They’re not making it easier for people to get those waivers...I don’t see it changing in the near future unfortunately.”
What won’t change any time soon, according to Mendez-Fischer, is the importance of getting to raise their right hands as they take the Oath of Allegiance at their Naturalization Ceremony.
“It’s more than just going to do the test, it’s something bigger for them,” Mendez- Fischer said.
For Gallardo, that something is the future of her children. Her 10-year-old son hopes to be inventor when he grows up, while her five-year-old daughter wants to work at McDonald’s for unlimited access to their french fries.
“That’s why we’re sacrificing so much to be here,” Gallardo said. “In the school, they have a lot more opportunities if they study to progress in their lives, to not be like us. They can have a really good job that pays well and a good life.”
Two kids, two different dream jobs, both the result of Gallardo’s sacrifices in her pursuit of the American Dream.