The road to becoming a legal resident of the United States of America is a long and often arduous one at best. There are scheduled and time tables of things that need to be done in specific order in order for the process to run smoothly. Any variance from what the government is after can cause anything from a lengthy delay in time all the way up to and including deportation of the individual. If the latter happens that can offset the time to apply and add an additional term as long as five years to the process if you are lucky. In some cases it can even permanently stop you from becoming a citizen.
Before you can take the US citizenship exam you need to fill out all of the required US immigration forms and get a Green Card or a Green Card Replacement so that if you are stopped you can prove that you actually belong is this country. Many people don’t realize it but if you are stopped, even on a routine traffic violation, and are found to have no legal documentation that says you have aright to be in this country, you more than likely will go to a detention area and be deported back to your country
In recent years the immigration issue has become more convoluted and more in the fore front with people from this country feeling like the illegal aliens from other countries, often Mexico, have taken over and are using the resources of the country that should be given to the actual citizens. Not many people here give a second thought to health card for people who are here legally but once they find out that the person in question has no legal right to be here exchanges from verbal to physical confrontations can and do occur.
For that reason it is strongly advised that anyone that wishes to come to America and plans on staying any length of time should go through the lengthy and expensive process of immigration to make them a legal citizen. That will give them legal rights to be here and legal rights to obtain services held for citizens without any retaliation. It also ensures that the immigrant pays the taxes that are due and payable by any citizen.
There are many services here in this country that will help you in your quest to become legal. These include immigration attorneys, the consulate from your country which will be located in most major cities here and there are countless online groups that can help to get you started and point you in the right direction to get the answers to the questions that you will no doubt have during the process.
The length of time that it can take to complete the process can vary from many months to several years depending on your financial resources and the amount of time and effort you are willing to put into the task of becoming a legal citizen.